Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ashgabat and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,381 a month against $3,367 in Ashgabat, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

164

Cost of Living Index in Ashgabat
Learn more

Ashgabat Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Ashgabat

🇹🇲 Turkmenistan

$3,367

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,367 in Ashgabat versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Ashgabat $3,367
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,093 in Ashgabat versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Ashgabat $5,093
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,820 in Ashgabat versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Ashgabat $6,820
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Ashgabat is roughly 41% more expensive than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ashgabat 148% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.92 TMT 104

$17.89 €15.92

72.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.5 TMT 290

$66.2 €58.9

30.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.08 TMT 43.94

$13.69 €12.18

-4.46%

Cappuccino

$6.94 TMT 23.33

$3.06 €2.72

126.80%

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

$1.58 TMT 5.32

$3.07 €2.73

-48.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 TMT 2.83

$1.94 €1.73

-56.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.78 TMT 19.42

$3.87 €3.44

49.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.40 TMT 45.02

$4.61 €4.10

190.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.41 TMT 14.82

$1.30 €1.16

239.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 TMT 6.90

$2.10 €1.87

-2.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.99 TMT 20.12

$1.83 €1.62

227.32%

Eggs

$5.85 TMT 19.65

$4.62 €4.11

26.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$37.82 TMT 127

$17.36 €15.44

117.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.59 TMT 65.8

$9.28 €8.25

111.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.05 TMT 77.4

$19.83 €17.64

16.24%

Apples (1kg)

$5.19 TMT 17.45

$3.01 €2.68

72.43%

Banana (1kg)

$8.41 TMT 28.24

$2.03 €1.81

314.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.69 TMT 25.83

$2.65 €2.36

190.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.57 TMT 11.99

$2.87 €2.55

24.39%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 TMT 7.74

$2.16 €1.92

6.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 TMT 4.76

$2.15 €1.91

-33.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.72 TMT 9.15

$1.47 €1.31

85.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 TMT 3.69

$0.88 €0.79

25.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$25.46 TMT 85.6

$6.93 €6.16

267.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$41.36 TMT 139

$7.83 €6.96

428.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.16 TMT 17.35

$1.39 €1.24

271.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 TMT 9.77

$2.63 €2.34

10.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.14 TMT 0.47

$2.91 €2.59

-95.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.01 TMT 33.62

$25.46 €22.64

-60.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.83 TMT 9.50

$3.00 €2.66

-5.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.84 TMT 2.84

$1.44 €1.28

-41.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.49 TMT 28.54

$33.20 €29.53

-74.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.44 TMT 1.50

$1.86 €1.65

-76.34%

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

$44.2K TMT 148.4K

$32.3K €28.8K

36.57%

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

$56.7K TMT 190.4K

$31.7K €28.2K

78.78%

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

$567 TMT 1,905

$183 €163

210.25%

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

$56.8 TMT 191

$13.61 €12.11

316.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$103 TMT 345

$32.93 €29.29

212.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$192 TMT 645

$54.7 €48.65

251.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$43.98 TMT 148

$16.52 €14.70

166.22%

Cinema Ticket

$8.78 TMT 29.50

$11.23 €9.99

-21.82%

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

$23.20 TMT 77.9

$954 €849

-97.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.9K TMT 83.6K

$16.6K €14.8K

49.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 TMT 189

$86.0 €76.5

-34.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$115 TMT 385

$39.11 €34.78

193.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$368 TMT 1,238

$104 €92.2

255.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$195 TMT 655

$119 €106

64.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,412 TMT 4,745

$1,695 €1,508

-16.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$982 TMT 3,298

$1,276 €1,135

-23.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,273 TMT 7,636

$2,576 €2,291

-11.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,959 TMT 6,582

$1,922 €1,710

1.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,585 TMT 12.0K

$7,281 €6,477

-50.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,851 TMT 9,580

$5,010 €4,456

-43.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 TMT 2,478

$2,227 €1,981

-66.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.5

3.28

189.63%

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

Last update for Ashgabat: October 17, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ashgabat

$982 29.2%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 30% $295

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ashgabat

$727 21.6%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 68.4% $497

Groceries & Markets

Ashgabat

$666 19.8%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 51.2% $341

Eating Out

Ashgabat

$435 12.9%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 38.1% $166

Clothing & Footwear

Ashgabat

$330 9.8%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 52.7% $174

Sport & Entertainment

Ashgabat

$210 6.2%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 63.2% $132

Getting Around

Ashgabat

$18 0.5%

Barcelona

$47 2% 169% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,412 in Ashgabat and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 202% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $86.0 in Ashgabat vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $666 vs $325 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇲 Ashgabat

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

18:28 6:28 PM

15:28 3:28 PM

3 h behind Ashgabat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

909,000 Capital

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Turkmenistani Manat TMT m

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 TMT = 0.298 USD

1 TMT = 0.265 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to TMT – Turkmenistani Manat Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇲 Turkmenistani Manat (m)

Turkmenistani Manat exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 3.36 TMT (1 TMT = 0.298 USD). 1 EUR = 3.78 TMT (1 TMT = 0.265 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to TMT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ashgabat Barcelona 4,740 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Ashgabat
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

Ashgabat vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ashgabat and Barcelona differ by about 41% in total monthly costs ($3,367 vs $2,381 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 202% 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: $1,412 in Ashgabat versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $23.20 in Ashgabat versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 105% higher in Ashgabat. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Barcelona is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Ashgabat 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 Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Ashgabat. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.