Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ostersund and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Ostersund: $1,729 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

84

Cost of Living Index in Ostersund
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Ostersund Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Ostersund

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,729

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,729 in Ostersund versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Ostersund $1,729
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,687 in Ostersund versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Ostersund $2,687
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,644 in Ostersund versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Ostersund $3,644
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Ostersund costs roughly 28% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ostersund 28% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.35 SEK 132

$17.94 €15.96

-25.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.1 SEK 744

$68.1 €60.5

10.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.07 SEK 99.8

$13.28 €11.81

-24.17%

Cappuccino

$4.53 SEK 44.86

$3.25 €2.89

39.38%

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

$2.56 SEK 25.38

$3.01 €2.67

-14.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 SEK 21.42

$1.87 €1.66

15.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.03 SEK 69.7

$3.85 €3.42

82.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.97 SEK 69.0

$4.48 €3.98

55.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 SEK 14.16

$1.29 €1.15

10.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 SEK 29.16

$2.04 €1.81

44.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.58 SEK 45.43

$1.72 €1.53

166.28%

Eggs

$3.22 SEK 31.91

$4.77 €4.24

-32.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.29 SEK 132

$16.77 €14.92

-20.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.28 SEK 112

$8.93 €7.94

26.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.94 SEK 148

$19.88 €17.68

-24.85%

Apples (1kg)

$4.11 SEK 40.73

$2.98 €2.65

37.92%

Banana (1kg)

$2.77 SEK 27.49

$2.03 €1.80

36.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.53 SEK 34.95

$2.73 €2.43

29.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.87 SEK 38.37

$2.68 €2.38

44.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.61 SEK 15.96

$2.10 €1.87

-23.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.55 SEK 15.38

$2.08 €1.85

-25.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.20 SEK 21.82

$1.45 €1.29

51.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 SEK 13.87

$0.89 €0.79

57.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.85 SEK 77.8

$6.94 €6.17

13.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.11 SEK 100

$7.78 €6.92

29.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 SEK 19.38

$1.45 €1.29

35.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 SEK 21.91

$2.57 €2.29

-14.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.33 SEK 32.96

$2.99 €2.66

11.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 SEK 758

$25.20 €22.41

203.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.85 SEK 57.9

$3.12 €2.77

87.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.70 SEK 16.80

$1.44 €1.28

18.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$58.8 SEK 583

$33.50 €29.80

75.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 SEK 17.94

$1.79 €1.59

1.12%

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

$33.3K SEK 329.5K

$34.6K €30.8K

-3.96%

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

$32.1K SEK 317.8K

$30.1K €26.7K

6.68%

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

$104 SEK 1,031

$178 €158

-41.49%

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

$23.74 SEK 235

$13.32 €11.85

78.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.74 SEK 384

$34.88 €31.03

11.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.10 SEK 368

$53.3 €47.37

-30.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.47 SEK 262

$16.01 €14.24

65.33%

Cinema Ticket

$14.80 SEK 147

$11.06 €9.84

33.82%

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

$124 SEK 1,231

$957 €851

-87.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,033 SEK 49.9K

$16.6K €14.7K

-69.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.7 SEK 909

$88.2 €78.4

4.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.11 SEK 397

$39.49 €35.12

1.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.3 SEK 905

$103 €91.5

-11.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$138 SEK 1,366

$121 €108

13.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$803 SEK 7,957

$1,653 €1,470

-51.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 SEK 6,094

$1,302 €1,158

-52.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,324 SEK 13.1K

$2,557 €2,275

-48.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,013 SEK 10.0K

$1,915 €1,703

-47.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,940 SEK 39.0K

$7,286 €6,481

-45.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,776 SEK 27.5K

$5,080 €4,519

-45.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.45

3.28

5.18%

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

Last update for Ostersund: October 12, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ostersund

$615 35.6%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 112% $687

Groceries & Markets

Ostersund

$355 20.5%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 9.7% $35

Eating Out

Ostersund

$259 15%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 4.1% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ostersund

$167 9.6%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 35.7% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Ostersund

$162 9.4%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 2.5% $4.1

Getting Around

Ostersund

$104 6%

Barcelona

$47 2% 54.4% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Ostersund

$67 3.9%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 13% $8.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $803 in Ostersund and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $75.0 in Ostersund vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $355 vs $320 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Ostersund

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

00:47 12:47 AM

Same time as Ostersund

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

44,000

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ostersund Barcelona 2,560 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Ostersund
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

Ostersund vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ostersund and Barcelona differ by about 39% in total monthly costs ($1,729 vs $2,399 including rent). Ostersund is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,593 in Ostersund and $3,599 in Barcelona to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $803 in Ostersund versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $124 in Ostersund versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 11% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,729 in Ostersund versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Ostersund but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Ostersund 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, Ostersund 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 Ostersund gentler on the wallet – expenses run 39% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.