Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lund and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Lund: $1,754 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

85

Cost of Living Index in Lund
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Lund Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Lund

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,754

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,754 in Lund versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Lund $1,754
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,901 in Lund versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Lund $2,901
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,049 in Lund versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Lund $4,049
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Lund costs roughly 27% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lund 30% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.84 SEK 127

$17.94 €15.96

-28.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.1 SEK 883

$68.1 €60.5

30.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.91 SEK 118

$13.28 €11.81

-10.32%

Cappuccino

$4.78 SEK 47.40

$3.25 €2.89

47.08%

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

$2.80 SEK 27.72

$3.01 €2.67

-6.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 SEK 20.18

$1.87 €1.66

9.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.74 SEK 76.7

$3.85 €3.42

101.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.82 SEK 67.5

$4.48 €3.98

52.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 SEK 16.76

$1.29 €1.15

31.01%

White Bread (500g)

$2.55 SEK 25.28

$2.04 €1.81

25.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.40 SEK 33.66

$1.72 €1.53

97.67%

Eggs

$4.54 SEK 45.03

$4.77 €4.24

-4.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.29 SEK 122

$16.77 €14.92

-26.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.47 SEK 114

$8.93 €7.94

28.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.45 SEK 153

$19.88 €17.68

-22.28%

Apples (1kg)

$3.09 SEK 30.62

$2.98 €2.65

3.69%

Banana (1kg)

$2.58 SEK 25.60

$2.03 €1.80

27.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.80 SEK 27.71

$2.73 €2.43

2.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.64 SEK 45.94

$2.68 €2.38

73.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 SEK 16.82

$2.10 €1.87

-19.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 SEK 14.08

$2.08 €1.85

-31.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.58 SEK 25.55

$1.45 €1.29

77.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 SEK 15.18

$0.89 €0.79

71.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.85 SEK 77.8

$6.94 €6.17

13.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.04 SEK 109

$7.78 €6.92

41.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 SEK 18.26

$1.45 €1.29

26.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 SEK 26.47

$2.57 €2.29

3.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.17 SEK 31.46

$2.99 €2.66

6.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$63.7 SEK 631

$25.20 €22.41

152.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.06 SEK 50.1

$3.12 €2.77

62.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 SEK 10.52

$1.44 €1.28

-26.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.70 SEK 403

$33.50 €29.80

21.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.73 SEK 17.11

$1.79 €1.59

-3.35%

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

$32.5K SEK 322.1K

$34.6K €30.8K

-6.14%

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

$32.9K SEK 326.2K

$30.1K €26.7K

9.48%

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

$78.3 SEK 776

$178 €158

-55.99%

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

$28.05 SEK 278

$13.32 €11.85

110.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.44 SEK 411

$34.88 €31.03

18.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.30 SEK 370

$53.3 €47.37

-29.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.43 SEK 272

$16.01 €14.24

71.33%

Cinema Ticket

$14.73 SEK 146

$11.06 €9.84

33.18%

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

$157 SEK 1,553

$957 €851

-83.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.6 SEK 789

$88.2 €78.4

-9.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 SEK 563

$39.49 €35.12

43.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 SEK 996

$103 €91.5

-2.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 SEK 1,192

$121 €108

-0.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$827 SEK 8,194

$1,653 €1,470

-49.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 SEK 6,647

$1,302 €1,158

-48.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,746 SEK 17.3K

$2,557 €2,275

-31.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 SEK 13.7K

$1,915 €1,703

-27.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,176 SEK 61.2K

$7,286 €6,481

-15.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,468 SEK 34.4K

$5,080 €4,519

-31.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,918 SEK 28.9K

$2,281 €2,029

27.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.03

3.28

-7.62%

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

Last update for Lund: October 10, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lund

$671 38.2%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 94.1% $631

Groceries & Markets

Lund

$353 20.2%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 9.4% $33

Eating Out

Lund

$268 15.3%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 0.9% $2.5

Clothing & Footwear

Lund

$161 9.2%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 1.5% $2.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lund

$148 8.4%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 53% $78

Getting Around

Lund

$87 5%

Barcelona

$47 2% 45.3% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Lund

$67 3.8%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 12.9% $8.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $827 in Lund and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lund pays 28% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $89.0 in Lund vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $353 vs $320 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Lund

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

01:08 1:08 AM

Same time as Lund

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

82,800

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 19, 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Lund Barcelona 1,780 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lund
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

Lund vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lund and Barcelona differ by about 37% in total monthly costs ($1,754 vs $2,399 including rent). Lund is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 28% higher in Lund, 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: $827 in Lund versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $157 in Lund 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 10% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,754 in Lund versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lund but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Lund 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, Lund 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 Lund gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.