Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sundsvall and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Sundsvall: $1,696 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

Sundsvall
🇸🇪 Sweden
$1,696
/mo nomad
Barcelona
🇪🇸 Spain
$2,399
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,696 in Sundsvall versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

  • Sundsvall $1,696
  • Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,576 in Sundsvall versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

  • Sundsvall $2,576
  • Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,455 in Sundsvall versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

  • Sundsvall $3,455
  • Barcelona $4,421

Living in Sundsvall costs roughly 29% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sundsvall 26% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Sundsvall
Barcelona
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$14.86 SEK 147
$17.94 €15.96
-17.17%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$79.8 SEK 790
$68.1 €60.5
17.21%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.94 SEK 108
$13.28 €11.81
-17.62%
Cappuccino
$4.72 SEK 46.78
$3.25 €2.89
45.23%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.44 SEK 24.18
$3.01 €2.67
-18.94%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.84 SEK 18.22
$1.87 €1.66
-1.60%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$8.43 SEK 83.5
$3.85 €3.42
118.96%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$7.67 SEK 76.0
$4.48 €3.98
71.21%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Sundsvall
Barcelona
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.45 SEK 14.37
$1.29 €1.15
12.40%
White Bread (500g)
$2.94 SEK 29.12
$2.04 €1.81
44.12%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$3.56 SEK 35.28
$1.72 €1.53
106.98%
Eggs
$3.25 SEK 32.23
$4.77 €4.24
-31.87%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$9.42 SEK 93.4
$16.77 €14.92
-43.83%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.62 SEK 95.4
$8.93 €7.94
7.73%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$17.05 SEK 169
$19.88 €17.68
-14.24%
Apples (1kg)
$2.73 SEK 27.05
$2.98 €2.65
-8.39%
Banana (1kg)
$2.25 SEK 22.25
$2.03 €1.80
10.84%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.39 SEK 23.69
$2.73 €2.43
-12.45%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.86 SEK 38.29
$2.68 €2.38
44.03%
Potato (1kg)
$1.43 SEK 14.17
$2.10 €1.87
-31.90%
Onion (1kg)
$1.34 SEK 13.28
$2.08 €1.85
-35.58%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.80 SEK 17.85
$1.45 €1.29
24.14%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.92 SEK 9.09
$0.89 €0.79
3.37%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$7.25 SEK 71.8
$6.94 €6.17
4.47%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.76 SEK 86.8
$7.78 €6.92
12.60%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.66 SEK 16.43
$1.45 €1.29
14.48%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.30 SEK 12.91
$2.57 €2.29
-49.42%
🚌 Getting Around
Sundsvall
Barcelona
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.30 SEK 32.74
$2.99 €2.66
10.37%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$85.1 SEK 843
$25.20 €22.41
237.62%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.82 SEK 57.7
$3.12 €2.77
86.54%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$6.09 SEK 60.4
$1.44 €1.28
322.92%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
-
$33.50 €29.80
-
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.75 SEK 17.32
$1.79 €1.59
-2.23%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$30.7K SEK 304.4K
$34.6K €30.8K
-11.30%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$30.1K SEK 298.6K
$30.1K €26.7K
0.23%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sundsvall
Barcelona
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$101 SEK 1,002
$178 €158
-43.14%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$28.07 SEK 278
$13.32 €11.85
110.74%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$36.21 SEK 359
$34.88 €31.03
3.81%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Sundsvall
Barcelona
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$40.52 SEK 401
$53.3 €47.37
-23.91%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$15.65 SEK 155
$16.01 €14.24
-2.25%
Cinema Ticket
$13.93 SEK 138
$11.06 €9.84
25.95%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Sundsvall
Barcelona
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$134 SEK 1,332
$957 €851
-85.94%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
-
$16.6K €14.7K
-
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Sundsvall
Barcelona
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$92.4 SEK 916
$88.2 €78.4
4.83%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$19.51 SEK 193
$39.49 €35.12
-50.60%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$66.2 SEK 656
$103 €91.5
-35.64%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$121 SEK 1,203
$121 €108
-0.02%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Sundsvall
Barcelona
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$662 SEK 6,564
$1,653 €1,470
-59.92%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$602 SEK 5,962
$1,302 €1,158
-53.78%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,171 SEK 11.6K
$2,557 €2,275
-54.19%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$858 SEK 8,498
$1,915 €1,703
-55.21%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,349 SEK 23.3K
$7,286 €6,481
-67.75%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,660 SEK 16.4K
$5,080 €4,519
-67.32%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Sundsvall
Barcelona
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$3,017 SEK 29.9K
$2,281 €2,029
32.31%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.88
3.28
18.29%

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

Last update for Sundsvall: 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
Sundsvall
$602
Barcelona
$1.3K 116% $700
Groceries & Markets
Sundsvall
$308
Barcelona
$320 3.8% $12
Eating Out
Sundsvall
$283
Barcelona
$270 4.6% $13
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sundsvall
$165
Barcelona
$226 36.7% $61
Clothing & Footwear
Sundsvall
$135
Barcelona
$158 17.5% $24
Getting Around
Sundsvall
$135
Barcelona
$47 64.7% $87
Sport & Entertainment
Sundsvall
$68
Barcelona
$75 10.2% $7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $662 in Sundsvall and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sundsvall pays 32% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $80.0 in Sundsvall vs $68.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $308 vs $320, with Sundsvall cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇸🇪 Sundsvall
🇪🇸 Barcelona
🕒 Local time
06:27 6:27 AM
06:27 6:27 AM
Same time as Sundsvall
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
57,606
1,660,122
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

On the map
Between locations
  • Sundsvall Barcelona 2,540 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Sundsvall
  • 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
Sundsvall vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Sundsvall and in Barcelona?
Sundsvall and Barcelona differ by about 41% in total monthly costs ($1,696 vs $2,399 including rent). Sundsvall is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city pays better: Sundsvall or Barcelona?
Average pay runs 32% higher in Sundsvall, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
How do apartment prices compare in Sundsvall and in Barcelona?
Rent for a central apartment: $662 in Sundsvall versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Sundsvall and Barcelona?
Childcare runs $134 in Sundsvall versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Supermarket bills run roughly 4% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city is more doable on $3,000 per month?
At $1,696 in Sundsvall versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Sundsvall but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Sundsvall the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Sundsvall and Barcelona?
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.
Is Sundsvall or Barcelona safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Sundsvall 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.
Where should expats move: Sundsvall or Barcelona?
Expats usually find Sundsvall gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

Sundsvall vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Show times on the 12-hour clock, temperatures in °F and distances in miles?