Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rueil-Malmaison and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Rueil-Malmaison: $1,778 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

86

Cost of Living Index in Rueil-Malmaison
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Rueil-Malmaison Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Rueil-Malmaison

🇫🇷 France

$1,778

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,778 in Rueil-Malmaison versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Rueil-Malmaison $1,778
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,710 in Rueil-Malmaison versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Rueil-Malmaison $2,710
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,641 in Rueil-Malmaison versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Rueil-Malmaison $3,641
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Rueil-Malmaison costs roughly 25% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Rueil-Malmaison 31% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.01 €15.13

$17.89 €15.92

-4.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.25 €40.25

$66.2 €58.9

-31.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.77 €6.91

$13.69 €12.18

-43.24%

Cappuccino

$1.68 €1.50

$3.06 €2.72

-45.10%

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

$3.05 €2.71

$3.07 €2.73

-0.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 €1.83

$1.94 €1.73

6.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.46 €7.53

$3.87 €3.44

118.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 €2.89

$4.61 €4.10

-29.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.14

$1.30 €1.16

-0.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.76 €1.57

$2.10 €1.87

-16.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.46 €2.19

$1.83 €1.62

34.43%

Eggs

$3.91 €3.48

$4.62 €4.11

-15.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.11 €8.99

$17.36 €15.44

-41.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.77 €10.47

$9.28 €8.25

26.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.79 €14.05

$19.83 €17.64

-20.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.00 €2.67

$3.01 €2.68

-0.33%

Banana (1kg)

$3.07 €2.73

$2.03 €1.81

51.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.51 €1.34

$2.65 €2.36

-43.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.21 €3.74

$2.87 €2.55

46.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.16 €1.92

-13.89%

Onion (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$2.15 €1.91

-2.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.64 €1.46

$1.47 €1.31

11.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.14 €0.12

$0.88 €0.79

-84.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.69 €11.29

$6.93 €6.16

83.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.73 €5.10

$7.83 €6.96

-26.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.27

$1.39 €1.24

2.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 €1.43

$2.63 €2.34

-38.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.91 €1.70

$2.91 €2.59

-34.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.0 €87.2

$25.46 €22.64

285.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.23 €1.99

$3.00 €2.66

-25.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.44 €1.28

-22.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.32 €28.75

$33.20 €29.53

-2.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.86 €1.65

15.59%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$32.3K €28.8K

6.94%

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

$30.2K €26.9K

$31.7K €28.2K

-4.74%

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

$206 €183

$183 €163

12.46%

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

$32.00 €28.46

$13.61 €12.11

135.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.80 €28.28

$32.93 €29.29

-3.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.12 €31.24

$54.7 €48.65

-35.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.74 €20.22

$16.52 €14.70

37.65%

Cinema Ticket

$15.92 €14.16

$11.23 €9.99

41.76%

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

$894 €795

$954 €849

-6.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K €10.1K

$16.6K €14.8K

-31.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$127 €113

$86.0 €76.5

47.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.99 €40.91

$39.11 €34.78

17.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.8 €87.9

$104 €92.2

-4.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 €142

$119 €106

34.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 €935

$1,695 €1,508

-38.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$592 €527

$1,276 €1,135

-53.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,405 €1,250

$2,576 €2,291

-45.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,097 €976

$1,922 €1,710

-42.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,654 €5,919

$7,281 €6,477

-8.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,025 €2,691

$5,010 €4,456

-39.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,226 €2,869

$2,227 €1,981

44.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.9

3.28

18.90%

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

Last update for Rueil-Malmaison: October 19, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rueil-Malmaison

$592 33.3%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 115% $684

Groceries & Markets

Rueil-Malmaison

$293 16.5%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 11% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rueil-Malmaison

$269 15.2%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 14.9% $40

Eating Out

Rueil-Malmaison

$249 14%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 8.3% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Rueil-Malmaison

$194 10.9%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 19.4% $38

Getting Around

Rueil-Malmaison

$114 6.4%

Barcelona

$47 2% 58.3% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Rueil-Malmaison

$67 3.8%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 15.2% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,051 in Rueil-Malmaison and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rueil-Malmaison pays 45% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $45.00 in Rueil-Malmaison vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $325 per month, with Rueil-Malmaison cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Rueil-Malmaison

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

16:23 4:23 PM

Same time as Rueil-Malmaison

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,186

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Rueil-Malmaison Barcelona 830 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Rueil-Malmaison
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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

Rueil-Malmaison vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rueil-Malmaison and Barcelona differ by about 34% in total monthly costs ($1,778 vs $2,381 including rent). Rueil-Malmaison is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 45% higher in Rueil-Malmaison, 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: $1,051 in Rueil-Malmaison versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $894 in Rueil-Malmaison versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 11% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,778 in Rueil-Malmaison versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rueil-Malmaison but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Rueil-Malmaison 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, Rueil-Malmaison 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 Rueil-Malmaison gentler on the wallet – expenses run 34% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.