Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cham and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,453 a month against $3,575 in Cham, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

172

Cost of Living Index in Cham
Learn more

Cham Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Cham

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,575

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cham 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 Cham and in Barcelona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,575 in Cham versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Cham $3,575
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,453 in Cham versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Cham $5,453
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,331 in Cham versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Cham $7,331
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Cham is roughly 46% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cham 163% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$29.74 CHF 24.67

$17.59 €15.80

69.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$122 CHF 101

$67.5 €60.6

80.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$17.93 CHF 14.87

$13.53 €12.15

32.52%

Cappuccino

$5.82 CHF 4.83

$3.19 €2.87

82.45%

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

$5.32 CHF 4.42

$2.91 €2.62

82.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.87 CHF 4.04

$1.89 €1.70

157.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.45 CHF 7.01

$4.01 €3.60

110.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.53 CHF 5.42

$4.53 €4.07

44.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 CHF 1.76

$1.31 €1.17

62.60%

White Bread (500g)

$3.76 CHF 3.12

$2.02 €1.81

86.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.62 CHF 3.00

$1.85 €1.66

95.68%

Eggs

$7.27 CHF 6.03

$4.83 €4.34

50.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$26.38 CHF 21.88

$16.74 €15.03

57.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.65 CHF 23.77

$9.12 €8.19

214.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$42.06 CHF 34.89

$19.64 €17.64

114.15%

Apples (1kg)

$3.91 CHF 3.25

$2.98 €2.68

31.21%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 CHF 1.78

$2.02 €1.81

6.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 CHF 2.57

$2.70 €2.43

14.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.58 CHF 3.80

$2.80 €2.52

63.57%

Potato (1kg)

$2.25 CHF 1.87

$2.09 €1.87

7.66%

Onion (1kg)

$2.24 CHF 1.86

$2.07 €1.86

8.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.39 CHF 1.98

$1.46 €1.31

63.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 CHF 0.92

$0.94 €0.84

18.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.02 CHF 9.15

$6.87 €6.17

60.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.08 CHF 10.02

$7.89 €7.08

53.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.82 CHF 2.34

$1.41 €1.26

100.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 CHF 2.58

$2.54 €2.28

22.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.13 CHF 4.26

$3.14 €2.82

63.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$146 CHF 121

$25.45 €22.86

473.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.44 CHF 3.69

$2.99 €2.69

48.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.96 CHF 2.45

$1.49 €1.34

98.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$59.7 CHF 49.49

$33.37 €29.98

78.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 CHF 1.82

$1.80 €1.61

21.67%

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

$39.7K CHF 32.9K

$33.2K €29.8K

19.53%

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

$39.9K CHF 33.1K

$31.7K €28.5K

25.91%

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

$286 CHF 237

$180 €162

58.52%

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

$29.15 CHF 24.18

$13.84 €12.43

110.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.8 CHF 45.49

$33.70 €30.27

62.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$85.3 CHF 70.7

$51.5 €46.27

65.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.01 CHF 33.19

$15.96 €14.34

150.69%

Cinema Ticket

$22.10 CHF 18.34

$10.99 €9.88

101.09%

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

$1,488 CHF 1,234

$917 €823

62.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.7K CHF 20.5K

$16.5K €14.8K

49.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$137 CHF 114

$87.0 €78.2

57.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.0 CHF 44.76

$38.51 €34.59

40.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$157 CHF 130

$106 €95.1

48.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$249 CHF 206

$120 €108

107.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,780 CHF 1,477

$1,699 €1,527

4.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,566 CHF 1,299

$1,355 €1,217

15.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,896 CHF 2,402

$2,603 €2,338

11.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,704 CHF 2,243

$2,062 €1,853

31.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.0K CHF 10.8K

$6,915 €6,211

88.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.7K CHF 9,730

$5,128 €4,606

128.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.03

3.28

-38.11%

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

Last update for Cham: October 24, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cham

$1.6K 43.8%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 13.5% $211

Groceries & Markets

Cham

$597 16.7%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 46.1% $275

Eating Out

Cham

$458 12.8%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 41.5% $190

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cham

$370 10.4%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 38.4% $142

Clothing & Footwear

Cham

$268 7.5%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 41.2% $111

Getting Around

Cham

$186 5.2%

Barcelona

$48 2% 73.9% $137

Sport & Entertainment

Cham

$129 3.6%

Barcelona

$74 3% 43.2% $56

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,780 in Cham and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $122 in Cham vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $597 vs $322 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Cham

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

14:01 2:01 PM

Same time as Cham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,060

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.83 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.923 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cham Barcelona 820 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Cham
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

Cham vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cham and Barcelona differ by about 46% in total monthly costs ($3,575 vs $2,453 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $5,362 in Cham and $3,679 in Barcelona to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,780 in Cham versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,488 in Cham versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 86% higher in Cham. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,453 in Barcelona versus $3,575 in Cham, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Cham. The gap between the two cities makes Barcelona 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.

Safety-wise, Cham and Barcelona are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Cham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.