City comparison
Cost of living in Barcelona vs Vienna
One person needs about €2,105 a month in Barcelona and €1,856 in Vienna, rent included — Vienna is 12% 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 Vienna the way you live in Barcelona on €3,000, you need
€2,645/ month net
12% less than today (-€355)
- Barcelona today
- Basket €2,105 · left over €895 (30%)
- Vienna at the matched salary
- Basket €1,856 · left over €789 (30%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 216% over in Vienna (strong) vs 133% in Barcelona. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇪🇸 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
🇦🇹 Vienna
Huge subsidised housing stock keeps rents unusually sane for a rich capital.
Monthly budget: €1,856
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
Should you move to Barcelona or Vienna?
On salary, Vienna pays more for tech roles (€4,000 versus €2,800 a month), so the money left over after costs is €2,144 in Vienna at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €1,450 in Barcelona against €1,150 in Vienna. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Barcelona at 81 and Vienna at 75 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.