Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Pawl Il-bahar and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in San Pawl Il-bahar: $1,697 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in San Pawl Il-bahar
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San Pawl Il-bahar Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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San Pawl Il-bahar

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,697

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in San Pawl Il-bahar 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 San Pawl Il-bahar and in Barcelona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,697 in San Pawl Il-bahar versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

San Pawl Il-bahar $1,697
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,593 in San Pawl Il-bahar versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

San Pawl Il-bahar $2,593
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,489 in San Pawl Il-bahar versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

San Pawl Il-bahar $3,489
Barcelona $4,421

Living in San Pawl Il-bahar costs roughly 29% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: San Pawl Il-bahar 26% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.75 €17.57

$17.94 €15.96

10.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.2 €73.1

$68.1 €60.5

20.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.28 €10.03

$13.28 €11.81

-15.06%

Cappuccino

$2.58 €2.30

$3.25 €2.89

-20.62%

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

$2.47 €2.20

$3.01 €2.67

-17.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 €1.74

$1.87 €1.66

4.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.50 €4.00

$3.85 €3.42

16.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.18 €4.60

$4.48 €3.98

15.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.29 €1.15

1.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.16 €1.03

$2.04 €1.81

-43.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.82 €3.40

$1.72 €1.53

122.09%

Eggs

$3.62 €3.22

$4.77 €4.24

-24.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.44 €7.50

$16.77 €14.92

-49.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.75 €6.89

$8.93 €7.94

-13.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.41 €8.37

$19.88 €17.68

-52.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 €1.82

$2.03 €1.80

0.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.93 €2.60

$2.73 €2.43

7.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.86 €2.54

$2.68 €2.38

6.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 €1.40

$2.10 €1.87

-25.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 €1.64

$2.08 €1.85

-11.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 €1.06

$1.45 €1.29

-17.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 €1.07

$0.89 €0.79

34.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.33 €5.63

$6.94 €6.17

-8.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.30 €7.38

$7.78 €6.92

6.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 €1.32

$1.45 €1.29

2.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 €1.78

$2.57 €2.29

-22.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.76 €2.46

$2.99 €2.66

-7.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.72 €5.09

$3.12 €2.77

83.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.17 €1.93

$1.44 €1.28

50.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.51 €23.58

$33.50 €29.80

-20.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 €1.30

$1.79 €1.59

-17.88%

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

$38.3K €34.1K

$34.6K €30.8K

10.60%

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

$39.6K €35.2K

$30.1K €26.7K

31.61%

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

$58.9 €52.4

$178 €158

-66.90%

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

$20.63 €18.35

$13.32 €11.85

54.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.96 €35.54

$34.88 €31.03

14.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.65 €44.17

$53.3 €47.37

-6.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.51 €12.02

$16.01 €14.24

-15.62%

Cinema Ticket

$9.96 €8.86

$11.06 €9.84

-9.95%

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

$371 €330

$957 €851

-61.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K €9,915

$16.6K €14.7K

-32.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$22.55 €20.06

$88.2 €78.4

-74.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.53 €29.83

$39.49 €35.12

-15.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.5 €85.8

$103 €91.5

-6.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$75.4 €67.1

$121 €108

-37.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$981 €872

$1,653 €1,470

-40.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$848 €755

$1,302 €1,158

-34.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,640 €1,459

$2,557 €2,275

-35.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,348 €1,199

$1,915 €1,703

-29.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,441 €3,061

$7,286 €6,481

-52.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,867 €2,550

$5,080 €4,519

-43.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,670 €1,485

$2,281 €2,029

-26.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.9

3.28

-11.59%

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

Last update for San Pawl Il-bahar: October 12, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Pawl Il-bahar

$848 50%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 53.4% $453

Eating Out

San Pawl Il-bahar

$273 16.1%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 1.2% $3.3

Groceries & Markets

San Pawl Il-bahar

$256 15.1%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 25.2% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Pawl Il-bahar

$119 7%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 89.3% $107

Clothing & Footwear

San Pawl Il-bahar

$103 6.1%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 54.4% $56

Sport & Entertainment

San Pawl Il-bahar

$70 4.1%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 8.3% $5.8

Getting Around

San Pawl Il-bahar

$28 * 1.6%

Barcelona

$47 2% 71.9% $20

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 $981 in San Pawl Il-bahar and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 37% 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: $82.0 in San Pawl Il-bahar vs $68.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $256 vs $320, with San Pawl Il-bahar cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇹 San Pawl Il-bahar

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

17:53 5:53 PM

Same time as San Pawl Il-bahar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,046

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

San Pawl Il-bahar Barcelona 1,220 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

San Pawl Il-bahar
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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

San Pawl Il-bahar vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Pawl Il-bahar and Barcelona differ by about 41% in total monthly costs ($1,697 vs $2,399 including rent). San Pawl Il-bahar is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 37% 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: $981 in San Pawl Il-bahar versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $371 in San Pawl Il-bahar versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in San Pawl Il-bahar – a meal for two runs $82.0 versus $68.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,697 in San Pawl Il-bahar versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in San Pawl Il-bahar but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes San Pawl Il-bahar 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, San Pawl Il-bahar 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 San Pawl Il-bahar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.