Barcelona tenants, particularly families and flatshares seeking a three-bedroom home, face average monthly rents of about €2,360, according to the Deutsche Bank Research Institute’s Mapping the World’s Prices 2025. The study places Barcelona 32nd among 69 cities for the cost of renting this type of property.

The figure is a city-centre comparison benchmark rather than a measure of every tenancy. For residents arranging a new household budget, it represents a substantial fixed monthly cost before food, transport and other regular spending.

“Inflation has made a roaring comeback over the last five years, currency swings are influencing purchasing power, and the world’s cost-of-living leaderboard is shifting quickly.”Deutsche Bank Research Institute, Mapping the World’s Prices 2025

Barcelona rent benchmark is close to Madrid’s

The Deutsche Bank study compares 69 cities that it says matter most to global financial markets. Its rental figures cover a three-bedroom flat and are expressed in US dollars, with euro equivalents reported at the time of comparison.

  • Barcelona: $2,738 a month, or around €2,360, ranked 32nd for three-bedroom rents.
  • Madrid: $2,811 a month, or around €2,400, ranked 29th.
  • New York, Singapore and Boston: the report places these cities at the top of its global rental chart.

Spanish Property Insight’s analysis of the Deutsche Bank research says rents in both Barcelona and Madrid have risen by more than 50% over the previous five years, despite remaining below the highest rental levels in the global comparison.

Barcelona ranks 43rd for quality of life

Deutsche Bank’s research also compares quality of life, alongside prices for housing, services and consumer goods. Barcelona ranks 43rd in that index, while Madrid ranks 16th, according to Spanish Property Insight’s reading of the study.

The analysis attributes Barcelona’s lower position mainly to a weaker safety rating. Residents and prospective tenants who want to compare the rental measure with other city costs can check the methodology and the 69-city tables in Deutsche Bank Research Institute’s 2025 report.

Reported by metropoliabierta.elespanol.com, Mark Stücklin, Deutsche Bank Research, dbresearch.com, db.com, Publicnow, Craig Nicol, Craig Nicol, Jim Reid, Jim Reid, Metrópoli Abierta - Urban Life.