Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Villingen-Schwenningen and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Villingen-Schwenningen: $1,846 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

90

Cost of Living Index in Villingen-Schwenningen
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Villingen-Schwenningen Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Villingen-Schwenningen

🇩🇪 Germany

$1,846

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,846 in Villingen-Schwenningen versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Villingen-Schwenningen $1,846
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,844 in Villingen-Schwenningen versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Villingen-Schwenningen $2,844
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,842 in Villingen-Schwenningen versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Villingen-Schwenningen $3,842
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Villingen-Schwenningen costs roughly 23% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Villingen-Schwenningen 37% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.34 €13.65

$17.94 €15.96

-14.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.9 €49.72

$68.1 €60.5

-17.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.24 €9.10

$13.28 €11.81

-22.89%

Cappuccino

$3.39 €3.02

$3.25 €2.89

4.31%

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

$3.40 €3.02

$3.01 €2.67

12.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 €2.04

$1.87 €1.66

22.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.09 €4.53

$3.85 €3.42

32.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 €3.89

$4.48 €3.98

-2.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 €1.09

$1.29 €1.15

-5.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 €1.84

$2.04 €1.81

1.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.95 €2.63

$1.72 €1.53

71.51%

Eggs

$2.50 €2.22

$4.77 €4.24

-47.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 €8.77

$16.77 €14.92

-41.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.30 €10.05

$8.93 €7.94

26.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.31 €13.62

$19.88 €17.68

-22.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.97 €2.64

$2.98 €2.65

-0.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 €1.45

$2.03 €1.80

-19.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$2.73 €2.43

-23.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.96 €3.53

$2.68 €2.38

47.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 €1.14

$2.10 €1.87

-39.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 €1.14

$2.08 €1.85

-38.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.45 €1.29

-6.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.89 €0.79

22.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.69 €8.62

$6.94 €6.17

39.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.86 €3.44

$7.78 €6.92

-50.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 €1.08

$1.45 €1.29

-15.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.54 €1.37

$2.57 €2.29

-40.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.36 €2.99

$2.99 €2.66

12.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.4 €59.0

$25.20 €22.41

163.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.92 €4.38

$3.12 €2.77

57.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.72 €2.42

$1.44 €1.28

88.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$42.34 €37.66

$33.50 €29.80

26.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.79 €1.59

13.97%

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

$32.6K €29.0K

$34.6K €30.8K

-5.81%

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

$37.8K €33.7K

$30.1K €26.7K

25.83%

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

$481 €428

$178 €158

170.49%

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

$15.63 €13.91

$13.32 €11.85

17.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.05 €40.96

$34.88 €31.03

32.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.88 €34.58

$53.3 €47.37

-26.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.16 €21.49

$16.01 €14.24

50.91%

Cinema Ticket

$9.97 €8.87

$11.06 €9.84

-9.86%

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

$261 €232

$957 €851

-72.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.3K €15.4K

$16.6K €14.7K

4.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.2 €75.8

$88.2 €78.4

-3.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.4 €52.9

$39.49 €35.12

50.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 €101

$103 €91.5

9.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 €96.0

$121 €108

-11.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$767 €683

$1,653 €1,470

-53.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$449 €399

$1,302 €1,158

-65.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,473 €1,310

$2,557 €2,275

-42.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,128 €1,004

$1,915 €1,703

-41.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,673 €4,157

$7,286 €6,481

-35.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,581 €3,185

$5,080 €4,519

-29.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,993 €3,552

$2,281 €2,029

75.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.81

3.28

16.16%

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

Last update for Villingen-Schwenningen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Villingen-Schwenningen

$543 29.4%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 58.4% $317

Accommodation & Living

Villingen-Schwenningen

$449 24.3%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 190% $853

Groceries & Markets

Villingen-Schwenningen

$281 15.3%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 13.7% $39

Eating Out

Villingen-Schwenningen

$251 13.6%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 7.5% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Villingen-Schwenningen

$165 8.9%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 3.7% $6.2

Getting Around

Villingen-Schwenningen

$98 5.3%

Barcelona

$47 2% 51.7% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Villingen-Schwenningen

$59 3.2%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 28.2% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $767 in Villingen-Schwenningen and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Villingen-Schwenningen pays 75% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $56.0 in Villingen-Schwenningen vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $281 vs $320 per month, with Villingen-Schwenningen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Villingen-Schwenningen

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

08:26 8:26 AM

Same time as Villingen-Schwenningen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

81,128

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Villingen-Schwenningen Barcelona 890 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

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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

Villingen-Schwenningen vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Villingen-Schwenningen and Barcelona differ by about 30% in total monthly costs ($1,846 vs $2,399 including rent). Villingen-Schwenningen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 75% higher in Villingen-Schwenningen, 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: $767 in Villingen-Schwenningen versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $261 in Villingen-Schwenningen 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 14% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,846 in Villingen-Schwenningen versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Villingen-Schwenningen but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Villingen-Schwenningen 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, Villingen-Schwenningen 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 Villingen-Schwenningen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 30% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.