Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hastings, New Zealand and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Hastings: $1,776 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Hastings
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Hastings Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Hastings

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,776

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,776 in Hastings versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Hastings $1,776
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Hastings versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Hastings $2,606
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,436 in Hastings versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Hastings $3,436
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Hastings costs roughly 28% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Hastings 31% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.55 NZ$20.58

$17.59 €15.80

-34.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.3 NZ$100

$67.5 €60.6

-16.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.33 NZ$16.63

$13.53 €12.15

-31.04%

Cappuccino

$3.29 NZ$5.86

$3.19 €2.87

3.13%

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

$1.82 NZ$3.24

$2.91 €2.62

-37.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 NZ$2.49

$1.89 €1.70

-25.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.43 NZ$7.89

$4.01 €3.60

10.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.64 NZ$10.06

$4.53 €4.07

24.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 NZ$2.64

$1.31 €1.17

12.98%

White Bread (500g)

$1.24 NZ$2.21

$2.02 €1.81

-38.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 NZ$3.16

$1.85 €1.66

-4.32%

Eggs

$5.38 NZ$9.59

$4.83 €4.34

11.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.72 NZ$10.20

$16.74 €15.03

-65.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.48 NZ$13.33

$9.12 €8.19

-17.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.72 NZ$20.89

$19.64 €17.64

-40.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 NZ$4.64

$2.98 €2.68

-12.75%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 NZ$3.59

$2.02 €1.81

-0.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.11 NZ$5.55

$2.70 €2.43

15.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.34 NZ$5.96

$2.80 €2.52

19.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.79 NZ$3.19

$2.09 €1.87

-14.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 NZ$1.83

$2.07 €1.86

-50.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.42 NZ$2.53

$1.46 €1.31

-2.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 NZ$1.73

$0.94 €0.84

3.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.86 NZ$31.82

$6.87 €6.17

159.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.50 NZ$16.92

$7.89 €7.08

20.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.86 NZ$6.88

$1.41 €1.26

173.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 NZ$5.38

$2.54 €2.28

18.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.82 NZ$5.03

$3.14 €2.82

-10.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$104 NZ$185

$25.45 €22.86

308.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.75 NZ$6.69

$2.99 €2.69

25.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.81 NZ$5.01

$1.49 €1.34

88.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.06 NZ$58.9

$33.37 €29.98

-0.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 NZ$2.78

$1.80 €1.61

-13.33%

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

$28.0K NZ$49.9K

$33.2K €29.8K

-15.60%

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

$22.8K NZ$40.6K

$31.7K €28.5K

-28.10%

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

$193 NZ$343

$180 €162

6.77%

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

$36.75 NZ$65.5

$13.84 €12.43

165.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.5 NZ$104

$33.70 €30.27

73.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.61 NZ$49.20

$51.5 €46.27

-46.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

Cinema Ticket

$10.35 NZ$18.45

$10.99 €9.88

-5.82%

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

$684 NZ$1,219

$917 €823

-25.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.0K NZ$41.0K

$16.5K €14.8K

39.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.65 NZ$84.9

$87.0 €78.2

-45.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.98 NZ$67.7

$38.51 €34.59

-1.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.1 NZ$168

$106 €95.1

-11.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.0 NZ$160

$120 €108

-24.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$826 NZ$1,472

$1,699 €1,527

-51.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$711 NZ$1,267

$1,355 €1,217

-47.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,567 NZ$2,792

$2,603 €2,338

-39.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,165 NZ$2,076

$2,062 €1,853

-43.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,213 NZ$7,508

$6,915 €6,211

-39.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,293 NZ$5,869

$5,128 €4,606

-35.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,586 NZ$2,827

$2,211 €1,986

-28.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.83

3.28

108.23%

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

Last update for Hastings: October 24, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hastings

$711 40%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 90.7% $644

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hastings

$288 16.2%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 20.8% $60

Groceries & Markets

Hastings

$269 15.1%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 19.7% $53

Eating Out

Hastings

$206 11.6%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 30% $62

Getting Around

Hastings

$133 7.5%

Barcelona

$48 2% 63.5% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Hastings

$121 6.8%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 30.2% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Hastings

$48 2.7%

Barcelona

$74 3% 52.1% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $826 in Hastings and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 39% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $56 in Hastings vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $322 per month, with Hastings cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Hastings

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

03:10 3:10 AM

15:10 3:10 PM

12 h behind Hastings

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

50,100

1,660,122

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.561 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

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

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Hastings Barcelona 19,520 km ≈ 25 h nonstop flight

From you

Hastings
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

Hastings vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hastings and Barcelona differ by about 38% in total monthly costs ($1,776 vs $2,453 including rent). Hastings is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 28% lower in Hastings. 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: $826 in Hastings versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $684 in Hastings 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 20% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,776 in Hastings versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Hastings but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Hastings 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, Hastings 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 – Hastings wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.