Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Fort Lauderdale, FL and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,453 a month against $3,414 in Fort Lauderdale, FL, rent and utilities included – about $11,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

166

Cost of Living Index in Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Fort Lauderdale, FL Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Fort Lauderdale, FL

🇺🇸 United States

$3,414

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,414 in Fort Lauderdale, FL versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Fort Lauderdale, FL $3,414
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,025 in Fort Lauderdale, FL versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Fort Lauderdale, FL $5,025
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,636 in Fort Lauderdale, FL versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Fort Lauderdale, FL $6,636
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Fort Lauderdale, FL is roughly 39% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Fort Lauderdale, FL 151% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$29.40 $29.40

$17.59 €15.80

67.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$99.7 $99.7

$67.5 €60.6

47.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.55 $14.55

$13.53 €12.15

7.54%

Cappuccino

$5.10 $5.10

$3.19 €2.87

59.87%

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

$2.99 $2.99

$2.91 €2.62

2.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 $2.17

$1.89 €1.70

14.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.13 $6.13

$4.01 €3.60

52.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.93 $6.93

$4.53 €4.07

52.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.31 €1.17

-22.14%

White Bread (500g)

$5.03 $5.03

$2.02 €1.81

149.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.75 $3.75

$1.85 €1.66

102.70%

Eggs

$4.90 $4.90

$4.83 €4.34

1.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.22 $17.22

$16.74 €15.03

2.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.33 $10.33

$9.12 €8.19

13.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$26.42 $26.42

$19.64 €17.64

34.52%

Apples (1kg)

$6.47 $6.47

$2.98 €2.68

117.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 $1.95

$2.02 €1.81

-3.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.36 $4.36

$2.70 €2.43

61.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.33 $5.33

$2.80 €2.52

90.36%

Potato (1kg)

$2.89 $2.89

$2.09 €1.87

38.28%

Onion (1kg)

$3.17 $3.17

$2.07 €1.86

53.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.66 $2.66

$1.46 €1.31

82.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 $1.79

$0.94 €0.84

90.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.52 $9.52

$6.87 €6.17

38.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.81 $11.81

$7.89 €7.08

49.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.00 $3.00

$1.41 €1.26

112.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 $2.12

$2.54 €2.28

-16.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.05 $2.05

$3.14 €2.82

-34.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$71.0 $71.0

$25.45 €22.86

178.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.01 $4.01

$2.99 €2.69

34.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.81 $1.81

$1.49 €1.34

21.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.92 $23.92

$33.37 €29.98

-28.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.80 €1.61

-43.33%

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

$28.3K $28.3K

$33.2K €29.8K

-14.68%

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

$26.6K $26.6K

$31.7K €28.5K

-16.00%

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

$212 $212

$180 €162

17.40%

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

$64.8 $64.8

$13.84 €12.43

368.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$80.7 $80.7

$33.70 €30.27

139.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.90 $42.90

$51.5 €46.27

-16.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.34 $14.34

$15.96 €14.34

-10.15%

Cinema Ticket

$17.92 $17.92

$10.99 €9.88

63.06%

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

$1,026 $1,026

$917 €823

11.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$41.2K $41.2K

$16.5K €14.8K

150.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.35 $46.35

$87.0 €78.2

-46.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.77 $41.77

$38.51 €34.59

8.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.5 $87.5

$106 €95.1

-17.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 $116

$120 €108

-2.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,687 $2,687

$1,699 €1,527

58.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,893 $1,893

$1,355 €1,217

39.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,985 $4,985

$2,603 €2,338

91.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,168 $3,168

$2,062 €1,853

53.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,795 $5,795

$6,915 €6,211

-16.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,254 $4,254

$5,128 €4,606

-17.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,757 $4,757

$2,211 €1,986

115.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.63

3.28

102.13%

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

Last update for Fort Lauderdale, FL: October 25, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Fort Lauderdale, FL

$1.9K 55.5%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 28.4% $538

Groceries & Markets

Fort Lauderdale, FL

$456 13.4%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 29.4% $134

Eating Out

Fort Lauderdale, FL

$405 11.9%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 33.9% $137

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Fort Lauderdale, FL

$357 10.5%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 36.2% $129

Clothing & Footwear

Fort Lauderdale, FL

$131 3.9%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 20.3% $27

Getting Around

Fort Lauderdale, FL

$92 2.7%

Barcelona

$48 2% 47.5% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Fort Lauderdale, FL

$79 2.3%

Barcelona

$74 3% 6.6% $5.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,687 in Fort Lauderdale, FL and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Fort Lauderdale, FL pays about 2.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $100 in Fort Lauderdale, FL vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $456 vs $322 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Fort Lauderdale, FL

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

11:00 11:00 AM

16:00 4:00 PM

5 h ahead of Fort Lauderdale, FL

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

165,521

1,660,122

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.899 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Fort Lauderdale, FL Barcelona 7,520 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Fort Lauderdale, FL
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

Fort Lauderdale, FL vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fort Lauderdale, FL and Barcelona differ by about 39% in total monthly costs ($3,414 vs $2,453 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Fort Lauderdale, FL is about 2.2 times higher, 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: $2,687 in Fort Lauderdale, FL versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,026 in Fort Lauderdale, FL 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 42% higher in Fort Lauderdale, FL. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,453 in Barcelona versus $3,414 in Fort Lauderdale, FL, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Fort Lauderdale, FL. 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.

Expats usually find Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.