Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Venice and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Venice: $2,122 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

101

Cost of Living Index in Venice
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Venice Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Venice

🇮🇹 Italy

$2,122

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,122 in Venice versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Venice $2,122
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,228 in Venice versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Venice $3,228
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,335 in Venice versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Venice $4,335
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Venice costs roughly 13% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Venice 56% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.16 €19.85

$17.59 €15.75

25.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$96.3 €86.2

$67.5 €60.5

42.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.32 €11.04

$13.53 €12.12

-8.94%

Cappuccino

$2.16 €1.93

$3.19 €2.86

-32.29%

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

$3.51 €3.14

$2.91 €2.61

20.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.73

$1.89 €1.70

2.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.52 €5.84

$4.01 €3.59

62.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.46 €4.89

$4.53 €4.06

20.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.31 €1.17

45.80%

White Bread (500g)

$2.73 €2.45

$2.02 €1.81

35.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.83 €3.43

$1.85 €1.66

107.03%

Eggs

$5.13 €4.60

$4.83 €4.33

6.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.80 €13.25

$16.74 €14.99

-11.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.83 €14.18

$9.12 €8.17

73.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$28.39 €25.42

$19.64 €17.59

44.55%

Apples (1kg)

$3.60 €3.22

$2.98 €2.67

20.81%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 €2.71

$2.02 €1.81

49.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.90 €2.60

$2.70 €2.42

7.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.33 €4.77

$2.80 €2.51

90.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 €1.78

$2.09 €1.87

-4.78%

Onion (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.07 €1.85

0.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.46 €1.31

43.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 €0.62

$0.94 €0.84

-25.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.65 €5.96

$6.87 €6.15

-3.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.76 €6.06

$7.89 €7.06

-14.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.41 €1.26

23.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 €2.04

$2.54 €2.27

-10.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.73 €1.55

$3.14 €2.82

-44.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.33 €37.02

$25.45 €22.79

62.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.58 €4.10

$2.99 €2.68

53.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.75 €1.57

$1.49 €1.34

17.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.45 €29.96

$33.37 €29.89

0.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.11 €1.89

$1.80 €1.61

17.22%

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

$35.6K €31.9K

$33.2K €29.7K

7.26%

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

$37.7K €33.7K

$31.7K €28.4K

18.85%

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

$276 €247

$180 €162

52.87%

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

$10.01 €8.97

$13.84 €12.39

-27.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.57 €30.06

$33.70 €30.18

-0.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$79.5 €71.2

$51.5 €46.13

54.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.30 €20.87

$15.96 €14.29

45.99%

Cinema Ticket

$11.37 €10.19

$10.99 €9.85

3.46%

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

$626 €561

$917 €821

-31.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,832 €6,118

$16.5K €14.8K

-58.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.5 €83.7

$87.0 €77.9

7.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.26 €33.37

$38.51 €34.49

-3.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 €108

$106 €94.8

14.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$174 €156

$120 €107

45.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,295 €1,160

$1,699 €1,522

-23.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$723 €648

$1,355 €1,214

-46.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,764 €2,475

$2,603 €2,331

6.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,122 €1,005

$2,062 €1,847

-45.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,816 €6,104

$6,915 €6,193

-1.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,932 €2,626

$5,128 €4,592

-42.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,678 €1,503

$2,211 €1,980

-24.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.15

3.28

-3.96%

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

Last update for Venice: October 25, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Venice

$723 34.1%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 87.4% $632

Groceries & Markets

Venice

$419 19.7%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 23.2% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Venice

$319 15.1%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 28.6% $91

Eating Out

Venice

$305 14.4%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 12.3% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Venice

$191 9%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 17.5% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Venice

$102 4.8%

Barcelona

$74 3% 28.1% $29

Getting Around

Venice

$62 2.9%

Barcelona

$48 2% 21.3% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,295 in Venice and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 32% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $96 in Venice vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $419 vs $322 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Venice

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

13:16 1:16 PM

Same time as Venice

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,879

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Venice Barcelona 940 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Venice
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

Venice vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,122 in Venice and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Venice is about 13% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 24% lower in Venice. 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: $1,295 in Venice versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $626 in Venice 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 23% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Venice 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, Venice and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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