Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montana and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Montana: $829 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Montana
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Montana Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Montana

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$829

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $829 in Montana versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Montana $829
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,329 in Montana versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Montana $1,329
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,830 in Montana versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Montana $1,830
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Montana costs roughly 66% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Montana is 39% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.92 BGN 15.70

$17.59 €15.80

-49.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.11 BGN 61.8

$67.5 €60.6

-47.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.78 BGN 17.21

$13.53 €12.15

-27.72%

Cappuccino

$1.44 BGN 2.53

$3.19 €2.87

-54.86%

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

$1.39 BGN 2.45

$2.91 €2.62

-52.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.12 BGN 1.96

$1.89 €1.70

-40.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.33 BGN 2.35

$4.01 €3.60

-66.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 BGN 1.76

$4.53 €4.07

-77.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 BGN 2.95

$1.31 €1.17

28.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 BGN 1.86

$2.02 €1.81

-47.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.12 BGN 3.73

$1.85 €1.66

14.59%

Eggs

$2.71 BGN 4.76

$4.83 €4.34

-43.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.60 BGN 16.89

$16.74 €15.03

-42.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.24 BGN 5.70

$9.12 €8.19

-64.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.34 BGN 21.72

$19.64 €17.64

-37.17%

Apples (1kg)

$1.21 BGN 2.14

$2.98 €2.68

-59.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 BGN 3.24

$2.02 €1.81

-8.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 BGN 2.97

$2.70 €2.43

-37.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 BGN 4.47

$2.80 €2.52

-9.29%

Potato (1kg)

$0.71 BGN 1.25

$2.09 €1.87

-66.03%

Onion (1kg)

$0.88 BGN 1.55

$2.07 €1.86

-57.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 BGN 1.52

$1.46 €1.31

-41.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 BGN 0.92

$0.94 €0.84

-44.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 BGN 6.29

$6.87 €6.17

-48.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.04 BGN 10.63

$7.89 €7.08

-23.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 BGN 1.58

$1.41 €1.26

-36.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.15 BGN 2.03

$2.54 €2.28

-54.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.84 BGN 1.48

$3.14 €2.82

-73.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.73 BGN 45.28

$25.45 €22.86

1.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.61 BGN 1.08

$2.99 €2.69

-79.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.44 BGN 0.78

$1.49 €1.34

-70.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.40 BGN 18.30

$33.37 €29.98

-68.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 BGN 2.76

$1.80 €1.61

-12.78%

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

$19.4K BGN 34.1K

$33.2K €29.8K

-41.56%

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

$24.2K BGN 42.7K

$31.7K €28.5K

-23.54%

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

$100 BGN 176

$180 €162

-44.57%

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

$18.53 BGN 32.61

$13.84 €12.43

33.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.68 BGN 15.28

$33.70 €30.27

-74.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.54 BGN 55.5

$51.5 €46.27

-38.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.76 BGN 29.50

$15.96 €14.34

5.01%

Cinema Ticket

$5.49 BGN 9.66

$10.99 €9.88

-50.05%

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

$604 BGN 1,063

$917 €823

-34.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,536 BGN 9,743

$16.5K €14.8K

-66.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 BGN 118

$87.0 €78.2

-23.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 72.7

$38.51 €34.59

7.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.3 BGN 170

$106 €95.1

-8.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 BGN 180

$120 €108

-14.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$210 BGN 370

$1,699 €1,527

-87.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$155 BGN 272

$1,355 €1,217

-88.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$405 BGN 712

$2,603 €2,338

-84.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$294 BGN 518

$2,062 €1,853

-85.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,341 BGN 2,360

$6,915 €6,211

-80.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,115 BGN 1,962

$5,128 €4,606

-78.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$983 BGN 1,729

$2,211 €1,986

-55.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.1

3.28

-5.49%

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

Last update for Montana: October 24, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Montana

$198 23.9%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 62.8% $124

Accommodation & Living

Montana

$155 18.7%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 777% $1.2K

Clothing & Footwear

Montana

$138 16.7%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 14.3% $20

Eating Out

Montana

$137 16.5%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 96.1% $131

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montana

$127 15.4%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 79.2% $101

Sport & Entertainment

Montana

$43 5.1%

Barcelona

$74 3% 72.9% $31

Getting Around

Montana

$32 3.9%

Barcelona

$48 2% 51.8% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $210 in Montana and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.3 times 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: $35 in Montana vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $322 per month, with Montana cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Montana

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

02:14 2:14 AM

01:14 1:14 AM

1 h behind Montana

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

44,502

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.568 USD

1 BGN = 0.51 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.76 BGN (1 BGN = 0.568 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.51 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Montana Barcelona 1,740 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Montana
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

Montana vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $829 in Montana and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Montana is about 66% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 56% lower in Montana. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $210 in Montana versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $604 in Montana versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Montana – a meal for two runs $35 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $829 in Montana versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Montana but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Montana 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.

It comes down to priorities – Montana wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.