Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Quilmes and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Quilmes: $957 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Quilmes
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Quilmes Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Quilmes

🇦🇷 Argentina

$957

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $957 in Quilmes versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Quilmes $957
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,615 in Quilmes versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Quilmes $1,615
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,273 in Quilmes versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Quilmes $2,273
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Quilmes costs roughly 61% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Quilmes is 30% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.55 ARS 8,543

$17.59 €15.80

-68.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.20 ARS 54.1K

$67.5 €60.6

-47.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.82 ARS 13.6K

$13.53 €12.15

-34.81%

Cappuccino

$2.93 ARS 4,501

$3.19 €2.87

-8.15%

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

$1.71 ARS 2,634

$2.91 €2.62

-41.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 ARS 2,500

$1.89 €1.70

-13.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.90 ARS 5,993

$4.01 €3.60

-2.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 ARS 3,519

$4.53 €4.07

-49.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.97 ARS 1,495

$1.31 €1.17

-25.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 ARS 2,426

$2.02 €1.81

-21.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 ARS 2,425

$1.85 €1.66

-14.59%

Eggs

$2.28 ARS 3,508

$4.83 €4.34

-52.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.31 ARS 20.5K

$16.74 €15.03

-20.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.11 ARS 9,398

$9.12 €8.19

-33.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.80 ARS 15.1K

$19.64 €17.64

-50.10%

Apples (1kg)

$1.96 ARS 3,016

$2.98 €2.68

-34.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 ARS 2,350

$2.02 €1.81

-24.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.01 ARS 1,557

$2.70 €2.43

-62.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.95 ARS 4,538

$2.80 €2.52

5.36%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 ARS 1,412

$2.09 €1.87

-55.98%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 ARS 990

$2.07 €1.86

-69.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 ARS 1,111

$1.46 €1.31

-50.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 ARS 1,060

$0.94 €0.84

-26.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.99 ARS 7,671

$6.87 €6.17

-27.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.29 ARS 6,603

$7.89 €7.08

-45.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ARS 1,896

$1.41 €1.26

-12.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 ARS 2,904

$2.54 €2.28

-25.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.02 ARS 1,574

$3.14 €2.82

-67.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.49 ARS 2,285

$2.99 €2.69

-50.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ARS 1,576

$1.49 €1.34

-31.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.14 ARS 1,756

$1.80 €1.61

-36.67%

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

$50.3K ARS 77.4M

$33.2K €29.8K

51.68%

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

$38.0K ARS 58.4M

$31.7K €28.5K

19.73%

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

$60.2 ARS 92.6K

$180 €162

-66.64%

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

$14.48 ARS 22.3K

$13.84 €12.43

4.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.58 ARS 33.2K

$33.70 €30.27

-35.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.79 ARS 41.2K

$51.5 €46.27

-47.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.31 ARS 28.2K

$15.96 €14.34

14.72%

Cinema Ticket

$10.13 ARS 15.6K

$10.99 €9.88

-7.83%

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

$240 ARS 369.2K

$917 €823

-73.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,307 ARS 6.6M

$16.5K €14.8K

-73.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$95.2 ARS 146.4K

$87.0 €78.2

9.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.45 ARS 53.0K

$38.51 €34.59

-10.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$62.9 ARS 96.8K

$106 €95.1

-40.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.1 ARS 107.8K

$120 €108

-41.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$518 ARS 796.8K

$1,699 €1,527

-69.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$330 ARS 507.0K

$1,355 €1,217

-75.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 ARS 1.6M

$2,603 €2,338

-59.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$817 ARS 1.3M

$2,062 €1,853

-60.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,378 ARS 3.7M

$6,915 €6,211

-65.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,264 ARS 1.9M

$5,128 €4,606

-75.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,102 ARS 1.7M

$2,211 €1,986

-50.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

100

3.28

2948.78%

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

Last update for Quilmes: October 26, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Quilmes

$330 34.4%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 311% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Quilmes

$212 22.2%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 51.6% $110

Eating Out

Quilmes

$143 15%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 86.8% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Quilmes

$118 12.3%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 33.7% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Quilmes

$96 10.1%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 137% $132

Sport & Entertainment

Quilmes

$47 4.9%

Barcelona

$74 3% 56.2% $26

Getting Around

Quilmes

$11 * 1.1%

Barcelona

$48 2% 353% $38

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $518 in Quilmes and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2 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 Quilmes vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $212 vs $322 per month, with Quilmes cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Quilmes

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

12:45 12:45 PM

16:45 4:45 PM

4 h ahead of Quilmes

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

230,810

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,538 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD). 1 EUR = 1,712 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR).

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

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Quilmes Barcelona 10,470 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Quilmes
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

Quilmes vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Quilmes and Barcelona differ by about 156% in total monthly costs ($957 vs $2,453 including rent). Quilmes is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 50% lower in Quilmes. 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: $518 in Quilmes versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $240 in Quilmes 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 Quilmes – a meal for two runs $35 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Quilmes is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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