Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Targu Mures and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Targu Mures: $1,038 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Targu Mures
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Targu Mures Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Targu Mures

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,038

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,038 in Targu Mures versus $2,443 in Barcelona.

Targu Mures $1,038
Barcelona $2,443

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,544 in Targu Mures versus $3,519 in Barcelona.

Targu Mures $1,544
Barcelona $3,519

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,049 in Targu Mures versus $4,595 in Barcelona.

Targu Mures $2,049
Barcelona $4,595

Living in Targu Mures costs roughly 57% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Targu Mures is 23% below, Barcelona is 81% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.64 RON 41.04

$17.66 €15.72

-51.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.79 RON 199

$67.5 €60.1

-38.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.26 RON 39.23

$13.61 €12.12

-39.31%

Cappuccino

$2.12 RON 10.07

$3.10 €2.76

-31.61%

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

$1.58 RON 7.51

$3.00 €2.67

-47.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.65

$1.93 €1.72

-38.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.66 RON 7.88

$3.84 €3.42

-56.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 RON 10.82

$4.36 €3.88

-47.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 RON 6.65

$1.25 €1.11

12.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 RON 5.06

$2.12 €1.89

-49.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 RON 6.68

$1.97 €1.76

-28.93%

Eggs

$2.84 RON 13.52

$4.76 €4.24

-40.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.17 RON 38.82

$17.07 €15.20

-52.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.89 RON 27.99

$8.96 €7.97

-34.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.33 RON 49.07

$20.65 €18.39

-49.98%

Apples (1kg)

$1.00 RON 4.75

$3.16 €2.81

-68.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 RON 6.19

$1.97 €1.75

-34.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 RON 6.91

$2.65 €2.36

-45.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.76 RON 8.37

$2.88 €2.57

-38.89%

Potato (1kg)

$0.76 RON 3.62

$2.06 €1.83

-63.11%

Onion (1kg)

$0.53 RON 2.54

$2.18 €1.94

-75.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 RON 4.17

$1.53 €1.37

-42.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 RON 3.61

$0.97 €0.86

-21.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.86 RON 27.82

$6.97 €6.20

-15.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.22 RON 34.31

$7.89 €7.02

-8.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 RON 4.91

$1.42 €1.26

-27.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 RON 7.65

$2.69 €2.39

-40.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.64 RON 3.04

$3.31 €2.95

-80.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.66 RON 122

$25.61 €22.80

0.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.24 RON 5.87

$3.08 €2.75

-59.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.28 RON 6.11

$1.48 €1.32

-13.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.29 RON 58.4

$32.87 €29.27

-62.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 RON 8.89

$1.87 €1.66

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

$29.1K RON 138.1K

$33.0K €29.4K

-11.84%

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

$25.8K RON 122.4K

$31.9K €28.4K

-19.39%

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

$102 RON 485

$183 €163

-44.22%

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

$9.50 RON 45.16

$14.24 €12.68

-33.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.88 RON 37.46

$34.56 €30.78

-77.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.39 RON 182

$51.4 €45.79

-25.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.37 RON 87.3

$16.38 €14.59

12.15%

Cinema Ticket

$6.34 RON 30.14

$11.06 €9.85

-42.68%

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

$1,322 RON 6,282

$944 €840

40.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.4 RON 244

$87.7 €78.1

-41.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.33 RON 144

$38.77 €34.52

-21.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.2 RON 358

$105 €93.1

-28.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.4 RON 368

$118 €105

-34.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$466 RON 2,214

$1,697 €1,511

-72.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$391 RON 1,855

$1,337 €1,190

-70.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$702 RON 3,334

$2,692 €2,397

-73.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$548 RON 2,604

$2,077 €1,849

-73.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,493 RON 11.8K

$7,155 €6,371

-65.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,631 RON 7,750

$5,079 €4,522

-67.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,030 RON 4,894

$2,241 €1,996

-54.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.47

3.19

134.17%

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

Last update for Targu Mures: 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

Targu Mures

$391 37.6%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7% 242% $946

Groceries & Markets

Targu Mures

$193 18.6%

Barcelona

$328 13.4% 69.9% $135

Eating Out

Targu Mures

$143 13.8%

Barcelona

$267 10.9% 86.4% $124

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Targu Mures

$119 11.5%

Barcelona

$232 9.5% 94.1% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Targu Mures

$105 10.2%

Barcelona

$157 6.4% 48.8% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Targu Mures

$51 4.9%

Barcelona

$74 3% 44% $22

Getting Around

Targu Mures

$36 3.5%

Barcelona

$49 2% 37.5% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $466 in Targu Mures and $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.2 times 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: $42 in Targu Mures vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $193 vs $328 per month, with Targu Mures cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Targu Mures

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

14:26 2:26 PM

13:26 1:26 PM

1 h behind Targu Mures

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

134,290

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.75 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Targu Mures Barcelona 1,870 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Targu Mures
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

Targu Mures vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,038 in Targu Mures and $2,443 in Barcelona, so Targu Mures is about 57% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 54% lower in Targu Mures. 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: $466 in Targu Mures versus $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,322 in Targu Mures versus $944 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Targu Mures – a meal for two runs $42 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Targu Mures is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Targu Mures and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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