Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alexandria and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Alexandria: $452 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $23,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Alexandria
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Alexandria Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Alexandria

🇪🇬 Egypt

$452

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Alexandria and in Barcelona

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Alexandria and in Barcelona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $452 per month in Alexandria vs $2,381 in Barcelona, rent included.

Alexandria $452
Barcelona $2,381

A couple spends around $750 per month in Alexandria vs $3,406 in Barcelona, rent included.

Alexandria $750
Barcelona $3,406

A family of three spends $1,048 per month in Alexandria vs $4,431 in Barcelona, rent included.

Alexandria $1,048
Barcelona $4,431

Alexandria is about 81% cheaper than Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Alexandria sits 67% below the global median, while Barcelona is 76% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.22 E£225

$17.89 €15.92

-76.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.66 E£996

$66.2 €58.9

-71.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.74 E£253

$13.69 €12.18

-65.38%

Cappuccino

$1.26 E£67.3

$3.06 €2.72

-58.82%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 E£15.96

$3.07 €2.73

-90.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 E£6.31

$1.94 €1.73

-93.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.33 E£70.9

$3.87 €3.44

-65.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.74 E£146

$4.61 €4.10

-40.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.84 E£44.97

$1.30 €1.16

-35.38%

White Bread (500g)

$0.71 E£37.73

$2.10 €1.87

-66.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.58 E£30.74

$1.83 €1.62

-68.31%

Eggs

$1.10 E£59.0

$4.62 €4.11

-76.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.66 E£195

$17.36 €15.44

-78.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.19 E£224

$9.28 €8.25

-54.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.17 E£490

$19.83 €17.64

-53.76%

Apples (1kg)

$1.46 E£77.7

$3.01 €2.68

-51.50%

Banana (1kg)

$0.78 E£41.63

$2.03 €1.81

-61.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.51 E£27.48

$2.65 €2.36

-80.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.34 E£18.27

$2.87 €2.55

-88.15%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 E£12.77

$2.16 €1.92

-88.89%

Onion (1kg)

$0.30 E£15.98

$2.15 €1.91

-86.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.27 E£14.47

$1.47 €1.31

-81.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.22 E£11.93

$0.88 €0.79

-75.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.86 E£99.6

$6.93 €6.16

-73.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 E£300

$7.83 €6.96

-28.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 E£61.9

$1.39 €1.24

-16.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 E£115

$2.63 €2.34

-18.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.22 E£11.66

$2.91 €2.59

-92.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.95 E£585

$25.46 €22.64

-56.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 E£30.48

$3.00 €2.66

-81.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.49 E£26.19

$1.44 €1.28

-65.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.11 E£59.1

$33.20 €29.53

-96.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.45 E£24.16

$1.86 €1.65

-75.81%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$32.8K E£1.8M

$32.3K €28.8K

1.34%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$25.2K E£1.3M

$31.7K €28.2K

-20.58%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$14.02 E£749

$183 €163

-92.33%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$6.60 E£353

$13.61 €12.11

-51.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.75 E£681

$32.93 €29.29

-61.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$12.39 E£662

$54.7 €48.65

-77.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.31 E£390

$16.52 €14.70

-55.75%

Cinema Ticket

$2.73 E£146

$11.23 €9.99

-75.69%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$85.2 E£4,549

$954 €849

-91.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,035 E£108.6K

$16.6K €14.8K

-87.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.61 E£1,741

$86.0 €76.5

-62.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.28 E£2,418

$39.11 €34.78

15.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$125 E£6,687

$104 €92.2

20.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$54.9 E£2,933

$119 €106

-53.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$131 E£7,020

$1,695 €1,508

-92.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$69.3 E£3,702

$1,276 €1,135

-94.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$279 E£14.9K

$2,576 €2,291

-89.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$142 E£7,603

$1,922 €1,710

-92.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$679 E£36.2K

$7,281 €6,477

-90.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$431 E£23.0K

$5,010 €4,456

-91.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$137 E£7,313

$2,227 €1,981

-93.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

21.33

3.28

550.30%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Alexandria: October 19, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Alexandria

$124 27.4%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 163% $201

Clothing & Footwear

Alexandria

$116 25.7%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 34.6% $40

Eating Out

Alexandria

$77 17%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 251% $193

Accommodation & Living

Alexandria

$69 15.3%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 1741% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alexandria

$33 7.4%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 587% $196

Sport & Entertainment

Alexandria

$18 4%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 332% $59

Getting Around

Alexandria

$15 3.3%

Barcelona

$47 2% 219% $32

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $131 in Alexandria versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 1526% higher in Barcelona, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19.00 in Alexandria versus $66.0 in Barcelona. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $124 vs $325 – making Alexandria the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Alexandria

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

14:41 2:41 PM

13:41 1:41 PM

1 h behind Alexandria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,546,231

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Alexandria Barcelona 2,710 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Alexandria
Barcelona

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Alexandria vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona costs about 426% more than Alexandria, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $678 per month in Alexandria and $3,571 in Barcelona. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Alexandria, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $85.2 per month in Alexandria and $954 in Barcelona. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 163% more in Barcelona, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Alexandria, where all-in costs run around $452, than in Barcelona at $2,381. In Alexandria it covers expenses comfortably, while in Barcelona it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Alexandria costs $452 versus $2,381 in Barcelona. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Alexandria. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Barcelona makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.