Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Scarborough, Canada and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,453 a month against $2,561 in Scarborough, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Scarborough
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Scarborough Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Scarborough

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,561

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,561 in Scarborough versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Scarborough $2,561
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,474 in Scarborough versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Scarborough $3,474
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,388 in Scarborough versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Scarborough $4,388
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Scarborough is roughly 4% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Scarborough 88% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.32 CA$24.30

$17.59 €15.80

-1.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.3 CA$98.7

$67.5 €60.6

4.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.89 CA$15.28

$13.53 €12.15

-19.51%

Cappuccino

$3.99 CA$5.59

$3.19 €2.87

25.08%

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

$2.03 CA$2.85

$2.91 €2.62

-30.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.47 CA$2.06

$1.89 €1.70

-22.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.55 CA$9.19

$4.01 €3.60

63.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.29 CA$10.23

$4.53 €4.07

60.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.51 CA$3.53

$1.31 €1.17

91.60%

White Bread (500g)

$2.63 CA$3.69

$2.02 €1.81

30.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.28 CA$3.20

$1.85 €1.66

23.24%

Eggs

$3.64 CA$5.11

$4.83 €4.34

-24.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.14 CA$12.83

$16.74 €15.03

-45.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.44 CA$16.06

$9.12 €8.19

25.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.96 CA$18.19

$19.64 €17.64

-34.01%

Apples (1kg)

$3.43 CA$4.81

$2.98 €2.68

15.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.21 CA$1.70

$2.02 €1.81

-40.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.34 CA$4.69

$2.70 €2.43

23.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.17 CA$5.85

$2.80 €2.52

48.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.69 CA$2.38

$2.09 €1.87

-19.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.68 CA$2.36

$2.07 €1.86

-18.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.20 CA$3.09

$1.46 €1.31

50.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 CA$1.76

$0.94 €0.84

34.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.00 CA$19.65

$6.87 €6.17

103.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.58 CA$17.66

$7.89 €7.08

59.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.19 CA$3.07

$1.41 €1.26

55.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 CA$3.58

$2.54 €2.28

0.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.40 CA$3.36

$3.14 €2.82

-23.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$105 CA$147

$25.45 €22.86

312.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.06 CA$4.30

$2.99 €2.69

2.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.28 CA$1.80

$1.49 €1.34

-14.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.52 CA$31.60

$33.37 €29.98

-32.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 CA$1.75

$1.80 €1.61

-30.56%

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

$26.1K CA$36.7K

$33.2K €29.8K

-21.23%

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

$21.7K CA$30.5K

$31.7K €28.5K

-31.47%

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

$137 CA$193

$180 €162

-23.87%

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

$35.21 CA$49.42

$13.84 €12.43

154.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.56 CA$68.1

$33.70 €30.27

44.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.87 CA$50.3

$51.5 €46.27

-30.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.96 CA$50.5

$15.96 €14.34

125.31%

Cinema Ticket

$12.95 CA$18.18

$10.99 €9.88

17.83%

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

$749 CA$1,052

$917 €823

-18.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.8K CA$15.2K

$16.5K €14.8K

-34.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 CA$75.0

$87.0 €78.2

-38.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.94 CA$57.5

$38.51 €34.59

6.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.1 CA$119

$106 €95.1

-19.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 CA$147

$120 €108

-12.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,744 CA$2,448

$1,699 €1,527

2.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,415 CA$1,986

$1,355 €1,217

4.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,122 CA$2,979

$2,603 €2,338

-18.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,758 CA$2,467

$2,062 €1,853

-14.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,770 CA$10.9K

$6,915 €6,211

12.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,085 CA$8,539

$5,128 €4,606

18.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,980 CA$4,182

$2,211 €1,986

34.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.55

3.28

38.72%

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

Last update for Scarborough: October 26, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Scarborough

$1.4K 55.3%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 4.2% $60

Groceries & Markets

Scarborough

$331 12.9%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 2.7% $9

Eating Out

Scarborough

$280 11%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 4.4% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Scarborough

$221 8.6%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 3.1% $6.8

Clothing & Footwear

Scarborough

$128 5%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 23.4% $30

Getting Around

Scarborough

$124 4.8%

Barcelona

$48 2% 60.9% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Scarborough

$62 2.4%

Barcelona

$74 3% 19% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,744 in Scarborough and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Scarborough pays 35% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $70 in Scarborough vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $331 vs $322 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Scarborough

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

20:14 8:14 PM

01:14 1:14 AM

5 h ahead of Scarborough

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

29,960

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.64 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.64 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Scarborough Barcelona 6,390 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Scarborough
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

Scarborough vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,561 in Scarborough and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Barcelona is about 4% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 35% higher in Scarborough, 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: $1,744 in Scarborough versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $749 in Scarborough versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Scarborough. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Barcelona gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

Expats usually find Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Scarborough. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.