Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sala, Sweden and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Sala: $1,555 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Sala
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Sala Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

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Sala

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,555

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,555 in Sala versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Sala $1,555
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,301 in Sala versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Sala $2,301
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,046 in Sala versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Sala $3,046
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Sala costs roughly 37% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sala 14% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.16 SEK 119

$17.59 €15.75

-30.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.1 SEK 590

$67.5 €60.5

-10.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.87 SEK 96.9

$13.53 €12.12

-27.05%

Cappuccino

$3.04 SEK 29.84

$3.19 €2.86

-4.70%

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

$1.74 SEK 17.05

$2.91 €2.61

-40.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 SEK 21.97

$1.89 €1.70

18.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.19 SEK 70.5

$4.01 €3.59

79.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.24 SEK 71.1

$4.53 €4.06

59.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 SEK 16.89

$1.31 €1.17

31.30%

White Bread (500g)

$2.57 SEK 25.25

$2.02 €1.81

27.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.42 SEK 33.61

$1.85 €1.66

84.86%

Eggs

$5.26 SEK 51.6

$4.83 €4.33

8.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.30 SEK 111

$16.74 €14.99

-32.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.99 SEK 127

$9.12 €8.17

42.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.54 SEK 221

$19.64 €17.59

14.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 SEK 28.43

$2.98 €2.67

-2.68%

Banana (1kg)

$2.67 SEK 26.21

$2.02 €1.81

32.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.68 SEK 26.32

$2.70 €2.42

-0.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.59 SEK 45.05

$2.80 €2.51

63.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.45 SEK 14.21

$2.09 €1.87

-30.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 SEK 11.11

$2.07 €1.85

-45.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.53 SEK 24.81

$1.46 €1.31

73.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 SEK 10.14

$0.94 €0.84

9.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.96 SEK 68.3

$6.87 €6.15

1.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 SEK 59.0

$7.89 €7.06

-23.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 SEK 19.70

$1.41 €1.26

42.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 SEK 17.30

$2.54 €2.27

-30.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.98 SEK 29.25

$3.14 €2.82

-5.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.73 SEK 203

$25.45 €22.79

-18.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.86 SEK 57.5

$2.99 €2.68

95.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 SEK 17.48

$1.49 €1.34

19.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$81.0 SEK 795

$33.37 €29.89

142.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.70 SEK 16.70

$1.80 €1.61

-5.56%

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

$33.9K SEK 332.6K

$33.2K €29.7K

2.10%

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

$33.6K SEK 330.0K

$31.7K €28.4K

6.09%

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

$178 SEK 1,742

$180 €162

-1.61%

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

$19.84 SEK 195

$13.84 €12.39

43.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.07 SEK 383

$33.70 €30.18

15.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.69 SEK 448

$51.5 €46.13

-11.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.95 SEK 196

$15.96 €14.29

25.00%

Cinema Ticket

$16.33 SEK 160

$10.99 €9.85

48.59%

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

$221 SEK 2,164

$917 €821

-75.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,219 SEK 12.0K

$16.5K €14.8K

-92.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.53 SEK 437

$87.0 €77.9

-48.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.85 SEK 342

$38.51 €34.49

-9.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$52.4 SEK 514

$106 €94.8

-50.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.0 SEK 540

$120 €107

-54.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 SEK 7,028

$1,699 €1,522

-57.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$516 SEK 5,065

$1,355 €1,214

-61.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$921 SEK 9,035

$2,603 €2,331

-64.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$713 SEK 7,001

$2,062 €1,847

-65.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,986 SEK 39.1K

$6,915 €6,193

-42.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,798 SEK 27.5K

$5,128 €4,592

-45.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,432 SEK 23.9K

$2,211 €1,980

9.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.8

3.28

-14.63%

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

Last update for Sala: October 25, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sala

$516 33.2%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 163% $839

Groceries & Markets

Sala

$363 23.4%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 11.4% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sala

$236 15.2%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 3.6% $8.5

Eating Out

Sala

$230 14.8%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 16.6% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Sala

$84 5.4%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 87.9% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Sala

$78 5%

Barcelona

$74 3% 6.2% $4.8

Getting Around

Sala

$47 3.1%

Barcelona

$48 2% 2.2% $1.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Sala and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sala pays 10% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $60 in Sala vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $363 vs $322, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Sala

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

02:06 2:06 AM

Same time as Sala

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

22,994

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.19 USD

100 SEK = 9.13 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.81 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 SEK (100 SEK = 9.13 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sala Barcelona 2,290 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sala
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

Sala vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,555 in Sala and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Sala is about 37% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 10% higher in Sala, 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: $716 in Sala versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $221 in Sala versus $917 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.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Sala 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, Sala and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.