Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Julians and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in St. Julians: $2,257 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

109

Cost of Living Index in St. Julians
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St. Julians Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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St. Julians

🇲🇹 Malta

$2,257

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,184 in St. Julians versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

St. Julians $2,184
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,439 in St. Julians versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

St. Julians $3,439
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,694 in St. Julians versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

St. Julians $4,694
Barcelona $4,421

Living in St. Julians costs roughly 9% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: St. Julians 62% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.12 €17.90

$17.89 €15.92

12.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$99.0 €88.1

$66.2 €58.9

49.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.09 €9.87

$13.69 €12.18

-18.99%

Cappuccino

$3.27 €2.91

$3.06 €2.72

6.86%

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

$3.06 €2.72

$3.07 €2.73

-0.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.94 €1.73

-2.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.57 €4.06

$3.87 €3.44

18.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 €4.06

$4.61 €4.10

-1.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 €1.10

$1.30 €1.16

-4.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.75 €1.56

$2.10 €1.87

-16.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.38 €3.00

$1.83 €1.62

84.70%

Eggs

$4.54 €4.04

$4.62 €4.11

-1.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.83 €16.75

$17.36 €15.44

8.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.64 €9.46

$9.28 €8.25

14.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.95 €15.97

$19.83 €17.64

-9.48%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 €2.70

$3.01 €2.68

0.66%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 €1.83

$2.03 €1.81

0.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.88 €2.56

$2.65 €2.36

8.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 €3.55

$2.87 €2.55

39.02%

Potato (1kg)

$2.43 €2.16

$2.16 €1.92

12.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.39 €2.12

$2.15 €1.91

11.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.91 €1.70

$1.47 €1.31

29.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.88 €0.79

1.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.77 €6.02

$6.93 €6.16

-2.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.21 €6.42

$7.83 €6.96

-7.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 €1.44

$1.39 €1.24

16.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.35 €2.09

$2.63 €2.34

-10.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.55 €2.27

$2.91 €2.59

-12.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.59 €4.09

$3.00 €2.66

53.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.65 €1.47

$1.44 €1.28

14.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.13 €34.80

$33.20 €29.53

17.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.86 €1.65

-17.20%

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

$27.5K €24.5K

$32.3K €28.8K

-14.94%

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

$39.5K €35.2K

$31.7K €28.2K

24.70%

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

$76.7 €68.2

$183 €163

-58.06%

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

$35.28 €31.38

$13.61 €12.11

159.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.16 €31.27

$32.93 €29.29

6.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$94.5 €84.1

$54.7 €48.65

72.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$39.97 €35.56

$16.52 €14.70

141.95%

Cinema Ticket

$11.39 €10.13

$11.23 €9.99

1.42%

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

$618 €550

$954 €849

-35.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.9K €12.4K

$16.6K €14.8K

-16.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$146 €130

$86.0 €76.5

69.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.1 €49.02

$39.11 €34.78

40.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 €108

$104 €92.2

16.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$164 €146

$119 €106

38.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,391 €1,237

$1,695 €1,508

-17.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,124 €999

$1,276 €1,135

-11.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,555 €2,273

$2,576 €2,291

-0.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,042 €1,816

$1,922 €1,710

6.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,727 €5,094

$7,281 €6,477

-21.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,143 €2,796

$5,010 €4,456

-37.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,426 €2,158

$2,227 €1,981

8.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.22

3.28

-1.83%

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

Last update for St. Julians: October 19, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St. Julians

$1.1K 49.8%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 13.6% $153

Groceries & Markets

St. Julians

$342 15.1%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 4.9% $17

Eating Out

St. Julians

$285 12.6%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 5.5% $16

Clothing & Footwear

St. Julians

$219 9.7%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 28.5% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Julians

$147 6.5%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 55.9% $82

Sport & Entertainment

St. Julians

$117 5.2%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 34.2% $40

Getting Around

St. Julians

$23 * 1%

Barcelona

$47 2% 105% $24

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 $1,318 in St. Julians and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 7% 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: $95.0 in St. Julians vs $68.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $301 vs $320, with St. Julians cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇹 St. Julians

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

12:03 12:03 PM

Same time as St. Julians

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,792

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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Between locations

St. Julians Barcelona 1,230 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

St. Julians
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

St. Julians vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St. Julians and Barcelona differ by about 10% in total monthly costs ($2,184 vs $2,399 including rent). St. Julians is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 7% 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: $1,318 in St. Julians versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $587 in St. Julians versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in St. Julians – a meal for two runs $95.0 versus $68.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,184 in St. Julians versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in St. Julians but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes St. Julians 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, St. Julians 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 St. Julians gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.