Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Santiago de Compostela: $1,439 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $11,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

70

Cost of Living Index in Santiago de Compostela
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Santiago de Compostela Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Santiago de Compostela

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,439

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,439 in Santiago de Compostela versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Santiago de Compostela $1,439
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,215 in Santiago de Compostela versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Santiago de Compostela $2,215
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,991 in Santiago de Compostela versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Santiago de Compostela $2,991
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Santiago de Compostela costs roughly 40% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Santiago de Compostela 7% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.22 €11.76

$17.94 €15.96

-26.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 €59.2

$68.1 €60.5

-2.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.21 €8.19

$13.28 €11.81

-30.65%

Cappuccino

$1.95 €1.74

$3.25 €2.89

-40.00%

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

$2.69 €2.39

$3.01 €2.67

-10.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 €1.93

$1.87 €1.66

16.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 €2.76

$3.85 €3.42

-19.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.87 €3.44

$4.48 €3.98

-13.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.20 €1.07

$1.29 €1.15

-6.98%

White Bread (500g)

$1.17 €1.04

$2.04 €1.81

-42.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.32 €1.17

$1.72 €1.53

-23.26%

Eggs

$2.77 €2.47

$4.77 €4.24

-41.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 €7.88

$16.77 €14.92

-47.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.67 €5.93

$8.93 €7.94

-25.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.00 €15.12

$19.88 €17.68

-14.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.04 €1.81

$2.98 €2.65

-31.54%

Banana (1kg)

$2.09 €1.86

$2.03 €1.80

2.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.48 €1.32

$2.73 €2.43

-45.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.86 €2.54

$2.68 €2.38

6.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 €1.74

$2.10 €1.87

-6.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 €1.30

$2.08 €1.85

-29.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 €1.01

$1.45 €1.29

-22.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 €0.75

$0.89 €0.79

-5.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.97 €5.31

$6.94 €6.17

-13.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.12 €4.55

$7.78 €6.92

-34.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 €2.11

$2.57 €2.29

-7.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.19 €1.06

$2.99 €2.66

-60.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$32.89 €29.26

$25.20 €22.41

30.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.87 €4.33

$3.12 €2.77

56.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.44 €1.28

-9.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.83 €16.75

$33.50 €29.80

-43.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 €1.50

$1.79 €1.59

-5.59%

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

$35.4K €31.5K

$34.6K €30.8K

2.21%

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

$28.8K €25.7K

$30.1K €26.7K

-4.08%

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

$155 €138

$178 €158

-12.76%

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

$21.74 €19.34

$13.32 €11.85

63.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.64 €29.04

$34.88 €31.03

-6.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.2 €45.56

$53.3 €47.37

-3.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$2.19 €1.95

$16.01 €14.24

-86.32%

Cinema Ticket

$10.11 €8.99

$11.06 €9.84

-8.59%

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

$331 €294

$957 €851

-65.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,249 €7,337

$16.6K €14.7K

-50.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.1

$88.2 €78.4

-0.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.9 €55.9

$39.49 €35.12

59.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$103 €91.5

-2.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.3 €82.1

$121 €108

-24.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$712 €633

$1,653 €1,470

-56.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$516 €459

$1,302 €1,158

-60.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 €931

$2,557 €2,275

-59.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$869 €773

$1,915 €1,703

-54.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,001 €2,670

$7,286 €6,481

-58.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,094 €1,863

$5,080 €4,519

-58.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,870 €1,663

$2,281 €2,029

-18.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.96

3.28

-9.76%

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

Last update for Santiago de Compostela: 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

Santiago de Compostela

$516 35.9%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 152% $786

Groceries & Markets

Santiago de Compostela

$240 16.6%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 33.6% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santiago de Compostela

$210 14.6%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 7.9% $17

Eating Out

Santiago de Compostela

$199 13.9%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 35.4% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Santiago de Compostela

$154 10.7%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 2.7% $4.1

Sport & Entertainment

Santiago de Compostela

$71 5%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 5.5% $3.9

Getting Around

Santiago de Compostela

$49 3.4%

Barcelona

$47 2% 3.3% $1.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $712 in Santiago de Compostela and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 22% 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: $66.0 in Santiago de Compostela vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $240 vs $320 per month, with Santiago de Compostela cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Santiago de Compostela

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

18:45 6:45 PM

Same time as Santiago de Compostela

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

98,687

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Santiago de Compostela Barcelona 900 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Santiago de Compostela
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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

Santiago de Compostela vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona differ by about 67% in total monthly costs ($1,439 vs $2,399 including rent). Santiago de Compostela is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 22% 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: $712 in Santiago de Compostela versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $331 in Santiago de Compostela 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 34% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,439 in Santiago de Compostela versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Santiago de Compostela but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Santiago de Compostela 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, Santiago de Compostela 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 Santiago de Compostela gentler on the wallet – expenses run 67% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.