Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zaragoza, El Salvador and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Zaragoza: $635 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Zaragoza
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Zaragoza Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Zaragoza

🇸🇻 El Salvador

$635

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $635 in Zaragoza versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Zaragoza $635
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,036 in Zaragoza versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Zaragoza $1,036
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,437 in Zaragoza versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Zaragoza $1,437
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Zaragoza costs roughly 74% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Zaragoza is 53% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.95 $6.95

$17.59 €15.80

-60.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.51 $29.51

$67.5 €60.6

-56.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.96 $6.96

$13.53 €12.15

-48.56%

Cappuccino

$1.54 $1.54

$3.19 €2.87

-51.72%

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

$1.11 $1.11

$2.91 €2.62

-61.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 $0.81

$1.89 €1.70

-57.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.24 $1.24

$4.01 €3.60

-69.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 $2.12

$4.53 €4.07

-53.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.78 $1.78

$1.31 €1.17

35.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.27 $2.27

$2.02 €1.81

12.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.97 $0.97

$1.85 €1.66

-47.57%

Eggs

$2.50 $2.50

$4.83 €4.34

-48.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.49 $7.49

$16.74 €15.04

-55.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.92 $3.92

$9.12 €8.19

-57.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.36 $5.36

$19.64 €17.64

-72.71%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 $3.99

$2.98 €2.68

33.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 $1.42

$2.02 €1.81

-29.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.58 $2.58

$2.70 €2.43

-4.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 $2.14

$2.80 €2.52

-23.57%

Potato (1kg)

$2.96 $2.96

$2.09 €1.87

41.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 $1.82

$2.07 €1.86

-12.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.96 $0.96

$1.46 €1.31

-34.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 $0.79

$0.94 €0.84

-15.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.77 $3.77

$6.87 €6.17

-45.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.20 $8.20

$7.89 €7.09

3.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 $1.60

$1.41 €1.26

13.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 $2.21

$2.54 €2.28

-12.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.48 $1.48

$3.14 €2.82

-52.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 $4.90

$2.99 €2.69

63.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.93 $2.93

$1.49 €1.34

96.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.10 $20.10

$33.37 €29.99

-39.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 $1.12

$1.80 €1.62

-37.78%

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

$24.8K $24.8K

$33.2K €29.8K

-25.37%

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

$24.6K $24.6K

$31.7K €28.5K

-22.29%

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

$46.09 $46.09

$180 €162

-74.45%

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

$21.21 $21.21

$13.84 €12.43

53.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.34 $35.34

$33.70 €30.28

4.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.94 $34.94

$51.5 €46.28

-32.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

Cinema Ticket

$5.03 $5.03

$10.99 €9.88

-54.23%

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

$150 $150

$917 €824

-83.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,759 $4,759

$16.5K €14.8K

-71.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.3 $67.3

$87.0 €78.2

-22.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.68 $46.68

$38.51 €34.60

21.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 $112

$106 €95.1

5.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.5 $69.5

$120 €108

-41.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,218

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,339

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,213

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,607

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.5

3.28

159.15%

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

Last update for Zaragoza: October 24, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Zaragoza

$217 34.1%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 48.6% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Zaragoza

$133 20.9%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 19% $25

Eating Out

Zaragoza

$113 17.8%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 137% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zaragoza

$103 16.2%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 122% $125

Sport & Entertainment

Zaragoza

$45 7.1%

Barcelona

$74 3% 63.3% $29

Getting Around

Zaragoza

$25 * 4%

Barcelona

$48 2% 90.3% $23

Accommodation & Living

Zaragoza

- * 0%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $30 in Zaragoza vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $217 vs $322 per month, with Zaragoza cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇻 Zaragoza

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

01:07 1:07 AM

08:07 8:07 AM

7 h ahead of Zaragoza

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,749

1,660,122

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.899 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Zaragoza Barcelona 9,130 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Zaragoza
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

Zaragoza vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zaragoza and Barcelona differ by about 286% in total monthly costs ($635 vs $2,453 including rent). Zaragoza is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $953 in Zaragoza and $3,679 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.

Childcare runs $150 in Zaragoza versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Zaragoza – a meal for two runs $30 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $635 in Zaragoza versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $800 budget is realistic in Zaragoza but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Zaragoza 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.