Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Olsztyn and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Olsztyn: $1,690 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

82

Cost of Living Index in Olsztyn
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Olsztyn Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Olsztyn

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,690

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,690 in Olsztyn versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Olsztyn $1,690
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,444 in Olsztyn versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Olsztyn $2,444
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,199 in Olsztyn versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Olsztyn $3,199
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Olsztyn costs roughly 31% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Olsztyn 24% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.81 zł 50.7

$17.59 €15.80

-27.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 zł 199

$67.5 €60.6

-25.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.13 zł 36.15

$13.53 €12.15

-32.52%

Cappuccino

$3.45 zł 13.64

$3.19 €2.87

8.15%

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

$2.41 zł 9.53

$2.91 €2.62

-17.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 zł 7.42

$1.89 €1.70

-0.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 zł 11.90

$4.01 €3.60

-24.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.90 zł 15.42

$4.53 €4.07

-13.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 zł 4.04

$1.31 €1.17

-22.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.31 zł 5.20

$2.02 €1.81

-35.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 zł 5.62

$1.85 €1.66

-23.24%

Eggs

$3.88 zł 15.37

$4.83 €4.34

-19.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.58 zł 37.90

$16.74 €15.03

-42.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.22 zł 28.55

$9.12 €8.19

-20.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 zł 58.2

$19.64 €17.64

-25.20%

Apples (1kg)

$1.18 zł 4.69

$2.98 €2.68

-60.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 zł 6.33

$2.02 €1.81

-20.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 zł 7.37

$2.70 €2.43

-31.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.50 zł 13.86

$2.80 €2.52

25.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.93 zł 3.70

$2.09 €1.87

-55.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 zł 4.63

$2.07 €1.86

-43.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 zł 5.31

$1.46 €1.31

-8.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 zł 2.85

$0.94 €0.84

-23.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.59 zł 22.13

$6.87 €6.17

-18.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.56 zł 29.91

$7.89 €7.08

-4.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 zł 4.44

$1.41 €1.26

-20.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 zł 5.90

$2.54 €2.28

-41.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.00 zł 3.95

$3.14 €2.82

-68.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.14 zł 99.5

$25.45 €22.86

-1.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.09 zł 8.25

$2.99 €2.69

-30.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.73 zł 2.87

$1.49 €1.34

-51.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.32 zł 40.84

$33.37 €29.98

-69.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 zł 6.23

$1.80 €1.61

-12.78%

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

$30.6K zł 121.0K

$33.2K €29.8K

-7.90%

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

$29.5K zł 116.7K

$31.7K €28.5K

-6.94%

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

$330 zł 1,307

$180 €162

83.11%

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

$9.68 zł 38.29

$13.84 €12.43

-30.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.33 zł 76.5

$33.70 €30.27

-42.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.06 zł 174

$51.5 €46.27

-14.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.35 zł 88.4

$15.96 €14.34

40.04%

Cinema Ticket

$8.95 zł 35.43

$10.99 €9.88

-18.56%

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

$383 zł 1,517

$917 €823

-58.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.9K zł 55.0K

$16.5K €14.8K

-15.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.4 zł 393

$87.0 €78.2

14.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.99 zł 194

$38.51 €34.59

27.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 zł 404

$106 €95.1

-3.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 zł 406

$120 €108

-14.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$806 zł 3,188

$1,699 €1,527

-52.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$627 zł 2,481

$1,355 €1,217

-53.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,290 zł 5,103

$2,603 €2,338

-50.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,024 zł 4,053

$2,062 €1,853

-50.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,592 zł 14.2K

$6,915 €6,211

-48.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,440 zł 9,657

$5,128 €4,606

-52.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,395 zł 5,522

$2,211 €1,986

-36.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.52

3.28

129.27%

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

Last update for Olsztyn: October 25, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Olsztyn

$627 37.1%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 116% $728

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Olsztyn

$359 21.3%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 36.6% $131

Groceries & Markets

Olsztyn

$237 14%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 35.9% $85

Eating Out

Olsztyn

$211 12.5%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 26.9% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Olsztyn

$159 9.4%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 0.5% $0.8

Sport & Entertainment

Olsztyn

$62 3.7%

Barcelona

$74 3% 18.6% $12

Getting Around

Olsztyn

$35 2.1%

Barcelona

$48 2% 39.1% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $806 in Olsztyn and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 58% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $50 in Olsztyn vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $322 per month, with Olsztyn cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇱 Olsztyn

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

15:05 3:05 PM

Same time as Olsztyn

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

174,675

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Polish Złoty PLN zł

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 PLN = 0.253 USD

1 PLN = 0.227 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to PLN – Polish Złoty Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇱 Polish Złoty (zł)

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.96 PLN (1 PLN = 0.253 USD). 1 EUR = 4.4 PLN (1 PLN = 0.227 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to PLN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Olsztyn Barcelona 1,930 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Olsztyn
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

Olsztyn vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Olsztyn and Barcelona differ by about 45% in total monthly costs ($1,690 vs $2,453 including rent). Olsztyn is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 37% lower in Olsztyn. 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: $806 in Olsztyn versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $383 in Olsztyn 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 Olsztyn – a meal for two runs $50 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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, Olsztyn 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.

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