Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Uppsala and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Uppsala: $2,081 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

99

Cost of Living Index in Uppsala
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Uppsala Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Uppsala

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,081

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,081 in Uppsala versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Uppsala $2,081
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,256 in Uppsala versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Uppsala $3,256
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Uppsala versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Uppsala $4,431
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Uppsala costs roughly 15% less than in Barcelona.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Uppsala 53% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.88 SEK 146

$17.59 €15.76

-15.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.0 SEK 775

$67.5 €60.5

17.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.11 SEK 99.3

$13.53 €12.12

-25.28%

Cappuccino

$4.83 SEK 47.43

$3.19 €2.86

51.41%

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

$2.99 SEK 29.39

$2.91 €2.61

2.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 SEK 24.03

$1.89 €1.70

29.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.12 SEK 79.7

$4.01 €3.59

102.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.25 SEK 101

$4.53 €4.06

126.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 SEK 17.76

$1.31 €1.17

38.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.86 SEK 28.12

$2.02 €1.81

41.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.76 SEK 46.70

$1.85 €1.66

157.30%

Eggs

$4.90 SEK 48.12

$4.83 €4.33

1.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.96 SEK 97.8

$16.74 €15.00

-40.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.63 SEK 144

$9.12 €8.17

60.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.91 SEK 176

$19.64 €17.60

-8.81%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 SEK 39.77

$2.98 €2.67

35.91%

Banana (1kg)

$2.75 SEK 26.97

$2.02 €1.81

36.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.63 SEK 35.65

$2.70 €2.42

34.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.30 SEK 52.0

$2.80 €2.51

89.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 SEK 18.65

$2.09 €1.87

-9.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 SEK 16.40

$2.07 €1.85

-19.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.58 SEK 25.36

$1.46 €1.31

76.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 SEK 13.04

$0.94 €0.84

41.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.84 SEK 77.0

$6.87 €6.16

14.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.17 SEK 99.9

$7.89 €7.07

28.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.41 SEK 23.64

$1.41 €1.26

70.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 SEK 25.61

$2.54 €2.27

2.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.04 SEK 39.72

$3.14 €2.82

28.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$112 SEK 1,101

$25.45 €22.80

340.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.44 SEK 53.5

$2.99 €2.68

81.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 SEK 13.05

$1.49 €1.34

-10.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$62.8 SEK 617

$33.37 €29.91

88.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 SEK 17.68

$1.80 €1.61

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

$32.6K SEK 319.7K

$33.2K €29.7K

-1.90%

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

$33.5K SEK 329.2K

$31.7K €28.4K

5.76%

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

$110 SEK 1,078

$180 €162

-39.13%

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

$16.28 SEK 160

$13.84 €12.40

17.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.41 SEK 475

$33.70 €30.20

43.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.35 SEK 406

$51.5 €46.16

-19.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.71 SEK 233

$15.96 €14.30

48.56%

Cinema Ticket

$17.96 SEK 176

$10.99 €9.85

63.42%

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

$126 SEK 1,233

$917 €821

-86.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$107 SEK 1,055

$87.0 €78.0

23.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.84 SEK 480

$38.51 €34.51

26.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.6 SEK 949

$106 €94.8

-8.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$205 SEK 2,009

$120 €107

70.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 SEK 10.1K

$1,699 €1,523

-39.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$800 SEK 7,860

$1,355 €1,214

-40.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 SEK 15.6K

$2,603 €2,332

-38.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,435 SEK 14.1K

$2,062 €1,848

-30.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,234 SEK 51.4K

$6,915 €6,196

-24.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,915 SEK 28.6K

$5,128 €4,595

-43.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,421 SEK 33.6K

$2,211 €1,981

54.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.09

3.28

24.70%

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

Last update for Uppsala: 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

Uppsala

$800 38.5%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 69.3% $555

Groceries & Markets

Uppsala

$393 18.9%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 18.1% $71

Eating Out

Uppsala

$290 13.9%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 7.7% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Uppsala

$206 9.9%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 23.3% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Uppsala

$175 8.4%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 30.6% $53

Getting Around

Uppsala

$140 6.8%

Barcelona

$48 2% 65.5% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Uppsala

$77 3.7%

Barcelona

$74 3% 4.9% $3.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,026 in Uppsala and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Uppsala pays 55% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $79 in Uppsala vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $393 vs $322 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Uppsala

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

03:28 3:28 AM

Same time as Uppsala

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

166,698

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.18 USD

100 SEK = 9.12 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.82 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 SEK (100 SEK = 9.12 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Uppsala Barcelona 2,310 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Uppsala
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

Uppsala vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay runs 55% higher in Uppsala, 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: $1,026 in Uppsala versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $126 in Uppsala versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 18% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Uppsala gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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