✦ Compare
Barcelona vs
Frankfurt
Cost-of-living comparison and salary equivalence. Enter your current salary to see what you'd need to earn to live equally well.
To keep the same standard of living in Frankfurt, DE, you'd need
$81,016 / year
Frankfurt, DE is 8% more expensive overall
Category breakdown (Frankfurt, DE vs Barcelona, ES)
- Housing+8%
- Food & groceries+6%
- Transport+10%
- Utilities+16%
- Healthcare+19%
- Goods & services+4%
Median 1-bed rent
$1,350 /mo
Barcelona, ES overview →
Median 1-bed rent
$1,350 /mo
Frankfurt, DE overview →
◎ How Barcelona, ES and Frankfurt, DE compare
Index vs the US average — the line marks 100. Lower is cheaper.
▤ Full comparison
| Barcelona, ES | Frankfurt, DE | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | ||
| Overall cost index | 105 | 114 |
| Housing | 125 | 135 |
| Food | 100 | 106 |
| Transport | 80 | 88 |
| Utilities | 110 | 128 |
| Healthcare | 80 | 95 |
| Goods & services | 102 | 106 |
| Housing | ||
| Rent, 1-bed centre | $1,350/mo | $1,350/mo |
| Rent, 1-bed outside | $1,000/mo | $950/mo |
| Rent, 3-bed centre | $2,700/mo | $2,600/mo |
| Buy price / m² centre | $5,500 | $8,500 |
| Money & purchasing power | ||
| $1,000 goes as far as | $951 | $881 |
| Inexpensive meal | $15 | $15 |
| Monthly transit pass | $60 | $100 |
| Taxes | ||
| Income tax (top rate) | 47% | 45% |
| VAT / sales tax | 21% | 19% |
| Social security (employee) | 6.4% | 20% |
| Corporate tax | 25% | 30% |
| Capital gains | 28% | 26.4% |
| Economy & salaries | ||
| Avg net salary | $1,900/mo | $2,900/mo |
| Minimum wage | $1,300/mo | $2,200/mo |
| GDP per capita | $38,627 | $60,496 |
| Inflation (annual) | 2.7% | 2.2% |
| Work & digital nomad | ||
| Digital-nomad visa | Yes | No |
| English proficiency | Moderate | High |
| Coworking spaces | 80 | 45 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 | UTC+1 |
| Quality of life | ||
| Safety index | 55 | 68 |
| Healthcare index | 80 | 84 |
| Pollution index | 50 | 40 |
| Internet speed | 200 Mbps | 150 Mbps |
| Walkability | 90 | 78 |
| Public transport | 88 | 85 |
| Family-friendly | 66 | 72 |
| Tap water | Safe to drink | Safe to drink |
| Life expectancy | 84 yr | 81 yr |
| LGBTQ+ acceptance | High | High |
| Climate | ||
| January avg | +10 °C | +3 °C |
| July avg | +25 °C | +20 °C |
| Sunny days / year | 250 | 110 |
| Rainfall / year | 640 mm | 650 mm |
| Connectivity | ||
| Flight to nearest hub | 1 h | 1 h |
Taxes & Economy & salaries: Spain vs Germany. Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.
Good to know before you move to Barcelona
Beach, Gaudí and a huge digital-nomad scene — the trade-off is tourism pressure on housing.
- Currency
- Euro (€ EUR)
- Languages
- Spanish
- Time zone
- UTC+1
- Internet
- 200 Mbps
- English
- Fairly common
- Safety
- 55/100
- Climate
- ❄ 10°C · ☀ 25°C · 250 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- F · 230V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Gràcia · El Born · Poblenou
Good to know before you move to Frankfurt
Germany's banking capital and its only real skyline — home to the ECB, the country's biggest airport and a compact, international core. Costs run high for Germany but sit below Munich, and the airport makes it the easiest base for anyone who flies a lot.
- Currency
- Euro (€ EUR)
- Languages
- German
- Time zone
- UTC+1
- Internet
- 150 Mbps
- English
- Widely spoken
- Safety
- 68/100
- Climate
- ❄ 3°C · ☀ 20°C · 110 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- F · 230V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Nordend · Bornheim · Sachsenhausen · Westend
Plan your move to Barcelona
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsNH Hotels
- Car rentalLocalrent
- Airport transferWelcome Pickups
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- Tours & ticketsTiqets
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Flight compensationAirHelp
Sponsored
Plan your move to Frankfurt
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsNH Hotels
- Car rentalEconomybookings
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- Tours & ticketsTiqets
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Flight compensationAirHelp
Sponsored
? Frequently asked questions
Moving from Barcelona to Frankfurt: cheaper or more expensive?
Moving from Barcelona to Frankfurt, your cost of living will be roughly 8% more expensive. Frankfurt’s cost-of-living index is 114 versus 105 for Barcelona (US = 100). Use the salary tool above to see the income you’d need to keep the same lifestyle.
Is Barcelona cheaper than Frankfurt?
Frankfurt is about 8% more expensive than Barcelona overall — its cost-of-living index is 114 versus 105 for Barcelona.
How much do you need to earn in Frankfurt to live like in Barcelona?
To keep the same standard of living, a $75,000 salary in Barcelona is worth about $81,016 in Frankfurt. Enter your own figure in the calculator above.
Which has lower taxes, Barcelona or Frankfurt?
Germany has the lower top income-tax rate — 45% versus 47% in Spain.
◷ More comparisons from Barcelona
Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.