Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Fontainebleau and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Fontainebleau: $1,127 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

55

Cost of Living Index in Fontainebleau
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Fontainebleau Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Fontainebleau

🇫🇷 France

$1,127

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,127 in Fontainebleau versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Fontainebleau $1,127
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,529 in Fontainebleau versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Fontainebleau $2,529
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,931 in Fontainebleau versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Fontainebleau $3,931
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Fontainebleau costs roughly 53% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Fontainebleau is 17% below, Barcelona is 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.58 €15.64

$17.94 €15.96

-2.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.3 €59.0

$68.1 €60.5

-2.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.29 €11.82

$13.28 €11.81

0.08%

Cappuccino

$3.85 €3.42

$3.25 €2.89

18.46%

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

$3.13 €2.79

$3.01 €2.67

3.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 €1.47

$1.87 €1.66

-11.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.04 €7.15

$3.85 €3.42

108.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.64 €5.01

$4.48 €3.98

25.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 €1.17

$1.29 €1.15

2.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.97 €1.76

$2.04 €1.81

-3.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$1.72 €1.53

62.79%

Eggs

$4.03 €3.58

$4.77 €4.24

-15.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.50 €19.12

$16.77 €14.92

28.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.19 €10.84

$8.93 €7.94

36.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.50 €20.90

$19.88 €17.68

18.21%

Apples (1kg)

$3.33 €2.96

$2.98 €2.65

11.74%

Banana (1kg)

$2.11 €1.88

$2.03 €1.80

3.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.38 €2.11

$2.73 €2.43

-12.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.17 €2.82

$2.68 €2.38

18.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 €1.71

$2.10 €1.87

-8.57%

Onion (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$2.08 €1.85

-0.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 €1.36

$1.45 €1.29

4.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 €0.61

$0.89 €0.79

-23.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.91 €12.37

$6.94 €6.17

100.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.74 €6.89

$7.78 €6.92

-0.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 €2.13

$1.45 €1.29

65.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.27 €3.80

$2.57 €2.29

66.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.27 €2.02

$3.12 €2.77

-27.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.09 €1.85

$1.44 €1.28

45.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.36 €21.67

$33.50 €29.80

-27.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.79 €1.59

23.46%

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

$33.9K €30.2K

$34.6K €30.8K

-2.01%

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

$34.2K €30.4K

$30.1K €26.7K

13.83%

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

$206 €184

$178 €158

16.08%

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

$15.25 €13.57

$13.32 €11.85

14.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.23 €27.78

$34.88 €31.03

-10.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.61 €20.11

$53.3 €47.37

-57.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.32 €11.85

$16.01 €14.24

-16.80%

Cinema Ticket

$10.52 €9.36

$11.06 €9.84

-4.88%

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

$633 €563

$957 €851

-33.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,147 €7,247

$16.6K €14.7K

-50.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.8 €78.1

$88.2 €78.4

-0.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.29 €35.83

$39.49 €35.12

2.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 €89.7

$103 €91.5

-1.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 €92.4

$121 €108

-14.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$936 €833

$1,653 €1,470

-43.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,670 €1,485

$2,557 €2,275

-34.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,405 €1,250

$1,915 €1,703

-26.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,045 €2,709

$2,281 €2,029

33.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.5

3.28

6.71%

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

Last update for Fontainebleau: October 12, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Fontainebleau

$371 32.9%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 13.7% $51

Eating Out

Fontainebleau

$297 26.4%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 9.1% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Fontainebleau

$253 22.4%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 10.6% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Fontainebleau

$150 13.3%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 5.7% $8.6

Sport & Entertainment

Fontainebleau

$44 3.9%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 72.7% $32

Getting Around

Fontainebleau

$13 * 1.1%

Barcelona

$47 2% 274% $35

Accommodation & Living

Fontainebleau

- * 0%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

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 $936 in Fontainebleau and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Fontainebleau pays 34% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Fontainebleau vs $68.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $371 vs $320, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Fontainebleau

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

19:37 7:37 PM

Same time as Fontainebleau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,945

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Fontainebleau Barcelona 780 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Fontainebleau
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

Fontainebleau vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fontainebleau and Barcelona differ by about 113% in total monthly costs ($1,127 vs $2,399 including rent). Fontainebleau is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 34% higher in Fontainebleau, 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: $936 in Fontainebleau versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $633 in Fontainebleau versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Fontainebleau – a meal for two runs $66.0 versus $68.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,127 in Fontainebleau versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Fontainebleau but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Fontainebleau 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, Fontainebleau 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 Fontainebleau gentler on the wallet – expenses run 113% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.