Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Turnhout and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Turnhout: $2,127 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

103

Cost of Living Index in Turnhout
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Turnhout Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Turnhout

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,127

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,127 in Turnhout versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Turnhout $2,127
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,076 in Turnhout versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Turnhout $3,076
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,024 in Turnhout versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Turnhout $4,024
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Turnhout costs roughly 11% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Turnhout 58% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.68 €20.17

$17.94 €15.96

26.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.0 €57.0

$68.1 €60.5

-5.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.58 €13.86

$13.28 €11.81

17.32%

Cappuccino

$4.25 €3.78

$3.25 €2.89

30.77%

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

$3.09 €2.75

$3.01 €2.67

2.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.87 €1.66

45.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.19 €4.62

$3.85 €3.42

34.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.67 €4.16

$4.48 €3.98

4.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.08 €0.96

$1.29 €1.15

-16.28%

White Bread (500g)

$1.63 €1.45

$2.04 €1.81

-20.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 €1.90

$1.72 €1.53

23.84%

Eggs

$3.98 €3.54

$4.77 €4.24

-16.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.93 €8.83

$16.77 €14.92

-40.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.11

$8.93 €7.94

2.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.36 €17.22

$19.88 €17.68

-2.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.77 €2.47

$2.98 €2.65

-7.05%

Banana (1kg)

$2.41 €2.14

$2.03 €1.80

18.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.51 €2.23

$2.73 €2.43

-8.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.85 €2.53

$2.68 €2.38

6.34%

Potato (1kg)

$2.12 €1.89

$2.10 €1.87

0.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.93 €1.71

$2.08 €1.85

-7.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.45 €1.29

-24.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 €0.95

$0.89 €0.79

20.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.99 €11.55

$6.94 €6.17

87.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.06 €4.50

$7.78 €6.92

-34.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 €1.46

$1.45 €1.29

13.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 €2.11

$2.57 €2.29

-7.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.77 €2.46

$2.99 €2.66

-7.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$49.54 €44.07

$25.20 €22.41

96.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$11.30 €10.05

$3.12 €2.77

262.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.93 €2.61

$1.44 €1.28

103.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$52.3 €46.56

$33.50 €29.80

56.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 €1.71

$1.79 €1.59

7.82%

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

$34.8K €30.9K

$34.6K €30.8K

0.37%

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

$33.7K €29.9K

$30.1K €26.7K

11.97%

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

$225 €200

$178 €158

26.61%

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

$21.17 €18.83

$13.32 €11.85

58.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.30 €42.07

$34.88 €31.03

35.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$125 €111

$53.3 €47.37

134.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.43 €19.95

$16.01 €14.24

40.10%

Cinema Ticket

$13.60 €12.10

$11.06 €9.84

22.97%

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

$547 €487

$957 €851

-42.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.1K €18.7K

$16.6K €14.7K

27.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 €94.0

$88.2 €78.4

19.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.94 €41.75

$39.49 €35.12

18.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 €95.9

$103 €91.5

4.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$148 €132

$121 €108

22.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$910 €809

$1,653 €1,470

-44.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$785 €699

$1,302 €1,158

-39.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,236 €1,100

$2,557 €2,275

-51.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,105 €983

$1,915 €1,703

-42.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,592 €2,305

$2,281 €2,029

13.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.2

3.28

-2.44%

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

Last update for Turnhout: October 11, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Turnhout

$786 36.9%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 65.7% $516

Eating Out

Turnhout

$338 15.9%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 20.1% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Turnhout

$294 13.8%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 23% $68

Groceries & Markets

Turnhout

$288 13.5%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 11.1% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Turnhout

$184 8.7%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 13.9% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Turnhout

$152 7.1%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 50.4% $76

Getting Around

Turnhout

$87 4.1%

Barcelona

$47 2% 45.2% $39

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $910 in Turnhout and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Turnhout pays 14% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $64.0 in Turnhout vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $320 per month, with Turnhout cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Turnhout

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

00:35 12:35 AM

Same time as Turnhout

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

44,000

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

Turnhout Barcelona 1,130 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Turnhout
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

Turnhout vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Turnhout and Barcelona differ by about 13% in total monthly costs ($2,127 vs $2,399 including rent). Turnhout is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 14% higher in Turnhout, 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: $910 in Turnhout versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $547 in Turnhout versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 11% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,127 in Turnhout versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Turnhout but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Turnhout 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, Turnhout 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 Turnhout gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.