Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cento and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Cento: $1,638 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

79

Cost of Living Index in Cento
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Cento Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Cento

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,638

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cento and in Barcelona

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cento and in Barcelona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,638 in Cento versus $2,443 in Barcelona.

Cento $1,638
Barcelona $2,443

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,655 in Cento versus $3,519 in Barcelona.

Cento $2,655
Barcelona $3,519

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,672 in Cento versus $4,595 in Barcelona.

Cento $3,672
Barcelona $4,595

Living in Cento costs roughly 33% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cento 21% above, Barcelona 81% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.05 €17.81

$17.66 €15.69

13.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.2 €80.2

$67.5 €59.9

33.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.35 €11.86

$13.61 €12.09

-1.91%

Cappuccino

$2.27 €2.02

$3.10 €2.75

-26.77%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 €3.06

$3.00 €2.67

15.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 €1.45

$1.93 €1.71

-15.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.09 €5.41

$3.84 €3.41

58.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$4.36 €3.87

28.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 €1.27

$1.25 €1.11

14.40%

White Bread (500g)

$2.76 €2.45

$2.12 €1.89

30.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.72 €2.41

$1.97 €1.75

38.07%

Eggs

$3.87 €3.44

$4.76 €4.23

-18.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.13 €16.10

$17.07 €15.16

6.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.27 €10.90

$8.96 €7.96

36.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.32 €15.39

$20.65 €18.34

-16.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 €1.99

$3.16 €2.81

-29.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 €1.51

$1.97 €1.75

-13.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 €1.73

$2.65 €2.36

-26.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.46 €2.18

$2.88 €2.56

-14.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.35 €1.20

$2.06 €1.83

-34.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.41 €1.25

$2.18 €1.94

-35.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 €1.45

$1.53 €1.36

6.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 €0.50

$0.97 €0.86

-42.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.67 €5.92

$6.97 €6.19

-4.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.91

$7.89 €7.01

-1.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 €1.38

$1.42 €1.26

9.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.68

$2.69 €2.39

-29.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.63 €1.45

$3.31 €2.94

-50.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.22 €37.51

$25.61 €22.75

64.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.48 €3.98

$3.08 €2.74

45.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.78 €24.68

$32.87 €29.20

-15.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.10 €1.86

$1.87 €1.66

12.30%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$35.5K €31.6K

$33.0K €29.3K

7.75%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$37.9K €33.7K

$31.9K €28.4K

18.74%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$237 €211

$183 €162

29.61%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$11.28 €10.02

$14.24 €12.65

-20.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.99 €24.86

$34.56 €30.70

-19.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.5 €47.56

$51.4 €45.68

4.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.42 €20.80

$16.38 €14.55

42.98%

Cinema Ticket

$10.15 €9.02

$11.06 €9.83

-8.23%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$425 €377

$944 €838

-54.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,424 €3,930

$22.3K €19.8K

-80.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.3 €78.4

$87.7 €77.9

0.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.51 €38.65

$38.77 €34.44

12.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.5 €83.0

$105 €92.9

-10.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$150 €133

$118 €105

27.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$536 €476

$1,697 €1,507

-68.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$444 €394

$1,337 €1,187

-66.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,062 €943

$2,692 €2,391

-60.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$915 €813

$2,077 €1,845

-55.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,942 €2,613

$7,155 €6,356

-58.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,022 €1,796

$5,079 €4,512

-60.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,779 €1,580

$2,241 €1,991

-20.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Cento: November 1, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Cento

$444 27.1%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7% 201% $893

Groceries & Markets

Cento

$325 19.8%

Barcelona

$328 13.4% 0.9% $3.1

Eating Out

Cento

$290 17.7%

Barcelona

$267 10.9% 7.8% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cento

$276 16.9%

Barcelona

$232 9.5% 16.1% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Cento

$169 10.3%

Barcelona

$157 6.4% 7.1% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Cento

$74 4.5%

Barcelona

$74 3% 0.4% $0.3

Getting Around

Cento

$61 3.7%

Barcelona

$49 2% 18.6% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $536 in Cento and $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 26% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $90 in Cento vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $328, with Cento cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Cento

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

01:02 1:02 AM

Same time as Cento

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

35,582

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.13 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cento Barcelona 830 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Cento
Barcelona

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Cento vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,638 in Cento and $2,443 in Barcelona, so Cento is about 33% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 21% lower in Cento. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $536 in Cento versus $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $425 in Cento versus $944 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelona – a meal for two runs $67 versus $90 in Cento. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,638 in Cento versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Cento but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Cento the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Cento wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.