Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sines and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Sines: $1,812 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

87

Cost of Living Index in Sines
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Sines Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Sines

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,812

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,812 in Sines versus $2,443 in Barcelona.

Sines $1,812
Barcelona $2,443

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,709 in Sines versus $3,519 in Barcelona.

Sines $2,709
Barcelona $3,519

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,607 in Sines versus $4,595 in Barcelona.

Sines $3,607
Barcelona $4,595

Living in Sines costs roughly 26% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sines 34% above, Barcelona 81% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.57 €19.26

$17.66 €15.77

22.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$76.7 €68.5

$67.5 €60.3

13.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.40 €8.40

$13.61 €12.16

-30.93%

Cappuccino

$3.62 €3.24

$3.10 €2.77

16.77%

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

$1.88 €1.68

$3.00 €2.68

-37.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.30

$1.93 €1.72

-24.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 €3.31

$3.84 €3.43

-3.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.00 €3.57

$4.36 €3.89

-8.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 €1.21

$1.25 €1.11

8.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 €1.22

$2.12 €1.90

-35.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 €1.48

$1.97 €1.76

-16.24%

Eggs

$4.07 €3.64

$4.76 €4.25

-14.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.81 €15.01

$17.07 €15.24

-1.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.84 €7.00

$8.96 €8.00

-12.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$27.77 €24.80

$20.65 €18.44

34.48%

Apples (1kg)

$3.09 €2.76

$3.16 €2.82

-2.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.97 €1.76

-34.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.71 €1.53

$2.65 €2.37

-35.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$2.88 €2.58

-23.26%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.06 €1.84

1.46%

Onion (1kg)

$2.04 €1.82

$2.18 €1.95

-6.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 €0.98

$1.53 €1.37

-28.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 €0.82

$0.97 €0.87

-5.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.61 €5.91

$6.97 €6.22

-5.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 €5.51

$7.89 €7.05

-21.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 €0.90

$1.42 €1.26

-28.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 €1.45

$2.69 €2.40

-39.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.18 €1.95

$3.31 €2.96

-34.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.17 €35.88

$25.61 €22.87

56.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.02 €3.59

$3.08 €2.75

30.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 €0.95

$1.48 €1.32

-28.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.79 €15.00

$32.87 €29.36

-48.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.17 €1.94

$1.87 €1.67

16.04%

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

$33.2K €29.6K

$33.0K €29.4K

0.66%

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

$37.9K €33.9K

$31.9K €28.5K

18.78%

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

$154 €137

$183 €163

-15.85%

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

$20.97 €18.73

$14.24 €12.72

47.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.1 €49.18

$34.56 €30.87

59.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.51 €36.18

$51.4 €45.93

-21.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.86 €15.06

$16.38 €14.64

2.93%

Cinema Ticket

$8.25 €7.37

$11.06 €9.88

-25.41%

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

$649 €580

$944 €843

-31.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.6K €13.9K

$22.3K €19.9K

-29.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.32 €25.30

$87.7 €78.3

-67.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.6 €49.63

$38.77 €34.63

43.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.1 €44.73

$105 €93.4

-52.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.4 €60.2

$118 €105

-42.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$970 €867

$1,697 €1,516

-42.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$781 €698

$1,337 €1,194

-41.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,632 €1,458

$2,692 €2,405

-39.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,181 €1,055

$2,077 €1,855

-43.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,117 €2,784

$7,155 €6,391

-56.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,290 €2,045

$5,079 €4,537

-54.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,528 €2,258

$2,241 €2,002

12.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

3.19

45.77%

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

Last update for Sines: November 1, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sines

$781 43.1%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7% 71.1% $556

Groceries & Markets

Sines

$311 17.1%

Barcelona

$328 13.4% 5.5% $17

Eating Out

Sines

$284 15.7%

Barcelona

$267 10.9% 6% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sines

$230 12.7%

Barcelona

$232 9.5% 0.8% $1.8

Clothing & Footwear

Sines

$91 5%

Barcelona

$157 6.4% 73.2% $66

Getting Around

Sines

$58 3.2%

Barcelona

$49 2% 15.3% $8.9

Sport & Entertainment

Sines

$57 3.2%

Barcelona

$74 3% 29% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $970 in Sines and $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sines pays 13% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $77 in Sines vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $311 vs $328, with Sines cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Sines

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

19:13 7:13 PM

20:13 8:13 PM

1 h ahead of Sines

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,200

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sines Barcelona 1,020 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Sines
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

Sines vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,812 in Sines and $2,443 in Barcelona, so Sines is about 26% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 13% higher in Sines, 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: $970 in Sines versus $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $649 in Sines versus $944 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 6% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,812 in Sines versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sines but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Sines 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, Sines and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.