City comparison
Cost of living in Vienna vs Barcelona
One person needs about €1,856 a month in Vienna and €2,105 in Barcelona, rent included — Vienna is 13% 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 Vienna on €3,000, you need
€3,402/ month net
13% more than today (+€402)
- Vienna today
- Basket €1,856 · left over €1,144 (38%)
- Barcelona at the matched salary
- Basket €2,105 · left over €1,297 (38%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 133% over in Barcelona (adequate) vs 216% in Vienna. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇦🇹 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
🇪🇸 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 Vienna or Barcelona?
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: €1,150 in Vienna against €1,450 in Barcelona. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Vienna at 75 and Barcelona at 81 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.