Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nantes and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Nantes: $1,844 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nantes
Learn more

Nantes Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Nantes

🇫🇷 France

$1,844

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,844 in Nantes versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Nantes $1,844
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,846 in Nantes versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Nantes $2,846
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,848 in Nantes versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Nantes $3,848
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Nantes costs roughly 23% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Nantes 36% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.51 €14.68

$17.89 €15.92

-7.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.2 €50.0

$66.2 €58.9

-15.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.10

$13.69 €12.18

-17.02%

Cappuccino

$3.67 €3.26

$3.06 €2.72

19.93%

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

$3.15 €2.80

$3.07 €2.73

2.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 €1.45

$1.94 €1.73

-15.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.05 €7.16

$3.87 €3.44

108.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.67 €4.15

$4.61 €4.10

1.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 €1.05

$1.30 €1.16

-9.23%

White Bread (500g)

$4.12 €3.66

$2.10 €1.87

96.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.20 €2.85

$1.83 €1.62

74.86%

Eggs

$3.60 €3.20

$4.62 €4.11

-22.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$25.86 €23.01

$17.36 €15.44

48.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.40 €11.03

$9.28 €8.25

33.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.81 €14.06

$19.83 €17.64

-20.27%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 €2.79

$3.01 €2.68

4.32%

Banana (1kg)

$2.59 €2.30

$2.03 €1.81

27.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.90 €2.58

$2.65 €2.36

9.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.96 €2.64

$2.87 €2.55

3.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.16 €1.92

-13.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 €1.73

$2.15 €1.91

-9.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.47 €1.31

-7.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 €0.59

$0.88 €0.79

-25.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.59 €12.98

$6.93 €6.16

110.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.55 €5.83

$7.83 €6.96

-16.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.52 €3.13

$1.39 €1.24

153.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 €2.55

$2.63 €2.34

8.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.03 €1.81

$2.91 €2.59

-30.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.9 €55.0

$25.46 €22.64

142.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.64 €5.02

$3.00 €2.66

88.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.74 €2.44

$1.44 €1.28

90.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$36.40 €32.38

$33.20 €29.53

9.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.86 €1.65

13.44%

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

$34.2K €30.4K

$32.3K €28.8K

5.74%

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

$38.3K €34.1K

$31.7K €28.2K

20.95%

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

$165 €147

$183 €163

-9.73%

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

$14.33 €12.75

$13.61 €12.11

5.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.52 €28.93

$32.93 €29.29

-1.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.54 €25.39

$54.7 €48.65

-47.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.54 €4.04

$16.52 €14.70

-72.52%

Cinema Ticket

$13.32 €11.84

$11.23 €9.99

18.61%

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

$1,084 €964

$954 €849

13.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.4K €17.2K

$16.6K €14.8K

16.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.3 €83.0

$86.0 €76.5

8.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.47 €31.55

$39.11 €34.78

-9.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.2 €82.0

$104 €92.2

-11.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 €118

$119 €106

12.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$826 €735

$1,695 €1,508

-51.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 €591

$1,276 €1,135

-47.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,671 €1,486

$2,576 €2,291

-35.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,244 €1,106

$1,922 €1,710

-35.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,137 €4,570

$7,281 €6,477

-29.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,640 €3,238

$5,010 €4,456

-27.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,841 €2,527

$2,227 €1,981

27.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.89

3.28

18.60%

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

Last update for Nantes: October 18, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nantes

$665 36.1%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 91.9% $611

Groceries & Markets

Nantes

$384 20.8%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 15.4% $59

Eating Out

Nantes

$279 15.1%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 3.3% $9.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nantes

$212 11.5%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 8.3% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Nantes

$159 8.6%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 1.9% $3

Getting Around

Nantes

$89 4.9%

Barcelona

$47 2% 47.1% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Nantes

$55 3%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 39.9% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $826 in Nantes and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nantes 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: $56.0 in Nantes vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $384 vs $325, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Nantes

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

14:32 2:32 PM

Same time as Nantes

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

323,204

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

Nantes Barcelona 710 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Nantes
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

Nantes vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nantes and Barcelona differ by about 29% in total monthly costs ($1,844 vs $2,381 including rent). Nantes is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 28% higher in Nantes, 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: $826 in Nantes versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,084 in Nantes 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 18% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,844 in Nantes versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Nantes but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Nantes 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, Nantes 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 Nantes gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.