Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Szombathely and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Szombathely: $1,222 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Szombathely
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Szombathely Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Szombathely

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,222

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,222 in Szombathely versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Szombathely $1,222
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,944 in Szombathely versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Szombathely $1,944
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,666 in Szombathely versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Szombathely $2,666
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Szombathely costs roughly 50% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Szombathely is 10% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.43 Ft 3,746

$17.59 €15.75

-35.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.7 Ft 17.6K

$67.5 €60.5

-20.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.03 Ft 2,961

$13.53 €12.12

-33.26%

Cappuccino

$2.36 Ft 772

$3.19 €2.86

-26.02%

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

$1.29 Ft 422

$2.91 €2.61

-55.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 Ft 399

$1.89 €1.70

-35.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.71 Ft 559

$4.01 €3.59

-57.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 Ft 735

$4.53 €4.06

-50.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 Ft 390

$1.31 €1.17

-9.16%

White Bread (500g)

$1.63 Ft 534

$2.02 €1.81

-19.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 Ft 817

$1.85 €1.66

34.59%

Eggs

$3.26 Ft 1,068

$4.83 €4.33

-32.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.39 Ft 3,405

$16.74 €14.99

-37.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.78 Ft 2,224

$9.12 €8.17

-25.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.03 Ft 5,254

$19.64 €17.59

-18.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.23 Ft 729

$2.98 €2.67

-25.17%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 Ft 669

$2.02 €1.81

0.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 783

$2.70 €2.42

-11.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.42 Ft 1,122

$2.80 €2.51

22.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 Ft 351

$2.09 €1.87

-48.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.39 Ft 456

$2.07 €1.85

-32.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.77 Ft 581

$1.46 €1.31

21.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 Ft 180

$0.94 €0.84

-41.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.90 Ft 2,916

$6.87 €6.15

29.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.45 Ft 1,457

$7.89 €7.06

-43.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 416

$1.41 €1.26

-9.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 Ft 827

$2.54 €2.27

-0.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 Ft 271

$3.14 €2.82

-73.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.83 Ft 8,795

$25.45 €22.79

5.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.67 Ft 877

$2.99 €2.68

-10.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 Ft 436

$1.49 €1.34

-10.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.51 Ft 7,705

$33.37 €29.89

-29.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 594

$1.80 €1.61

0.56%

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

$27.3K Ft 9.0M

$33.2K €29.7K

-17.62%

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

$33.0K Ft 10.8M

$31.7K €28.4K

4.20%

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

$166 Ft 54.5K

$180 €162

-7.77%

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

$20.51 Ft 6,722

$13.84 €12.39

48.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.05 Ft 6,900

$33.70 €30.18

-37.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 Ft 16.7K

$51.5 €46.13

-0.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.97 Ft 5,890

$15.96 €14.29

12.59%

Cinema Ticket

$4.46 Ft 1,463

$10.99 €9.85

-59.42%

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

$433 Ft 141.8K

$917 €821

-52.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,571 Ft 2.5M

$16.5K €14.8K

-54.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$100 Ft 32.9K

$87.0 €77.9

15.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.6 Ft 16.9K

$38.51 €34.49

34.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 Ft 31.5K

$106 €94.8

-9.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 Ft 36.5K

$120 €107

-7.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$521 Ft 170.9K

$1,699 €1,522

-69.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$329 Ft 107.9K

$1,355 €1,214

-75.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$746 Ft 244.7K

$2,603 €2,331

-71.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$643 Ft 210.7K

$2,062 €1,847

-68.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,419 Ft 792.8K

$6,915 €6,193

-65.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,983 Ft 649.9K

$5,128 €4,592

-61.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,165 Ft 381.8K

$2,211 €1,980

-47.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.5

3.28

128.66%

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

Last update for Szombathely: 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

Szombathely

$329 26.9%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 312% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Szombathely

$254 20.8%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 26.5% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Szombathely

$208 17%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 9.6% $20

Eating Out

Szombathely

$170 13.9%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 57.8% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Szombathely

$162 13.2%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 2.3% $3.7

Sport & Entertainment

Szombathely

$60 4.9%

Barcelona

$74 3% 22.7% $14

Getting Around

Szombathely

$39 3.2%

Barcelona

$48 2% 22.8% $9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $521 in Szombathely and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 90% 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: $54 in Szombathely vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $254 vs $322 per month, with Szombathely cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Szombathely

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

08:17 8:17 AM

Same time as Szombathely

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

77,757

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.05 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.72 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 328 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.05 USD). 1 EUR = 367 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.72 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Szombathely Barcelona 1,320 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Szombathely
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

Szombathely vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,222 in Szombathely and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Szombathely is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 47% lower in Szombathely. 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: $521 in Szombathely versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $433 in Szombathely 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 27% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,222 in Szombathely versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Szombathely but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Szombathely 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, Szombathely and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Szombathely wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.