Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ar-rass and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Ar-rass: $1,154 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Ar-rass
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Ar-rass Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Ar-rass

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,154

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ar-rass 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 Ar-rass and in Barcelona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,154 in Ar-rass versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Ar-rass $1,154
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,690 in Ar-rass versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Ar-rass $1,690
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,226 in Ar-rass versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Ar-rass $2,226
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Ar-rass costs roughly 52% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ar-rass is 15% below, Barcelona is 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.16 SAR 23.12

$17.94 €15.96

-65.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.47 SAR 141

$68.1 €60.5

-44.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.90 SAR 29.65

$13.28 €11.81

-40.51%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.89 SAR 7.07

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 SAR 8.58

Cappuccino

$3.25 SAR 12.18

$3.25 €2.89

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

$0.91 SAR 3.41

$3.01 €2.67

-69.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 SAR 0.98

$1.87 €1.66

-86.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 SAR 6.81

$1.29 €1.15

40.31%

White Bread (500g)

$0.39 SAR 1.45

$2.04 €1.81

-80.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 SAR 7.19

$1.72 €1.53

11.63%

Eggs

$3.60 SAR 13.52

$4.77 €4.24

-24.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.00 SAR 26.28

$16.77 €14.92

-58.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.05 SAR 30.20

$8.93 €7.94

-9.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 SAR 47.99

$19.88 €17.68

-35.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 SAR 8.41

$2.98 €2.65

-24.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 SAR 6.60

$2.03 €1.80

-13.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 SAR 5.91

$2.73 €2.43

-42.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.57 SAR 5.89

$2.68 €2.38

-41.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 SAR 4.37

$2.10 €1.87

-44.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 SAR 5.11

$2.08 €1.85

-34.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 SAR 4.79

$1.45 €1.29

-11.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 SAR 2.14

$0.89 €0.79

-35.96%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.26 SAR 12.24

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 SAR 7.46

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 SAR 8.49

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.53 SAR 28.27

$6.94 €6.17

8.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 SAR 3.69

$2.99 €2.66

-67.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.39 SAR 129

$25.20 €22.41

36.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.59 SAR 9.72

$3.12 €2.77

-16.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.87 SAR 7.02

$1.44 €1.28

29.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.84 SAR 44.42

$33.50 €29.80

-64.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.65 SAR 2.44

$1.79 €1.59

-63.69%

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

$43.1K SAR 161.7K

$34.6K €30.8K

24.46%

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

$20.9K SAR 78.3K

$30.1K €26.7K

-30.64%

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

$110 SAR 414

$178 €158

-38.00%

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

$23.87 SAR 89.6

$13.32 €11.85

79.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59.0 SAR 221

$34.88 €31.03

69.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.88 SAR 168

$53.3 €47.37

-15.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

Cinema Ticket

$13.43 SAR 50.4

$11.06 €9.84

21.43%

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

$425 SAR 1,595

$957 €851

-55.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,688 SAR 32.6K

$16.6K €14.7K

-47.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.84 SAR 161

$88.2 €78.4

-51.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.4 SAR 234

$39.49 €35.12

58.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 SAR 360

$103 €91.5

-6.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.6 SAR 329

$121 €108

-27.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$579 SAR 2,174

$1,653 €1,470

-64.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$394 SAR 1,480

$1,302 €1,158

-69.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$388 SAR 1,456

$2,557 €2,275

-84.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$563 SAR 2,111

$1,915 €1,703

-70.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,625 SAR 9,851

$7,286 €6,481

-63.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,188 SAR 4,460

$5,080 €4,519

-76.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,765 SAR 6,622

$2,281 €2,029

-22.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.54

3.28

68.90%

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

Last update for Ar-rass: October 12, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ar-rass

$394 34.2%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 230% $907

Groceries & Markets

Ar-rass

$198 17.1%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 61.9% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ar-rass

$193 16.7%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 17.1% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Ar-rass

$130 11.3%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 21.8% $28

Eating Out

Ar-rass

$117 10.1%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 132% $153

Sport & Entertainment

Ar-rass

$72 6.2%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 5% $3.6

Getting Around

Ar-rass

$50 4.4%

Barcelona

$47 2% 5.6% $2.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $579 in Ar-rass and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 29% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $37.00 in Ar-rass vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $320 per month, with Ar-rass cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Ar-rass

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

17:27 5:27 PM

16:27 4:27 PM

1 h behind Ar-rass

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

121,359

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ar-rass Barcelona 4,150 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Ar-rass
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

Ar-rass vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ar-rass and Barcelona differ by about 108% in total monthly costs ($1,154 vs $2,399 including rent). Ar-rass is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 29% lower in Barcelona. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $579 in Ar-rass versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $425 in Ar-rass versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 62% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,154 in Ar-rass versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ar-rass but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Ar-rass the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Ar-rass and Barcelona are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Ar-rass gentler on the wallet – expenses run 108% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.