Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Asmara

For one person, living is cheaper in Asmara: $1,374 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $12,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Asmara
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Asmara Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Asmara

🇪🇷 Eritrea

$1,374

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Asmara

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 Asmara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $1,374 in Asmara.

Barcelona $2,381
Asmara $1,374

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $2,159 in Asmara.

Barcelona $3,406
Asmara $2,159

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $2,943 in Asmara.

Barcelona $4,431
Asmara $2,943

Living in Barcelona is roughly 73% more expensive than in Asmara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Asmara 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$20.76 ERN 312

-13.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$33.78 ERN 507

95.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$6.02 ERN 90.5

127.41%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$0.77 ERN 11.61

297.40%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$1.02 ERN 15.37

200.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.97 ERN 14.59

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$0.61 ERN 9.20

534.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.56 ERN 23.41

-16.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$2.26 ERN 33.95

-19.03%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$4.48 ERN 67.3

3.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$2.93 ERN 43.95

492.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$27.11 ERN 407

-65.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$9.94 ERN 149

99.50%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$12.25 ERN 184

-75.43%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.26 ERN 18.86

61.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.03 ERN 30.53

30.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$1.14 ERN 17.18

151.75%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.75 ERN 26.31

23.43%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$0.95 ERN 14.27

126.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$2.25 ERN 33.78

-60.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$11.98 ERN 180

-34.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$0.98 ERN 14.71

41.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$1.03 ERN 15.43

155.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$0.14 ERN 2.10

1978.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$7.98 ERN 120

219.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.58 ERN 8.70

148.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$10.18 ERN 153

226.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.55 ERN 38.23

-27.06%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$67.7K ERN 1.0M

-52.20%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$70.9K ERN 1.1M

-55.27%

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

$183 €163

$25.48 ERN 383

617.27%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$68.1 ERN 1,023

-80.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$201 ERN 3,012

-83.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$26.63 ERN 400

105.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$4.86 ERN 73.1

239.92%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$1.22 ERN 18.28

820.49%

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

$954 €849

$24.87 ERN 374

3736.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$2,595 ERN 39.0K

539.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$137 ERN 2,060

-37.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$122 ERN 1,837

-68.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$197 ERN 2,964

-47.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$148 ERN 2,229

-20.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$252 ERN 3,781

573.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$199 ERN 2,984

542.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$454 ERN 6,824

466.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$420 ERN 6,305

357.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$1,247 ERN 18.7K

484.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$2,481 ERN 37.3K

101.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

-72.67%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Asmara: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Asmara

$199 14.5% 84.4% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Asmara

$364 * 26.5% 12.1% $39

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Asmara

$204 * 14.9% 24.1% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Asmara

$294 21.4% 28.3% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Asmara

$272 19.8% 74.2% $116

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Asmara

$29 2.1% 62.3% $48

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Asmara

$11 * 0.8% 75.8% $36

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $252 in Asmara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $34.00 in Asmara. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $364, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇪🇷 Asmara

🕒 Local time

14:30 2:30 PM

15:30 3:30 PM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

579,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Eritrean Nakfa ERN ናቕፋ

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ERN = 6.66 USD

100 ERN = 5.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ERN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

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

Eritrean Nakfa exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 15.02 ERN (100 ERN = 6.66 USD). 1 EUR = 16.89 ERN (100 ERN = 5.92 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Asmara 4,560 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Asmara

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 Asmara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Asmara differ by about 73% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $1,374 including rent). Asmara is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,571 in Barcelona and $2,062 in Asmara to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $252 in Asmara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Asmara runs roughly 219% less than in Barcelona. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $24.87 in Asmara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,374 in Asmara versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Asmara but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Asmara 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, Barcelona and Asmara 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 Asmara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 73% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.