Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ilmenau and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Ilmenau: $2,071 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

100

Cost of Living Index in Ilmenau
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Ilmenau Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Ilmenau

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,071

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,071 in Ilmenau versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Ilmenau $2,071
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,525 in Ilmenau versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Ilmenau $2,525
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,980 in Ilmenau versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Ilmenau $2,980
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Ilmenau costs roughly 14% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ilmenau 53% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.96 €9.75

$17.94 €15.96

-38.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 €59.2

$68.1 €60.5

-2.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.02

$13.28 €11.81

-15.14%

Cappuccino

$3.41 €3.04

$3.25 €2.89

4.92%

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

$4.26 €3.79

$3.01 €2.67

41.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.97 €7.09

$1.87 €1.66

326.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.41 €3.92

$3.85 €3.42

14.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.99 €4.44

$4.48 €3.98

11.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 €1.01

$1.29 €1.15

-12.40%

White Bread (500g)

$2.14 €1.90

$2.04 €1.81

4.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.24 €2.88

$1.72 €1.53

88.37%

Eggs

$3.23 €2.87

$4.77 €4.24

-32.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.33 €12.75

$16.77 €14.92

-14.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.24 €9.11

$8.93 €7.94

14.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.79

$19.88 €17.68

-10.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$2.98 €2.65

-3.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 €1.24

$2.03 €1.80

-31.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 €3.11

$2.73 €2.43

28.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.82 €3.40

$2.68 €2.38

42.54%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 €1.88

$2.10 €1.87

0.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 €1.21

$2.08 €1.85

-34.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 €1.45

$1.45 €1.29

12.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.78

$0.89 €0.79

-1.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.22 €8.20

$6.94 €6.17

32.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 €5.53

$7.78 €6.92

-20.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 €0.99

$1.45 €1.29

-23.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 €1.32

$2.57 €2.29

-42.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.3 €58.1

$25.20 €22.41

159.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.23 €4.65

$3.12 €2.77

67.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.21 €3.75

$1.44 €1.28

192.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$43.78 €38.94

$33.50 €29.80

30.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.79 €1.59

19.55%

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

$32.3K €28.7K

$34.6K €30.8K

-6.85%

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

$37.8K €33.6K

$30.1K €26.7K

25.60%

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

$675 €600

$178 €158

279.44%

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

$27.38 €24.36

$13.32 €11.85

105.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.08 €30.32

$34.88 €31.03

-2.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.13 €42.81

$53.3 €47.37

-9.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

Cinema Ticket

$13.20 €11.74

$11.06 €9.84

19.35%

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

$454 €404

$957 €851

-52.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.0 €82.8

$88.2 €78.4

5.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.50 €28.02

$39.49 €35.12

-20.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 €107

$103 €91.5

17.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 €101

$121 €108

-6.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$471 €419

$1,653 €1,470

-71.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$455 €404

$1,302 €1,158

-65.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$828 €737

$2,557 €2,275

-67.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

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)

$3,254 €2,894

$2,281 €2,029

42.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.95

3.28

20.43%

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

Last update for Ilmenau: October 11, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ilmenau

$736 35.6%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 69.3% $510

Accommodation & Living

Ilmenau

$455 22%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 186% $847

Groceries & Markets

Ilmenau

$309 14.9%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 3.6% $11

Eating Out

Ilmenau

$243 11.8%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 10.9% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Ilmenau

$161 7.8%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 1.8% $2.9

Getting Around

Ilmenau

$92 * 4.4%

Barcelona

$47 2% 48.2% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Ilmenau

$75 3.6%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 1.1% $0.8

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 $471 in Ilmenau and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ilmenau pays 43% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67.0 in Ilmenau vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $309 vs $320 per month, with Ilmenau cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Ilmenau

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

18:46 6:46 PM

Same time as Ilmenau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

39,000

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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Highest

Between locations

Ilmenau Barcelona 1,230 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Ilmenau
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

Ilmenau vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ilmenau and Barcelona differ by about 16% in total monthly costs ($2,071 vs $2,399 including rent). Ilmenau is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 43% higher in Ilmenau, 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: $471 in Ilmenau versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $454 in Ilmenau versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 4% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,071 in Ilmenau versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Ilmenau but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Ilmenau 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, Ilmenau 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 Ilmenau gentler on the wallet – expenses run 16% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.