Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Paks and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Paks: $1,143 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Paks
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Paks Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Paks

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,143

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,143 in Paks versus $2,443 in Barcelona.

Paks $1,143
Barcelona $2,443

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,717 in Paks versus $3,519 in Barcelona.

Paks $1,717
Barcelona $3,519

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,291 in Paks versus $4,595 in Barcelona.

Paks $2,291
Barcelona $4,595

Living in Paks costs roughly 53% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Paks is 15% below, Barcelona is 81% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.59 Ft 2,790

$17.66 €15.75

-51.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.02 Ft 9,757

$67.5 €60.2

-55.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.22 Ft 2,346

$13.61 €12.14

-46.95%

Cappuccino

$0.86 Ft 281

$3.10 €2.77

-72.26%

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

$1.14 Ft 371

$3.00 €2.68

-62.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 Ft 269

$1.93 €1.72

-56.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.18 Ft 385

$3.84 €3.43

-69.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 Ft 624

$4.36 €3.89

-55.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 375

$1.25 €1.11

-8.00%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 Ft 194

$2.12 €1.90

-71.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.41 Ft 785

$1.97 €1.76

22.34%

Eggs

$3.32 Ft 1,078

$4.76 €4.25

-30.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.84 Ft 3,523

$17.07 €15.22

-36.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.03 Ft 1,960

$8.96 €7.99

-32.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.72 Ft 4,457

$20.65 €18.42

-33.56%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 Ft 596

$3.16 €2.82

-42.09%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 654

$1.97 €1.75

2.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.09 Ft 679

$2.65 €2.37

-21.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 Ft 1,298

$2.88 €2.57

38.54%

Potato (1kg)

$0.58 Ft 187

$2.06 €1.84

-71.84%

Onion (1kg)

$0.53 Ft 172

$2.18 €1.95

-75.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 507

$1.53 €1.37

1.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.47 Ft 154

$0.97 €0.87

-51.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.69 Ft 2,500

$6.97 €6.21

10.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.23 Ft 2,024

$7.89 €7.04

-21.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$1.42 €1.26

-10.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 Ft 527

$2.69 €2.40

-39.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.23 Ft 400

$3.31 €2.95

-62.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.53 Ft 8,622

$25.61 €22.84

3.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 Ft 1,002

$3.08 €2.75

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.51 Ft 489

$1.48 €1.32

2.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.94 Ft 5,829

$32.87 €29.32

-45.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.88 Ft 611

$1.87 €1.66

0.53%

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

$32.1K Ft 10.4M

$33.0K €29.4K

-2.57%

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

$36.2K Ft 11.8M

$31.9K €28.5K

13.30%

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

$135 Ft 43.7K

$183 €163

-26.42%

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

$10.17 Ft 3,305

$14.24 €12.70

-28.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.02 Ft 3,907

$34.56 €30.83

-65.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.7 Ft 16.5K

$51.4 €45.87

-1.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.16 Ft 5,901

$16.38 €14.62

10.87%

Cinema Ticket

$7.45 Ft 2,422

$11.06 €9.87

-32.64%

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

$250 Ft 81.3K

$944 €842

-73.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,542 Ft 2.5M

$22.3K €19.9K

-66.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 Ft 29.2K

$87.7 €78.2

2.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$13.75 Ft 4,467

$38.77 €34.59

-64.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.8 Ft 31.5K

$105 €93.3

-7.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 Ft 35.0K

$118 €105

-8.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$534 Ft 173.4K

$1,697 €1,514

-68.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$391 Ft 126.9K

$1,337 €1,192

-70.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$746 Ft 242.4K

$2,692 €2,401

-72.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$646 Ft 209.8K

$2,077 €1,853

-68.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,203 Ft 1.0M

$7,155 €6,382

-55.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,439 Ft 792.7K

$5,079 €4,530

-51.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,287 Ft 418.1K

$2,241 €1,999

-42.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.25

3.19

158.62%

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

Last update for Paks: November 1, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Paks

$391 34.2%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7% 242% $946

Groceries & Markets

Paks

$231 20.2%

Barcelona

$328 13.4% 42.1% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Paks

$157 13.7%

Barcelona

$232 9.5% 47.8% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Paks

$139 12.1%

Barcelona

$157 6.4% 13.1% $18

Eating Out

Paks

$118 10.4%

Barcelona

$267 10.9% 126% $149

Sport & Entertainment

Paks

$66 5.7%

Barcelona

$74 3% 12.1% $7.9

Getting Around

Paks

$42 3.7%

Barcelona

$49 2% 17.3% $7.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $534 in Paks and $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 74% 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: $30 in Paks vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $231 vs $328 per month, with Paks cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Paks

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

07:29 7:29 AM

Same time as Paks

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,917

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.08 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 325 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Paks Barcelona 1,450 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Paks
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

Paks vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,143 in Paks and $2,443 in Barcelona, so Paks is about 53% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 43% lower in Paks. 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: $534 in Paks versus $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $250 in Paks versus $944 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,143 in Paks versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Paks but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Paks 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, Paks and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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