Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Craiova and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Craiova: $1,217 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Craiova
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Craiova Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Craiova

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,217

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,217 in Craiova versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Craiova $1,217
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,869 in Craiova versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Craiova $1,869
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,520 in Craiova versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Craiova $2,520
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Craiova costs roughly 50% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Craiova is 11% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.14 RON 34.11

$17.59 €15.75

-59.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.37 RON 198

$67.5 €60.5

-38.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.45 RON 35.60

$13.53 €12.12

-44.94%

Cappuccino

$2.71 RON 12.96

$3.19 €2.86

-15.05%

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

$2.23 RON 10.63

$2.91 €2.61

-23.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 RON 8.45

$1.89 €1.70

-6.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.24 RON 10.70

$4.01 €3.59

-44.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.51 RON 16.78

$4.53 €4.06

-22.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 RON 6.08

$1.31 €1.17

-3.05%

White Bread (500g)

$0.82 RON 3.92

$2.02 €1.81

-59.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 RON 6.76

$1.85 €1.66

-23.24%

Eggs

$3.26 RON 15.56

$4.83 €4.33

-32.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.21 RON 34.47

$16.74 €14.99

-56.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.47 RON 30.92

$9.12 €8.17

-29.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.49 RON 54.9

$19.64 €17.59

-41.50%

Apples (1kg)

$0.95 RON 4.53

$2.98 €2.67

-68.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 RON 7.15

$2.02 €1.81

-25.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 RON 6.93

$2.70 €2.42

-46.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 RON 8.61

$2.80 €2.51

-35.71%

Potato (1kg)

$0.76 RON 3.65

$2.09 €1.87

-63.64%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 RON 4.27

$2.07 €1.85

-57.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 RON 3.50

$1.46 €1.31

-50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$0.94 €0.84

-18.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.59 RON 31.47

$6.87 €6.15

-4.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.34 RON 30.29

$7.89 €7.06

-19.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 RON 5.75

$1.41 €1.26

-14.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.46 RON 6.99

$2.54 €2.27

-42.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 RON 4.19

$3.14 €2.82

-71.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.16 RON 120

$25.45 €22.79

-1.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.61 RON 2.93

$2.99 €2.68

-79.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 RON 3.09

$1.49 €1.34

-56.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.37 RON 30.46

$33.37 €29.89

-80.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.90 RON 9.10

$1.80 €1.61

5.56%

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

$28.9K RON 138.0K

$33.2K €29.7K

-13.01%

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

$25.8K RON 123.5K

$31.7K €28.4K

-18.50%

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

$216 RON 1,034

$180 €162

19.98%

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

$9.24 RON 44.18

$13.84 €12.39

-33.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.57 RON 55.3

$33.70 €30.18

-65.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.59 RON 184

$51.5 €46.13

-25.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.52 RON 103

$15.96 €14.29

34.84%

Cinema Ticket

$7.28 RON 34.77

$10.99 €9.85

-33.76%

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

$411 RON 1,962

$917 €821

-55.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,047 RON 38.5K

$16.5K €14.8K

-51.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 RON 301

$87.0 €77.9

-27.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.6 RON 242

$38.51 €34.49

31.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 RON 396

$106 €94.8

-21.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 RON 494

$120 €107

-13.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$532 RON 2,541

$1,699 €1,522

-68.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$418 RON 2,000

$1,355 €1,214

-69.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$910 RON 4,346

$2,603 €2,331

-65.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$829 RON 3,961

$2,062 €1,847

-59.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,703 RON 12.9K

$6,915 €6,193

-60.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,988 RON 9,498

$5,128 €4,592

-61.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$914 RON 4,368

$2,211 €1,980

-58.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.84

3.28

108.54%

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

Last update for Craiova: October 26, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Craiova

$418 34.4%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 224% $937

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Craiova

$237 19.5%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 3.9% $9.3

Groceries & Markets

Craiova

$194 16%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 65.5% $127

Eating Out

Craiova

$146 12%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 83.3% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Craiova

$135 11.1%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 17.1% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Craiova

$53 4.4%

Barcelona

$74 3% 38.3% $20

Getting Around

Craiova

$33 2.7%

Barcelona

$48 2% 49.1% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $532 in Craiova and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $41 in Craiova vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $194 vs $322 per month, with Craiova cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Craiova

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

18:24 6:24 PM

17:24 5:24 PM

1 h behind Craiova

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

269,506

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Craiova Barcelona 1,790 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Craiova
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

Craiova vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,217 in Craiova and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Craiova is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 59% lower in Craiova. 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: $532 in Craiova versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $411 in Craiova versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Craiova – a meal for two runs $41 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Craiova is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Craiova and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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