Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ar-rustaq and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Ar-rustaq: $953 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Ar-rustaq
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Ar-rustaq Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Ar-rustaq

🇴🇲 Oman

$953

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $953 per month in Ar-rustaq vs $2,453 in Barcelona, rent included.

Ar-rustaq $953
Barcelona $2,453

A couple spends around $1,432 per month in Ar-rustaq vs $3,509 in Barcelona, rent included.

Ar-rustaq $1,432
Barcelona $3,509

A family of three spends $1,910 per month in Ar-rustaq vs $4,564 in Barcelona, rent included.

Ar-rustaq $1,910
Barcelona $4,564

Ar-rustaq is about 61% cheaper than Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Ar-rustaq sits 30% below the global median, while Barcelona is 80% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.33 OMR 2.05

$17.59 €15.80

-69.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.16 OMR 15.08

$67.5 €60.6

-41.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.82 OMR 3.01

$13.53 €12.15

-42.20%

Cappuccino

$5.21 OMR 2.01

$3.19 €2.87

63.32%

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

$0.84 OMR 0.32

$2.91 €2.62

-71.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 OMR 0.10

$1.89 €1.70

-85.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.78 OMR 4.92

$4.01 €3.60

218.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.19 OMR 5.08

$4.53 €4.07

191.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.39 OMR 0.92

$1.31 €1.17

82.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.20 OMR 0.46

$2.02 €1.81

-40.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.95 OMR 0.75

$1.85 €1.66

5.41%

Eggs

$3.08 OMR 1.19

$4.83 €4.34

-36.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.11 OMR 2.74

$16.74 €15.03

-57.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.96 OMR 2.68

$9.12 €8.19

-23.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.14 OMR 3.90

$19.64 €17.64

-48.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.51 OMR 1.35

$2.98 €2.68

17.79%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 OMR 0.78

$2.02 €1.81

0.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.40 OMR 0.92

$2.70 €2.43

-11.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.28 OMR 0.49

$2.80 €2.52

-54.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 OMR 0.45

$2.09 €1.87

-44.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 OMR 0.47

$2.07 €1.86

-41.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.86 OMR 0.72

$1.46 €1.31

27.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 OMR 0.26

$0.94 €0.84

-27.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.65 OMR 2.56

$6.87 €6.17

-3.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.55 OMR 5.99

$7.89 €7.08

97.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.85 OMR 2.25

$1.41 €1.26

314.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.05 OMR 3.87

$2.54 €2.28

295.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 OMR 1.25

$2.99 €2.69

8.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.57 OMR 0.99

$1.49 €1.34

72.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.03 OMR 3.09

$33.37 €29.98

-75.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.59 OMR 0.23

$1.80 €1.61

-67.22%

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

$25.4K OMR 9,784

$33.2K €29.8K

-23.44%

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

$20.9K OMR 8,060

$31.7K €28.5K

-33.95%

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

$177 OMR 68.3

$180 €162

-1.72%

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

$30.29 OMR 11.66

$13.84 €12.43

118.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$71.6 OMR 27.58

$33.70 €30.27

112.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

Cinema Ticket

$10.25 OMR 3.95

$10.99 €9.88

-6.73%

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

$508 OMR 196

$917 €823

-44.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K OMR 4,030

$16.5K €14.8K

-36.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.9 OMR 21.53

$87.0 €78.2

-35.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.75 OMR 16.84

$38.51 €34.59

13.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.6 OMR 34.12

$106 €95.1

-16.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.4 OMR 33.26

$120 €108

-27.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,358 OMR 1,678

$2,211 €1,986

97.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

3.28

60.06%

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

Last update for Ar-rustaq: October 24, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ar-rustaq

$290 30.5%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 10.9% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ar-rustaq

$279 29.3%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 18.4% $51

Eating Out

Ar-rustaq

$223 23.4%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 20% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Ar-rustaq

$124 13%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 27.8% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Ar-rustaq

$21 * 2.2%

Barcelona

$74 3% 259% $53

Getting Around

Ar-rustaq

$16 * 1.7%

Barcelona

$48 2% 201% $32

Accommodation & Living

Ar-rustaq

- * 0%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Salaries run about 97% higher in Ar-rustaq, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $39 in Ar-rustaq versus $67 in Barcelona. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $290 vs $322 – making Ar-rustaq the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇴🇲 Ar-rustaq

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

21:41 9:41 PM

18:41 6:41 PM

3 h behind Ar-rustaq

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

120,000

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.33 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to OMR – Omani Rial Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇴🇲 Omani Rial (ر.ع.)

Omani Rial exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.429 OMR (1 OMR = 2.33 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to OMR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ar-rustaq Barcelona 5,460 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Yes – Barcelona is pricier by about 157%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,430 per month in Ar-rustaq and $3,679 in Barcelona. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $953 in Ar-rustaq and $2,453 in Barcelona. That’s a gap of about 157%.

Kindergarten costs $508 per month in Ar-rustaq and $917 in Barcelona. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Barcelona has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $953 in Ar-rustaq to $2,453 in Barcelona. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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.