Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sale and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Sale: $635 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Sale
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Sale Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Sale

🇲🇦 Morocco

$635

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $635 in Sale versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Sale $635
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,044 in Sale versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Sale $1,044
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,453 in Sale versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Sale $1,453
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Sale costs roughly 74% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sale is 53% below, Barcelona is 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.63 MAD 35.42

$17.94 €15.96

-79.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$17.82 MAD 174

$68.1 €60.5

-73.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.19 MAD 70.1

$13.28 €11.81

-45.86%

Cappuccino

$1.76 MAD 17.20

$3.25 €2.89

-45.85%

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

$0.60 MAD 5.81

$3.01 €2.67

-80.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 MAD 3.16

$1.87 €1.66

-82.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.63 MAD 25.63

$3.85 €3.42

-31.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 MAD 29.76

$4.48 €3.98

-31.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.90 MAD 8.77

$1.29 €1.15

-30.23%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 MAD 6.36

$2.04 €1.81

-68.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.90 MAD 18.57

$1.72 €1.53

10.47%

Eggs

$1.86 MAD 18.10

$4.77 €4.24

-61.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.31 MAD 110

$16.77 €14.92

-32.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 MAD 67.2

$8.93 €7.94

-22.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.38 MAD 121

$19.88 €17.68

-37.73%

Apples (1kg)

$1.34 MAD 13.05

$2.98 €2.65

-55.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 MAD 11.48

$2.03 €1.80

-41.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.84 MAD 8.23

$2.73 €2.43

-69.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.90 MAD 8.76

$2.68 €2.38

-66.42%

Potato (1kg)

$0.68 MAD 6.62

$2.10 €1.87

-67.62%

Onion (1kg)

$0.73 MAD 7.15

$2.08 €1.85

-64.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.47 MAD 4.58

$1.45 €1.29

-67.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 MAD 6.03

$0.89 €0.79

-30.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.75 MAD 36.51

$6.94 €6.17

-45.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.74 MAD 46.23

$7.78 €6.92

-39.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.23 MAD 21.75

$1.45 €1.29

53.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 MAD 20.81

$2.57 €2.29

-17.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MAD 5.32

$2.99 €2.66

-81.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.03 MAD 225

$25.20 €22.41

-8.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.69 MAD 6.78

$3.12 €2.77

-77.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.50 MAD 4.85

$1.44 €1.28

-65.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.03 MAD 39.30

$33.50 €29.80

-87.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MAD 14.46

$1.79 €1.59

-17.32%

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

$31.0K MAD 301.9K

$34.6K €30.8K

-10.58%

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

$30.8K MAD 300.4K

$30.1K €26.7K

2.48%

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

$37.71 MAD 368

$178 €158

-78.80%

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

$10.53 MAD 103

$13.32 €11.85

-20.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.93 MAD 399

$34.88 €31.03

17.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.62 MAD 162

$53.3 €47.37

-68.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.69 MAD 397

$16.01 €14.24

154.15%

Cinema Ticket

$5.29 MAD 51.6

$11.06 €9.84

-52.17%

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

$104 MAD 1,010

$957 €851

-89.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,903 MAD 57.6K

$16.6K €14.7K

-64.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.27 MAD 315

$88.2 €78.4

-63.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.59 MAD 454

$39.49 €35.12

17.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.9 MAD 701

$103 €91.5

-30.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.4 MAD 648

$121 €108

-45.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$208 MAD 2,025

$1,653 €1,470

-87.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$102 MAD 994

$1,302 €1,158

-92.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$356 MAD 3,473

$2,557 €2,275

-86.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$260 MAD 2,532

$1,915 €1,703

-86.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,126 MAD 11.0K

$7,286 €6,481

-84.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$838 MAD 8,167

$5,080 €4,519

-83.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$516 MAD 5,033

$2,281 €2,029

-77.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

52.44%

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

Last update for Sale: October 12, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sale

$195 30.8%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 63.8% $125

Accommodation & Living

Sale

$102 16.1%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 1177% $1.2K

Clothing & Footwear

Sale

$98 15.4%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 62% $61

Eating Out

Sale

$95 14.9%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 185% $175

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sale

$89 14.1%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 154% $137

Getting Around

Sale

$28 4.5%

Barcelona

$47 2% 67.2% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Sale

$27 4.3%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 177% $48

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $208 in Sale and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 342% 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: $18.00 in Sale vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $195 vs $320 per month, with Sale cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇦 Sale

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

14:31 2:31 PM

15:31 3:31 PM

1 h ahead of Sale

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

890,403

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MAD = 10.26 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MAD – Moroccan Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇦 Moroccan Dirham (د.م.)

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 EUR).

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

USD to MAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sale Barcelona 1,140 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Sale
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

Sale vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sale and Barcelona differ by about 278% in total monthly costs ($635 vs $2,399 including rent). Sale is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 342% lower in Barcelona. 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: $208 in Sale versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $104 in Sale 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 64% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $635 in Sale versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sale but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Sale 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, Sale 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 Sale gentler on the wallet – expenses run 278% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.