Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Albay

For one person, living is cheaper in Albay: $729 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Albay
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Albay Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Albay

🇵🇭 Philippines

$729

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Albay

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $729 in Albay.

Barcelona $2,381
Albay $729

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $1,108 in Albay.

Barcelona $3,406
Albay $1,108

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $1,487 in Albay.

Barcelona $4,431
Albay $1,487

Living in Barcelona is roughly 227% more expensive than in Albay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Albay is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.98

$3.78 ₱242

373.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €59.1

$16.81 ₱1,074

293.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.23

$2.82 ₱180

385.46%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.73

$2.19 ₱140

39.73%

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

$3.07 €2.74

$0.63 ₱40.22

387.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.33 ₱21.13

487.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.45

$1.12 ₱71.7

245.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.12

$1.99 ₱127

131.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.61 ₱103

-19.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.88

$1.12 ₱71.8

87.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.63

$0.96 ₱61.4

90.63%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.13

$1.88 ₱120

145.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.50

$5.70 ₱365

204.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.29

$4.21 ₱269

120.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.71

$6.95 ₱445

185.32%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.69

$2.33 ₱149

29.18%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.56 ₱99.7

30.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$2.42 ₱155

9.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.56

$1.17 ₱75.1

145.30%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.93

$1.93 ₱123

11.92%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.92

$1.96 ₱125

9.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.98 ₱62.4

50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.54 ₱34.46

62.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.19

$2.90 ₱186

138.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.99

$7.69 ₱491

1.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$0.96 ₱61.4

44.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.35

$1.95 ₱125

34.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.60

$0.24 ₱15.19

1112.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.74

$11.21 ₱717

127.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.68

$0.74 ₱47.17

305.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.29

$0.23 ₱14.72

526.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.65

$1.93 ₱124

1620.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.24 ₱79.1

50.00%

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

$32.3K €28.9K

$21.2K ₱1.4M

52.44%

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

$31.7K €28.3K

$18.9K ₱1.2M

67.57%

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

$183 €163

$124 ₱7,929

47.34%

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

$13.61 €12.16

$15.06 ₱963

-9.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.41

$24.69 ₱1,578

33.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.85

$32.74 ₱2,093

67.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.76

$4.58 ₱293

260.70%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €10.03

$5.24 ₱335

114.31%

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

$954 €852

$131 ₱8,392

626.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$7,896 ₱504.8K

110.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.8

$33.24 ₱2,125

158.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.93

$19.61 ₱1,254

99.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.6

$70.4 ₱4,500

47.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$56.3 ₱3,596

110.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,514

$261 ₱16.7K

548.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,140

$170 ₱10.9K

650.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,300

$512 ₱32.7K

403.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,717

$351 ₱22.5K

447.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,503

$2,446 ₱156.4K

197.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,474

$974 ₱62.3K

414.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,989

$162 ₱10.3K

1276.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

6.79

-51.69%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Albay: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Albay

$170 23.3% 86.7% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Albay

$178 24.5% 45.1% $147

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Albay

$78 10.8% 70.9% $191

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Albay

$164 22.5% 28.6% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Albay

$81 11.1% 48.3% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Albay

$43 5.9% 44% $34

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Albay

$14 1.9% 70.3% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $261 in Albay. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 14 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $66 in Barcelona vs $17 in Albay for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $178 per month, with Albay cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇵🇭 Albay

🕒 Local time

18:16 6:16 PM

01:16 1:16 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

179,481

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 PHP = 1.56 USD

100 PHP = 1.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 63.93 PHP (100 PHP = 1.56 USD). 1 EUR = 71.58 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Albay 11,500 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Albay

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

Barcelona vs Albay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Albay differ by about 227% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $729 including rent). Albay is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 14 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $261 in Albay. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 82% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Albay – a meal for two runs $17 versus $66 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $729 in Albay versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Albay but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Albay 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.

Expats usually find Albay gentler on the wallet – expenses run 69% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.