Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sint-Niklaas and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Sint-Niklaas: $2,078 a month against $2,453 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 Sint-Niklaas
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Sint-Niklaas Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Sint-Niklaas

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,078

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,078 in Sint-Niklaas versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Sint-Niklaas $2,078
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,986 in Sint-Niklaas versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Sint-Niklaas $2,986
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,895 in Sint-Niklaas versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Sint-Niklaas $3,895
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Sint-Niklaas costs roughly 15% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sint-Niklaas 53% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.49 €20.14

$17.59 €15.75

27.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.2 €70.9

$67.5 €60.5

17.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.31 €11.92

$13.53 €12.12

-1.63%

Cappuccino

$4.33 €3.88

$3.19 €2.86

35.74%

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

$2.92 €2.61

$2.91 €2.61

0.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 €2.52

$1.89 €1.70

48.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.64 €5.05

$4.01 €3.59

40.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.45 €3.98

$4.53 €4.06

-1.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 €1.23

$1.31 €1.17

4.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.62 €2.35

$2.02 €1.81

29.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 €1.80

$1.85 €1.66

8.65%

Eggs

$3.93 €3.52

$4.83 €4.33

-18.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.72 €10.50

$16.74 €14.99

-29.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.74 €10.52

$9.12 €8.17

28.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.35 €17.33

$19.64 €17.59

-1.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.79 €2.50

$2.98 €2.67

-6.38%

Banana (1kg)

$2.13 €1.91

$2.02 €1.81

5.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.15 €1.93

$2.70 €2.42

-20.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.80 €2.51

-17.86%

Potato (1kg)

$2.21 €1.98

$2.09 €1.87

5.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 €1.53

$2.07 €1.85

-17.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 €1.33

$1.46 €1.31

2.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 €0.85

$0.94 €0.84

1.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.19 €11.81

$6.87 €6.15

91.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.35 €6.58

$7.89 €7.06

-6.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 €1.69

$1.41 €1.26

33.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 €1.65

$2.54 €2.27

-27.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.77 €2.48

$3.14 €2.82

-11.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.66 €5.07

$2.99 €2.68

89.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.42 €2.17

$1.49 €1.34

62.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.61 €22.94

$33.37 €29.89

-23.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.98 €1.78

$1.80 €1.61

10.00%

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

$36.0K €32.3K

$33.2K €29.7K

8.55%

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

$36.8K €32.9K

$31.7K €28.4K

15.98%

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

$214 €192

$180 €162

18.75%

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

$21.95 €19.66

$13.84 €12.39

58.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.42 €43.37

$33.70 €30.18

43.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.53 €31.82

$51.5 €46.13

-31.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

Cinema Ticket

$14.46 €12.95

$10.99 €9.85

31.57%

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

$738 €661

$917 €821

-19.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.1K €14.4K

$16.5K €14.8K

-2.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 €101

$87.0 €77.9

30.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.7 €48.08

$38.51 €34.49

39.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €93.5

$106 €94.8

-1.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$169 €151

$120 €107

41.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$937 €839

$1,699 €1,522

-44.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$852 €763

$1,355 €1,214

-37.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,385 €1,241

$2,603 €2,331

-46.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,137 €1,018

$2,062 €1,847

-44.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,282 €2,940

$6,915 €6,193

-52.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,809 €2,516

$5,128 €4,592

-45.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,709 €4,218

$2,211 €1,980

113.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.52

3.28

7.32%

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

Last update for Sint-Niklaas: 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

Sint-Niklaas

$852 41%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 59.1% $503

Eating Out

Sint-Niklaas

$332 16%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 19.3% $64

Groceries & Markets

Sint-Niklaas

$318 15.3%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 1.3% $4.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sint-Niklaas

$285 13.7%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 19.9% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Sint-Niklaas

$198 9.5%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 20.3% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Sint-Niklaas

$64 3.1%

Barcelona

$74 3% 14% $9

Getting Around

Sint-Niklaas

$29 * 1.4%

Barcelona

$48 2% 67.9% $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 $937 in Sint-Niklaas and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sint-Niklaas pays about 2.1 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $79 in Sint-Niklaas vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $318 vs $322, with Sint-Niklaas cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Sint-Niklaas

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

17:12 5:12 PM

Same time as Sint-Niklaas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

69,010

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

Sint-Niklaas Barcelona 1,100 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Sint-Niklaas
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

Sint-Niklaas vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,078 in Sint-Niklaas and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Sint-Niklaas is about 15% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Sint-Niklaas is about 2.1 times higher, 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: $937 in Sint-Niklaas versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $738 in Sint-Niklaas versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $2,078 per month in Sint-Niklaas versus $2,453 in Barcelona – Sint-Niklaas is about 15% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Sint-Niklaas 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.

Safety-wise, Sint-Niklaas and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.