City comparison
Cost of living in Athens vs Barcelona
One person needs about €1,236 a month in Athens and €2,105 in Barcelona, rent included — Athens is 70% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Barcelona the way you live in Athens on €3,000, you need
€5,109/ month net
70% more than today (+€2,109)
- Athens today
- Basket €1,236 · left over €1,764 (59%)
- Barcelona at the matched salary
- Basket €2,105 · left over €3,004 (59%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 133% over in Barcelona (adequate) vs 138% in Athens. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇬🇷 Athens
Cheapest euro-zone big city here, with the widest gap between local pay and expat pay.
Monthly budget: €1,236
Sources: ELSTAT + Eurostat, HICP & household budget survey (2025) · 164 community reports
🇪🇸 Barcelona
Beach-and-metro city with the deepest startup scene in southern Europe — and rents that now reflect it.
Monthly budget: €2,105
Sources: INE Spain + Eurostat, HICP & Encuesta de arrendamientos (2025) · 412 community reports
Should you move to Athens or Barcelona?
On salary, Barcelona pays more for tech roles (€2,800 versus €1,700 a month), so the money left over after costs is €695 in Barcelona at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €700 in Athens against €1,450 in Barcelona. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Athens at 71 and Barcelona at 81 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.