Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lulea and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Lulea: $1,820 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

88

Cost of Living Index in Lulea
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Lulea Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Lulea

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,820

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,820 in Lulea versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Lulea $1,820
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,946 in Lulea versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Lulea $2,946
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,073 in Lulea versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Lulea $4,073
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Lulea costs roughly 24% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lulea 35% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.71 SEK 116

$17.94 €15.96

-34.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$96.1 SEK 952

$68.1 €60.5

41.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.04 SEK 109

$13.28 €11.81

-16.87%

Cappuccino

$4.38 SEK 43.41

$3.25 €2.89

34.77%

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

$2.45 SEK 24.24

$3.01 €2.67

-18.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 SEK 19.20

$1.87 €1.66

3.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.56 SEK 84.8

$3.85 €3.42

122.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.41 SEK 93.2

$4.48 €3.98

110.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 SEK 17.99

$1.29 €1.15

41.09%

White Bread (500g)

$3.42 SEK 33.84

$2.04 €1.81

67.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.75 SEK 47.11

$1.72 €1.53

176.16%

Eggs

$4.67 SEK 46.31

$4.77 €4.24

-2.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.48 SEK 124

$16.77 €14.92

-25.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.11 SEK 130

$8.93 €7.94

46.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$26.07 SEK 258

$19.88 €17.68

31.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.44 SEK 24.16

$2.98 €2.65

-18.12%

Banana (1kg)

$2.66 SEK 26.36

$2.03 €1.80

31.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 SEK 23.36

$2.73 €2.43

-13.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.16 SEK 41.21

$2.68 €2.38

55.22%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 SEK 20.69

$2.10 €1.87

-0.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 SEK 14.82

$2.08 €1.85

-27.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.30 SEK 32.69

$1.45 €1.29

127.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 SEK 12.59

$0.89 €0.79

42.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.06 SEK 70.0

$6.94 €6.17

1.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.04 SEK 119

$7.78 €6.92

54.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 SEK 17.63

$1.45 €1.29

22.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 SEK 17.53

$2.57 €2.29

-31.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.23 SEK 31.99

$2.99 €2.66

8.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.5 SEK 560

$25.20 €22.41

124.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.73 SEK 86.5

$3.12 €2.77

179.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 SEK 20.33

$1.44 €1.28

42.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$70.8 SEK 702

$33.50 €29.80

111.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 SEK 17.24

$1.79 €1.59

-2.79%

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

$31.9K SEK 316.5K

$34.6K €30.8K

-7.76%

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

$33.3K SEK 329.9K

$30.1K €26.7K

10.73%

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

$161 SEK 1,595

$178 €158

-9.49%

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

$31.36 SEK 311

$13.32 €11.85

135.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.51 SEK 263

$34.88 €31.03

-24.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.47 SEK 450

$53.3 €47.37

-14.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.02 SEK 347

$16.01 €14.24

118.74%

Cinema Ticket

$12.85 SEK 127

$11.06 €9.84

16.18%

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

$150 SEK 1,490

$957 €851

-84.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,570 SEK 55.2K

$16.6K €14.7K

-66.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 SEK 1,189

$88.2 €78.4

36.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.64 SEK 323

$39.49 €35.12

-17.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 SEK 1,188

$103 €91.5

16.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$161 SEK 1,593

$121 €108

32.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$783 SEK 7,763

$1,653 €1,470

-52.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$584 SEK 5,786

$1,302 €1,158

-55.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,449 SEK 14.4K

$2,557 €2,275

-43.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,104 SEK 10.9K

$1,915 €1,703

-42.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,072 SEK 30.4K

$7,286 €6,481

-57.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,194 SEK 21.7K

$5,080 €4,519

-56.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,498 SEK 24.8K

$2,281 €2,029

9.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.28

17.38%

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

Last update for Lulea: October 11, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lulea

$584 32.1%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 123% $718

Groceries & Markets

Lulea

$404 22.2%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 20.7% $84

Eating Out

Lulea

$259 14.2%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 4.5% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lulea

$219 12%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 3.3% $7.2

Clothing & Footwear

Lulea

$195 10.7%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 18.8% $37

Getting Around

Lulea

$88 4.9%

Barcelona

$47 2% 46.3% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Lulea

$71 3.9%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 5.9% $4.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $783 in Lulea and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lulea pays 10% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $96.0 in Lulea vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $404 vs $320 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Lulea

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

16:23 4:23 PM

Same time as Lulea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

73,864

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lulea Barcelona 2,970 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lulea
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

Lulea vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lulea and Barcelona differ by about 32% in total monthly costs ($1,820 vs $2,399 including rent). Lulea is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 10% higher in Lulea, 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: $783 in Lulea versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $150 in Lulea versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 26% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,820 in Lulea versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lulea but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Lulea 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, Lulea 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 Lulea gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.