Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monaco and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,381 a month against $10.4K in Monaco, rent and utilities included – about $96,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

504

Cost of Living Index in Monaco
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Monaco Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Monaco

🇲🇨 Monaco

$10.4K

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $10.4K in Monaco versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Monaco $10.4K
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $11.9K in Monaco versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Monaco $11.9K
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $13.4K in Monaco versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Monaco $13.4K
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Monaco is roughly 338% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Monaco 669% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.81 €17.62

$17.89 €15.92

10.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$166 €148

$66.2 €58.9

150.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.38 €11.01

$13.69 €12.18

-9.57%

Cappuccino

$3.61 €3.21

$3.06 €2.72

17.97%

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

$6.11 €5.43

$3.07 €2.73

99.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 €4.07

$1.94 €1.73

135.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.98 €8.87

$3.87 €3.44

157.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.70 €7.74

$4.61 €4.10

88.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.30 €1.16

40.00%

White Bread (500g)

$3.24 €2.88

$2.10 €1.87

54.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.08 €3.63

$1.83 €1.62

122.95%

Eggs

$4.97 €4.42

$4.62 €4.11

7.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.90 €12.36

$17.36 €15.44

-19.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.91 €15.04

$9.28 €8.25

82.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.47 €16.43

$19.83 €17.64

-6.86%

Apples (1kg)

$3.25 €2.89

$3.01 €2.68

7.97%

Banana (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$2.03 €1.81

34.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$2.65 €2.36

1.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.57 €3.17

$2.87 €2.55

24.39%

Potato (1kg)

$2.37 €2.10

$2.16 €1.92

9.72%

Onion (1kg)

$2.85 €2.54

$2.15 €1.91

32.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.47 €1.31

28.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$7.79 €6.93

$0.88 €0.79

785.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.26 €12.69

$6.93 €6.16

105.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.61 €5.88

$7.83 €6.96

-15.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 €1.39

$1.39 €1.24

12.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.40 €3.92

$2.63 €2.34

67.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.91 €2.59

-21.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.50 €20.90

$25.46 €22.64

-7.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.61 €1.43

$1.44 €1.28

11.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$90.6 €80.6

$33.20 €29.53

172.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.23 €1.98

$1.86 €1.65

19.89%

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

$48.8K €43.4K

$32.3K €28.8K

50.81%

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

$38.4K €34.2K

$31.7K €28.2K

21.16%

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

$424 €377

$183 €163

131.73%

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

$42.44 €37.75

$13.61 €12.11

211.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$62.7 €55.7

$32.93 €29.29

90.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$229 €204

$54.7 €48.65

318.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$52.6 €46.74

$16.52 €14.70

218.10%

Cinema Ticket

$13.53 €12.03

$11.23 €9.99

20.48%

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

$2,155 €1,917

$954 €849

125.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$44.4K €39.5K

$16.6K €14.8K

167.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$152 €136

$86.0 €76.5

77.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$82.0 €72.9

$39.11 €34.78

109.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$170 €151

$104 €92.2

64.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$722 €642

$119 €106

508.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$9,333 €8,302

$1,695 €1,508

450.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$8,266 €7,353

$1,276 €1,135

547.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$2,576 €2,291

541.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$8,429 €7,498

$1,922 €1,710

338.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$72.1K €64.2K

$7,281 €6,477

890.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$55.0K €48.9K

$5,010 €4,456

997.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$8,751 €7,784

$2,227 €1,981

293.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.25

3.28

-0.91%

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

Last update for Monaco: 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

Monaco

$8.3K 79.3%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 84.6% $7K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monaco

$529 5.1%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 56.6% $299

Clothing & Footwear

Monaco

$507 4.9%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 69.2% $350

Groceries & Markets

Monaco

$473 4.5%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 31.3% $148

Eating Out

Monaco

$349 3.4%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 22.8% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Monaco

$256 2.5%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 69.9% $179

Getting Around

Monaco

$41 * 0.4%

Barcelona

$47 2% 16.4% $6.7

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 $9,333 in Monaco and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monaco pays 293% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $166 in Monaco vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $473 vs $325 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇨 Monaco

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

12:49 12:49 PM

Same time as Monaco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

39,050 Capital

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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Between locations

Monaco Barcelona 500 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Monaco
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

Monaco vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monaco and Barcelona differ by about 338% in total monthly costs ($10.4K vs $2,381 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 293% higher in Monaco, 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: $9,333 in Monaco versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,155 in Monaco versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 46% higher in Monaco. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Barcelona is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Monaco 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 Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 338% less than in Monaco. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.