Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Cruz de Tenerife: $2,066 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

99

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
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Santa Cruz de Tenerife Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Santa Cruz de Tenerife

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,066

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,066 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $2,443 in Barcelona.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife $2,066
Barcelona $2,443

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,960 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $3,519 in Barcelona.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife $2,960
Barcelona $3,519

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,854 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $4,595 in Barcelona.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife $3,854
Barcelona $4,595

Living in Santa Cruz de Tenerife costs roughly 15% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Santa Cruz de Tenerife 53% above, Barcelona 81% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.54 €18.43

$17.66 €15.85

16.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 €54.2

$67.5 €60.6

-10.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.07 €9.93

$13.61 €12.22

-18.66%

Cappuccino

$1.98 €1.78

$3.10 €2.78

-36.13%

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

$1.95 €1.75

$3.00 €2.69

-35.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.26 €1.13

$1.93 €1.73

-34.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.73 €2.45

$3.84 €3.45

-28.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.34 €3.00

$4.36 €3.91

-23.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 €1.20

$1.25 €1.12

6.40%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 €2.12

$2.12 €1.91

11.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 €1.42

$1.97 €1.77

-19.80%

Eggs

$4.05 €3.63

$4.76 €4.27

-14.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.22 €17.25

$17.07 €15.32

12.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 €8.97

$8.96 €8.04

11.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €16.05

$20.65 €18.53

-13.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.77 €2.49

$3.16 €2.84

-12.34%

Banana (1kg)

$2.28 €2.05

$1.97 €1.76

15.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 €1.95

$2.65 €2.38

-17.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.60 €2.34

$2.88 €2.59

-9.72%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$2.06 €1.85

0.49%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.18 €1.96

-7.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 €1.52

$1.53 €1.38

11.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 €0.82

$0.97 €0.87

-5.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.63 €5.05

$6.97 €6.25

-19.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.82 €7.02

$7.89 €7.08

-0.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 €1.47

$1.42 €1.27

14.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$2.69 €2.41

-35.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.38 €1.24

$3.31 €2.97

-58.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.35 €40.70

$25.61 €22.98

77.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.26 €3.82

$3.08 €2.77

38.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 €1.38

$1.48 €1.33

4.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.71 €18.59

$32.87 €29.50

-36.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.76 €1.58

$1.87 €1.67

-5.88%

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

$35.4K €31.8K

$33.0K €29.6K

7.40%

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

$31.5K €28.3K

$31.9K €28.7K

-1.45%

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

$125 €112

$183 €164

-31.46%

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

$22.47 €20.16

$14.24 €12.78

57.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.12 €31.52

$34.56 €31.02

1.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.0 €46.69

$51.4 €46.15

1.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.88 €10.66

$16.38 €14.70

-27.47%

Cinema Ticket

$10.03 €9.00

$11.06 €9.93

-9.31%

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

$398 €357

$944 €847

-57.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,653 €5,971

$22.3K €20.0K

-70.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$92.7 €83.2

$87.7 €78.7

5.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.12 €37.79

$38.77 €34.80

8.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.4 €82.9

$105 €93.8

-11.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 €99.3

$118 €106

-5.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,155 €1,037

$1,697 €1,523

-31.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,016 €912

$1,337 €1,200

-23.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,794 €1,610

$2,692 €2,416

-33.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,428 €1,282

$2,077 €1,864

-31.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,899 €3,499

$7,155 €6,421

-45.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,270 €2,037

$5,079 €4,558

-55.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,799 €1,615

$2,241 €2,011

-19.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.56

3.19

11.60%

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

Last update for Santa Cruz de Tenerife: November 2, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$1K 49.2%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7% 31.5% $320

Groceries & Markets

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$325 15.8%

Barcelona

$328 13.4% 0.7% $2.3

Eating Out

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$255 12.3%

Barcelona

$267 10.9% 4.9% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$183 8.9%

Barcelona

$232 9.5% 26.6% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$152 7.4%

Barcelona

$157 6.4% 3.2% $4.9

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$72 3.5%

Barcelona

$74 3% 2% $1.5

Getting Around

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$63 3%

Barcelona

$49 2% 21.5% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,155 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 25% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $60 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $328 per month, with Santa Cruz de Tenerife cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Santa Cruz de Tenerife

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

11:32 11:32 AM

12:32 12:32 PM

1 h ahead of Santa Cruz de Tenerife

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

209,395

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Barcelona 2,200 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Santa Cruz de Tenerife
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

Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,066 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and $2,443 in Barcelona, so Santa Cruz de Tenerife is about 15% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 20% lower in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. 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: $1,155 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $398 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $944 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Santa Cruz de Tenerife – a meal for two runs $60 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Santa Cruz de Tenerife wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.