Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Darwin and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,453 a month against $3,073 in Darwin, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

148

Cost of Living Index in Darwin
Learn more

Darwin Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Darwin

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,073

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,073 in Darwin versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Darwin $3,073
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,118 in Darwin versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Darwin $4,118
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,163 in Darwin versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Darwin $5,163
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Darwin is roughly 25% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Darwin 126% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.40 A$31.85

$17.59 €15.80

27.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.7 A$129

$67.5 €60.6

34.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 A$16.16

$13.53 €12.15

-16.04%

Cappuccino

$4.23 A$6.01

$3.19 €2.87

32.60%

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

$3.46 A$4.92

$2.91 €2.62

18.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 A$4.28

$1.89 €1.70

59.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.57 A$10.76

$4.01 €3.60

88.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.57 A$10.77

$4.53 €4.07

67.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 A$2.19

$1.31 €1.17

17.56%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 A$4.32

$2.02 €1.81

50.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 A$3.13

$1.85 €1.66

18.92%

Eggs

$4.47 A$6.35

$4.83 €4.34

-7.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.92 A$12.68

$16.74 €15.04

-46.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.31 A$11.82

$9.12 €8.19

-8.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.85 A$12.58

$19.64 €17.64

-54.94%

Apples (1kg)

$3.85 A$5.47

$2.98 €2.68

29.19%

Banana (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.10

$2.02 €1.81

42.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.80 A$3.98

$2.70 €2.43

3.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.03 A$7.15

$2.80 €2.52

79.64%

Potato (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.62

$2.09 €1.87

22.01%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.27

$2.07 €1.86

11.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.06 A$2.93

$1.46 €1.31

41.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 A$3.09

$0.94 €0.84

130.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.35 A$64.5

$6.87 €6.17

560.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.15 A$17.28

$7.89 €7.09

53.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$10.13 A$14.40

$1.41 €1.26

618.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.87 A$11.19

$2.54 €2.28

209.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.37 A$68.8

$25.45 €22.86

90.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 A$5.25

$2.99 €2.69

23.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.35 A$1.91

$1.49 €1.34

-9.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$48.52 A$69.0

$33.37 €29.99

45.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 A$1.89

$1.80 €1.62

-26.11%

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

$30.0K A$42.6K

$33.2K €29.8K

-9.73%

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

$33.4K A$47.5K

$31.7K €28.5K

5.31%

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

$215 A$305

$180 €162

18.91%

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

$33.49 A$47.61

$13.84 €12.43

141.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.9 A$86.7

$33.70 €30.28

80.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.0 A$104

$51.5 €46.28

41.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.22 A$40.13

$15.96 €14.34

76.82%

Cinema Ticket

$16.99 A$24.16

$10.99 €9.88

54.60%

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

$1,939 A$2,756

$917 €824

111.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,442 A$12.0K

$16.5K €14.8K

-48.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.2 A$121

$87.0 €78.2

-2.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.52 A$66.2

$38.51 €34.60

20.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 A$150

$106 €95.1

-0.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$138 A$196

$120 €108

15.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,719 A$2,444

$1,699 €1,527

1.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,430

$1,355 €1,218

26.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,803 A$3,985

$2,603 €2,339

7.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,124 A$3,021

$2,062 €1,853

3.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,771 A$5,363

$6,915 €6,213

-45.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,536 A$5,028

$5,128 €4,607

-31.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,223 A$6,005

$2,211 €1,986

91.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.14

3.28

87.20%

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

Last update for Darwin: October 27, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Darwin

$1.7K 55.6%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 20.7% $354

Groceries & Markets

Darwin

$377 12.3%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 14.7% $56

Eating Out

Darwin

$343 11.2%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 21.9% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Darwin

$309 10.1%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 26.2% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Darwin

$169 5.5%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 6.4% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Darwin

$107 3.5%

Barcelona

$74 3% 31.3% $33

Getting Around

Darwin

$59 * 1.9%

Barcelona

$48 2% 17.6% $10

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 $1,719 in Darwin and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Darwin pays 91% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $91 in Darwin vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $377 vs $322 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Darwin

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

20:33 8:33 PM

12:03 12:03 PM

8 h 30 min behind Darwin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

122,207

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.703 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

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

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Darwin Barcelona 14,110 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Darwin
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

Darwin vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Darwin and Barcelona differ by about 25% in total monthly costs ($3,073 vs $2,453 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 91% higher in Darwin, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,719 in Darwin versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,939 in Darwin 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 17% higher in Darwin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,453 in Barcelona versus $3,073 in Darwin, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Darwin. 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, Darwin 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.

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