Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melun and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Melun: $1,687 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

82

Cost of Living Index in Melun
Learn more

Melun Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Melun

🇫🇷 France

$1,687

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,687 in Melun versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Melun $1,687
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,511 in Melun versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Melun $2,511
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,335 in Melun versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Melun $3,335
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Melun costs roughly 29% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Melun 24% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.73 €11.32

$17.89 €15.92

-28.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.1 €47.20

$66.2 €58.9

-19.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.41 €11.93

$13.69 €12.18

-2.05%

Cappuccino

$2.99 €2.66

$3.06 €2.72

-2.29%

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

$1.68 €1.50

$3.07 €2.73

-45.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.94 €1.73

-10.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.44 €6.62

$3.87 €3.44

92.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.63 €5.00

$4.61 €4.10

22.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 €1.17

$1.30 €1.16

1.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$2.10 €1.87

-10.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.86 €2.54

$1.83 €1.62

56.28%

Eggs

$4.17 €3.70

$4.62 €4.11

-9.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.19 €18.85

$17.36 €15.44

22.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.88 €11.46

$9.28 €8.25

38.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.95 €20.41

$19.83 €17.64

15.73%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 €2.94

$3.01 €2.68

9.97%

Banana (1kg)

$2.12 €1.88

$2.03 €1.81

4.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.35 €2.09

$2.65 €2.36

-11.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.08 €2.74

$2.87 €2.55

7.32%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$2.16 €1.92

-15.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 €1.77

$2.15 €1.91

-7.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.77 €1.58

$1.47 €1.31

20.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 €0.56

$0.88 €0.79

-28.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.92 €12.38

$6.93 €6.16

100.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.20 €7.29

$7.83 €6.96

4.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.46 €2.19

$1.39 €1.24

76.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.27 €3.80

$2.63 €2.34

62.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.95 €1.73

$2.91 €2.59

-32.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.25 €42.03

$25.46 €22.64

85.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.21 €1.97

$3.00 €2.66

-26.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.44 €1.28

50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.81 €21.18

$33.20 €29.53

-28.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.23 €1.98

$1.86 €1.65

19.89%

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

$34.1K €30.3K

$32.3K €28.8K

5.38%

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

$34.3K €30.5K

$31.7K €28.2K

8.09%

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

$197 €176

$183 €163

7.96%

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

$15.10 €13.43

$13.61 €12.11

10.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.14 €25.03

$32.93 €29.29

-14.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.17 €31.29

$54.7 €48.65

-35.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$9.97 €8.87

$11.23 €9.99

-11.22%

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

$623 €554

$954 €849

-34.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,092 €7,197

$16.6K €14.8K

-51.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.6 €77.0

$86.0 €76.5

0.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.76 €36.25

$39.11 €34.78

4.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.1

$104 €92.2

-0.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 €90.4

$119 €106

-14.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$742 €660

$1,695 €1,508

-56.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$561 €499

$1,276 €1,135

-56.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,193 €1,061

$2,576 €2,291

-53.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$883 €785

$1,922 €1,710

-54.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,959 €3,522

$7,281 €6,477

-45.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,978 €2,649

$5,010 €4,456

-40.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,499 €2,223

$2,227 €1,981

12.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.92

3.28

19.51%

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

Last update for Melun: October 19, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melun

$561 33.2%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 128% $715

Groceries & Markets

Melun

$372 22.1%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 12.7% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melun

$241 14.3%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 4.7% $11

Eating Out

Melun

$240 14.2%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 12.2% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Melun

$150 8.9%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 4.5% $6.7

Getting Around

Melun

$68 4%

Barcelona

$47 2% 30.5% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Melun

$55 3.3%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 40% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $742 in Melun and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melun pays 12% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $53.0 in Melun vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $372 vs $325, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Melun

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

06:48 6:48 AM

Same time as Melun

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

42,367

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Melun Barcelona 800 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Melun
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

Melun vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melun and Barcelona differ by about 41% in total monthly costs ($1,687 vs $2,381 including rent). Melun is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 12% higher in Melun, 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: $742 in Melun versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $623 in Melun versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 15% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,687 in Melun versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Melun but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Melun 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, Melun 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 Melun gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.