Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cusco and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Cusco: $692 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in Cusco
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Cusco Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Cusco

🇵🇪 Peru

$692

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $692 in Cusco versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Cusco $692
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,102 in Cusco versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Cusco $1,102
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,512 in Cusco versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Cusco $1,512
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Cusco costs roughly 71% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cusco is 49% below, Barcelona is 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.07 PEN 7.11

$17.94 €15.96

-88.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.09 PEN 69.0

$68.1 €60.5

-70.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.49 PEN 22.28

$13.28 €11.81

-51.13%

Cappuccino

$2.18 PEN 7.48

$3.25 €2.89

-32.92%

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

$0.78 PEN 2.67

$3.01 €2.67

-74.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 PEN 1.12

$1.87 €1.66

-82.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.70 PEN 5.83

$3.85 €3.42

-55.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.23 PEN 14.51

$4.48 €3.98

-5.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 PEN 4.33

$1.29 €1.15

-2.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.31 PEN 7.92

$2.04 €1.81

13.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.30 PEN 4.46

$1.72 €1.53

-24.42%

Eggs

$3.52 PEN 12.07

$4.77 €4.24

-26.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.68 PEN 16.07

$16.77 €14.92

-72.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 PEN 15.08

$8.93 €7.94

-50.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.12 PEN 24.44

$19.88 €17.68

-64.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.66 PEN 9.15

$2.98 €2.65

-10.74%

Banana (1kg)

$0.82 PEN 2.81

$2.03 €1.80

-59.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.42 PEN 4.89

$2.73 €2.43

-47.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.90 PEN 3.09

$2.68 €2.38

-66.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 PEN 3.55

$2.10 €1.87

-50.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 PEN 3.85

$2.08 €1.85

-46.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.53 PEN 1.84

$1.45 €1.29

-63.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 PEN 2.57

$0.89 €0.79

-15.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

Wine (Bottle)

$5.86 PEN 20.13

$7.78 €6.92

-24.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 PEN 6.63

$1.45 €1.29

33.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 PEN 14.18

$2.57 €2.29

60.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 PEN 0.96

$2.99 €2.66

-90.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.73 PEN 5.94

$3.12 €2.77

-44.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.92 PEN 6.58

$1.44 €1.28

33.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.94 PEN 10.10

$33.50 €29.80

-91.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 PEN 5.39

$1.79 €1.59

-12.29%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

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

$29.2K PEN 100.3K

$30.1K €26.7K

-2.83%

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

$28.88 PEN 99.2

$178 €158

-83.76%

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

$14.39 PEN 49.41

$13.32 €11.85

8.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.08 PEN 151

$34.88 €31.03

26.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.16 PEN 100

$53.3 €47.37

-45.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

Cinema Ticket

$4.47 PEN 15.35

$11.06 €9.84

-59.58%

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

$957 €851

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.01 PEN 127

$88.2 €78.4

-58.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.94 PEN 117

$39.49 €35.12

-14.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$54.6 PEN 187

$103 €91.5

-46.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.3 PEN 252

$121 €108

-39.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$214 PEN 736

$1,653 €1,470

-87.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$194 PEN 666

$1,302 €1,158

-85.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$539 PEN 1,850

$2,557 €2,275

-78.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$421 PEN 1,446

$1,915 €1,703

-78.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,183 PEN 10.9K

$7,286 €6,481

-56.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,825 PEN 6,269

$5,080 €4,519

-64.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$420 PEN 1,442

$2,281 €2,029

-81.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

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

Last update for Cusco: October 11, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cusco

$194 28%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 571% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Cusco

$187 27%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 71.4% $133

Clothing & Footwear

Cusco

$89 12.9%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 77.1% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cusco

$87 12.6%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 159% $139

Eating Out

Cusco

$84 12.1%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 223% $187

Sport & Entertainment

Cusco

$38 5.5%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 97.8% $37

Getting Around

Cusco

$12 * 1.8%

Barcelona

$47 2% 282% $35

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $214 in Cusco and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 443% 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: $20.00 in Cusco vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $187 vs $320 per month, with Cusco cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Cusco

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

11:40 11:40 AM

18:40 6:40 PM

7 h ahead of Cusco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

428,450

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cusco Barcelona 9,720 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cusco
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

Cusco vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cusco and Barcelona differ by about 247% in total monthly costs ($692 vs $2,399 including rent). Cusco is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 443% lower in Barcelona. 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: $214 in Cusco versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Cusco – a meal for two runs $20.00 versus $68.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $692 per month in Cusco versus $2,399 in Barcelona – a 247% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $692 in Cusco versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cusco but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Cusco 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, Cusco 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 Cusco gentler on the wallet – expenses run 247% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.