Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Turrialba and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Turrialba: $1,724 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

83

Cost of Living Index in Turrialba
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Turrialba Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Turrialba

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,724

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,724 in Turrialba versus $2,443 in Barcelona.

Turrialba $1,724
Barcelona $2,443

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,740 in Turrialba versus $3,519 in Barcelona.

Turrialba $2,740
Barcelona $3,519

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,757 in Turrialba versus $4,595 in Barcelona.

Turrialba $3,757
Barcelona $4,595

Living in Turrialba costs roughly 29% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Turrialba 27% above, Barcelona 81% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.24 ₡5,503

$17.66 €15.77

-30.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.6 ₡28.1K

$67.5 €60.3

-7.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.59 ₡5,210

$13.61 €12.16

-14.84%

Cappuccino

$4.48 ₡2,013

$3.10 €2.77

44.52%

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

$2.76 ₡1,241

$3.00 €2.68

-8.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 ₡875

$1.93 €1.72

1.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.20 ₡1,438

$3.84 €3.43

-16.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.45 ₡2,001

$4.36 €3.89

2.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.35 ₡1,056

$1.25 €1.11

88.00%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 ₡1,355

$2.12 €1.90

41.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,130

$1.97 €1.76

27.41%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,604

$4.76 €4.25

-25.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.50 ₡4,721

$17.07 €15.24

-38.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.63 ₡4,778

$8.96 €8.00

18.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.87 ₡6,239

$20.65 €18.44

-32.83%

Apples (1kg)

$5.18 ₡2,329

$3.16 €2.82

63.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 ₡738

$1.97 €1.76

-16.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.87 ₡2,188

$2.65 €2.37

83.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.92 ₡1,762

$2.88 €2.58

36.11%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,708

$2.06 €1.84

84.47%

Onion (1kg)

$3.59 ₡1,612

$2.18 €1.95

64.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ₡487

$1.53 €1.37

-29.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.19 ₡1,436

$0.97 €0.87

228.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.07 ₡2,728

$6.97 €6.22

-12.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,942

$7.89 €7.05

151.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.79 ₡1,255

$1.42 €1.26

96.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.58 ₡1,611

$2.69 €2.40

33.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.30 ₡586

$3.31 €2.96

-60.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.87

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.49 ₡1,118

$3.08 €2.75

-19.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡706

$1.48 €1.32

6.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.72 ₡3,922

$32.87 €29.36

-73.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡683

$1.87 €1.67

-18.72%

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

$34.3K ₡15.4M

$33.0K €29.4K

3.96%

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

$42.6K ₡19.2M

$31.9K €28.5K

33.48%

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

$95.6 ₡43.0K

$183 €163

-47.72%

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

$35.61 ₡16.0K

$14.24 €12.72

150.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59.7 ₡26.8K

$34.56 €30.87

72.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.6 ₡29.9K

$51.4 €45.93

29.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.64

Cinema Ticket

$7.56 ₡3,401

$11.06 €9.88

-31.65%

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

$992 ₡446.1K

$944 €843

5.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K ₡7.6M

$22.3K €19.9K

-24.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.1 ₡32.0K

$87.7 €78.3

-18.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.2 ₡25.3K

$38.77 €34.63

44.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 ₡57.9K

$105 €93.4

23.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 ₡59.6K

$118 €105

12.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡354.4K

$1,697 €1,516

-53.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 ₡283.0K

$1,337 €1,194

-52.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 ₡850.9K

$2,692 €2,405

-29.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,268 ₡570.1K

$2,077 €1,855

-38.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,391

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,537

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €2,002

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

3.19

170.22%

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

Last update for Turrialba: 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

Turrialba

$629 36.5%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7% 112% $707

Groceries & Markets

Turrialba

$401 23.3%

Barcelona

$328 13.4% 18.3% $73

Eating Out

Turrialba

$230 13.4%

Barcelona

$267 10.9% 16% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Turrialba

$191 11.1%

Barcelona

$232 9.5% 21.4% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Turrialba

$175 10.2%

Barcelona

$157 6.4% 10.3% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Turrialba

$82 4.7%

Barcelona

$74 3% 10% $8.1

Getting Around

Turrialba

$16 * 0.9%

Barcelona

$49 2% 217% $34

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 $788 in Turrialba and $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $63 in Turrialba vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $401 vs $328, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Turrialba

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

08:14 8:14 AM

15:14 3:14 PM

7 h ahead of Turrialba

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

27,000

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Turrialba Barcelona 8,940 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Turrialba
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

Turrialba vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,724 in Turrialba and $2,443 in Barcelona, so Turrialba is about 29% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,585 in Turrialba and $3,664 in Barcelona to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $788 in Turrialba versus $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $992 in Turrialba 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 Turrialba – a meal for two runs $63 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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