Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Varnamo and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Varnamo: $1,692 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

81

Cost of Living Index in Varnamo
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Varnamo Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Varnamo

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,692

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Varnamo versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Varnamo $1,692
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,672 in Varnamo versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Varnamo $2,672
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,652 in Varnamo versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Varnamo $3,652
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Varnamo costs roughly 31% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Varnamo 24% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.01 SEK 128

$17.59 €15.75

-26.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.7 SEK 880

$67.5 €60.5

32.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.23 SEK 120

$13.53 €12.12

-9.61%

Cappuccino

$4.68 SEK 45.91

$3.19 €2.86

46.71%

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

$2.72 SEK 26.67

$2.91 €2.61

-6.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 SEK 20.90

$1.89 €1.70

12.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.81 SEK 76.7

$4.01 €3.59

94.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.08 SEK 69.5

$4.53 €4.06

56.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 SEK 16.83

$1.31 €1.17

30.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.50 SEK 24.51

$2.02 €1.81

23.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.54 SEK 34.78

$1.85 €1.66

91.35%

Eggs

$4.63 SEK 45.42

$4.83 €4.33

-4.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 SEK 123

$16.74 €14.99

-24.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.73 SEK 115

$9.12 €8.17

28.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.69 SEK 154

$19.64 €17.59

-20.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 SEK 30.55

$2.98 €2.67

4.36%

Banana (1kg)

$2.55 SEK 25.01

$2.02 €1.81

26.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 SEK 27.66

$2.70 €2.42

4.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.52 SEK 44.35

$2.80 €2.51

61.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 SEK 16.92

$2.09 €1.87

-17.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.41 SEK 13.85

$2.07 €1.85

-31.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.57 SEK 25.23

$1.46 €1.31

76.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 SEK 14.95

$0.94 €0.84

61.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.81 SEK 76.7

$6.87 €6.15

13.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.14 SEK 109

$7.89 €7.06

41.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 SEK 18.99

$1.41 €1.26

36.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.64 SEK 25.94

$2.54 €2.27

3.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.19 SEK 31.33

$3.14 €2.82

1.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.7 SEK 733

$25.45 €22.79

193.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.04 SEK 49.48

$2.99 €2.68

68.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.08 SEK 10.58

$1.49 €1.34

-27.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.06 SEK 403

$33.37 €29.89

23.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 SEK 16.87

$1.80 €1.61

-4.44%

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

$33.6K SEK 329.5K

$33.2K €29.7K

1.16%

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

$34.2K SEK 336.1K

$31.7K €28.4K

8.04%

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

$77.0 SEK 755

$180 €162

-57.35%

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

$17.22 SEK 169

$13.84 €12.39

24.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.45 SEK 299

$33.70 €30.18

-9.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.03 SEK 383

$51.5 €46.13

-24.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.33 SEK 219

$15.96 €14.29

39.91%

Cinema Ticket

$15.36 SEK 151

$10.99 €9.85

39.76%

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

$157 SEK 1,539

$917 €821

-82.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,450 SEK 43.7K

$16.5K €14.8K

-73.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.4 SEK 789

$87.0 €77.9

-7.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.8 SEK 557

$38.51 €34.49

47.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.9 SEK 980

$106 €94.8

-5.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 SEK 1,208

$120 €107

2.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$794 SEK 7,795

$1,699 €1,522

-53.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$612 SEK 6,003

$1,355 €1,214

-54.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,178 SEK 11.6K

$2,603 €2,331

-54.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$985 SEK 9,664

$2,062 €1,847

-52.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,023 SEK 39.5K

$6,915 €6,193

-41.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,853 SEK 28.0K

$5,128 €4,592

-44.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,032 SEK 19.9K

$2,211 €1,980

-8.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.03

3.28

-7.62%

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

Last update for Varnamo: October 24, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Varnamo

$612 36.2%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 122% $744

Groceries & Markets

Varnamo

$357 21.1%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 9.8% $35

Eating Out

Varnamo

$269 15.9%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 0.6% $1.6

Clothing & Footwear

Varnamo

$162 9.6%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 2.5% $4.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Varnamo

$125 7.4%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 82.9% $103

Getting Around

Varnamo

$98 5.8%

Barcelona

$48 2% 50.5% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Varnamo

$70 4.1%

Barcelona

$74 3% 5.4% $3.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $794 in Varnamo and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 9% 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: $90 in Varnamo vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $357 vs $322 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Varnamo

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

21:27 9:27 PM

Same time as Varnamo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

19,778

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.19 USD

100 SEK = 9.13 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 9.81 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 SEK (100 SEK = 9.13 EUR).

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

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Varnamo Barcelona 1,950 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Varnamo
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

Varnamo vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,692 in Varnamo and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Varnamo is about 31% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 8% lower in Varnamo. 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: $794 in Varnamo versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $157 in Varnamo 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 10% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Varnamo 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, Varnamo and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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