Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Roskilde and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,399 a month against $2,530 in Roskilde, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. The total is higher in Roskilde despite lower rent and utilities.

122

Cost of Living Index in Roskilde
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Roskilde Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Roskilde

🇩🇰 Denmark

$2,530

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,530 in Roskilde versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Roskilde $2,530
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,882 in Roskilde versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Roskilde $3,882
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,233 in Roskilde versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Roskilde $5,233
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Roskilde is roughly 5% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Roskilde 87% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.05 DKK 120

$17.94 €15.96

0.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$112 DKK 742

$68.1 €60.5

63.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.03 DKK 100.0

$13.28 €11.81

13.18%

Cappuccino

$6.93 DKK 46.06

$3.25 €2.89

113.23%

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

$4.07 DKK 27.04

$3.01 €2.67

35.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 DKK 22.15

$1.87 €1.66

78.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.17 DKK 54.3

$3.85 €3.42

112.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.38 DKK 55.7

$4.48 €3.98

87.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.04 DKK 13.55

$1.29 €1.15

58.14%

White Bread (500g)

$3.76 DKK 25.03

$2.04 €1.81

84.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 DKK 15.95

$1.72 €1.53

39.53%

Eggs

$4.89 DKK 32.53

$4.77 €4.24

2.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.12 DKK 93.9

$16.77 €14.92

-15.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.50 DKK 76.5

$8.93 €7.94

28.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.93 DKK 119

$19.88 €17.68

-9.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.65 DKK 17.62

$2.98 €2.65

-11.07%

Banana (1kg)

$2.78 DKK 18.46

$2.03 €1.80

36.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.07 DKK 13.79

$2.73 €2.43

-24.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.01 DKK 26.64

$2.68 €2.38

49.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.75 DKK 11.61

$2.10 €1.87

-16.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 DKK 9.18

$2.08 €1.85

-33.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 DKK 9.66

$1.45 €1.29

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.64 DKK 4.25

$0.89 €0.79

-28.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.70 DKK 57.9

$6.94 €6.17

25.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.55 DKK 50.2

$7.78 €6.92

-2.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 DKK 13.22

$1.45 €1.29

37.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.68 DKK 17.82

$2.57 €2.29

4.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.9 DKK 505

$25.20 €22.41

201.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.70 DKK 37.94

$3.12 €2.77

82.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.68 DKK 11.19

$1.44 €1.28

16.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$61.9 DKK 412

$33.50 €29.80

84.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.27 DKK 15.09

$1.79 €1.59

26.82%

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

$49.5K DKK 329.0K

$34.6K €30.8K

42.84%

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

$52.7K DKK 350.6K

$30.1K €26.7K

75.32%

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

$216 DKK 1,436

$178 €158

21.37%

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

$15.77 DKK 105

$13.32 €11.85

18.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.29 DKK 288

$34.88 €31.03

24.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.4 DKK 402

$53.3 €47.37

13.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

Cinema Ticket

$16.22 DKK 108

$11.06 €9.84

46.65%

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

$374 DKK 2,488

$957 €851

-60.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,075 DKK 40.4K

$16.6K €14.7K

-63.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 DKK 704

$88.2 €78.4

20.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.94 DKK 306

$39.49 €35.12

16.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$151 DKK 1,004

$103 €91.5

46.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$187 DKK 1,243

$121 €108

53.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,280 DKK 8,513

$1,653 €1,470

-22.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,141 DKK 7,590

$1,302 €1,158

-12.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,560 DKK 17.0K

$2,557 €2,275

0.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,991 DKK 13.2K

$1,915 €1,703

3.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,477 DKK 43.1K

$7,286 €6,481

-11.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,960 DKK 39.6K

$5,080 €4,519

17.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,095 DKK 27.2K

$2,281 €2,029

79.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.67

3.28

11.89%

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

Last update for Roskilde: October 10, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Roskilde

$1.1K 45.1%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 14.1% $160

Eating Out

Roskilde

$360 14.2%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 24.9% $90

Groceries & Markets

Roskilde

$351 13.9%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 8.8% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Roskilde

$275 10.9%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 17.8% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Roskilde

$220 8.7%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 28.1% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Roskilde

$93 3.7%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 18.8% $17

Getting Around

Roskilde

$90 * 3.6%

Barcelona

$47 2% 47.3% $43

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 $1,280 in Roskilde and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Roskilde pays 80% 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: $112 in Roskilde vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $351 vs $320 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇰 Roskilde

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

09:06 9:06 AM

Same time as Roskilde

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

50,781

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Danish Krone DKK kr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 DKK = 0.15 USD

1 DKK = 0.134 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to DKK – Danish Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇩🇰 Danish Krone (kr)

Danish Krone exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 DKK (1 DKK = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.48 DKK (1 DKK = 0.134 EUR).

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

USD to DKK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Roskilde Barcelona 1,740 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Roskilde
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

Roskilde vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Roskilde and Barcelona differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($2,530 vs $2,399 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 80% higher in Roskilde, 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: $1,280 in Roskilde versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $374 in Roskilde versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 10% higher in Roskilde. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,399 in Barcelona versus $2,530 in Roskilde, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Barcelona but tight or insufficient in Roskilde. The gap between the two cities makes Barcelona 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, Roskilde 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 Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Roskilde. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.