Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Balikpapan

For one person, living is cheaper in Balikpapan: $669 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Balikpapan
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Balikpapan Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Balikpapan

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$669

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Balikpapan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $669 in Balikpapan.

Barcelona $2,453
Balikpapan $669

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,057 in Balikpapan.

Barcelona $3,509
Balikpapan $1,057

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,444 in Balikpapan.

Barcelona $4,564
Balikpapan $1,444

Living in Barcelona is roughly 267% more expensive than in Balikpapan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Balikpapan is 51% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.71

$1.40 Rp 25.4K

1156.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.3

$10.88 Rp 197.7K

520.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.08

$3.02 Rp 54.8K

348.01%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.85

$1.34 Rp 24.4K

138.06%

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

$2.91 €2.60

$0.35 Rp 6,320

731.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.69

$0.39 Rp 7,034

384.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.58

$2.25 Rp 40.8K

78.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.05

$3.51 Rp 63.7K

29.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.13 Rp 20.5K

15.93%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.05 Rp 19.1K

92.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.65

$1.17 Rp 21.3K

58.12%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.32

$2.43 Rp 44.1K

98.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.95

$7.14 Rp 129.7K

134.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.14

$2.98 Rp 54.1K

206.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.54

$8.63 Rp 156.8K

127.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.66

$2.18 Rp 39.6K

36.70%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.31 Rp 23.7K

54.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.41

$1.54 Rp 28.0K

75.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.50

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

135.29%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.86

$1.20 Rp 21.8K

74.17%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.95 Rp 35.5K

6.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.84 Rp 15.3K

73.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.72 Rp 13.0K

30.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.14

$1.78 Rp 32.2K

285.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$21.12 Rp 383.5K

-62.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.79 Rp 32.6K

-21.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.26

$2.98 Rp 54.0K

-14.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.81

$0.23 Rp 4,151

1265.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.73

$11.50 Rp 208.8K

121.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.67

$1.11 Rp 20.2K

169.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.33

$0.29 Rp 5,189

413.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.81

$2.81 Rp 51.0K

1087.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.75 Rp 13.7K

140.00%

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

$33.2K €29.6K

$23.2K Rp 420.9M

43.23%

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

$31.7K €28.3K

$31.4K Rp 570.2M

0.96%

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

$180 €161

$64.1 Rp 1.2M

181.36%

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

$13.84 €12.36

$4.19 Rp 76.1K

230.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.10

$29.48 Rp 535.4K

14.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.01

$23.84 Rp 432.9K

116.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.26

$8.27 Rp 150.3K

92.99%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.82

$2.82 Rp 51.3K

289.72%

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

$917 €819

$91.6 Rp 1.7M

901.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$9,145 Rp 166.1M

80.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.7

$37.81 Rp 686.7K

130.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.39

$18.66 Rp 338.9K

106.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.5

$140 Rp 2.5M

-24.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$70.6 Rp 1.3M

69.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,518

$197 Rp 3.6M

763.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,211

$143 Rp 2.6M

846.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,325

$559 Rp 10.2M

365.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,842

$362 Rp 6.6M

469.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,176

$1,323 Rp 24.0M

422.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,580

$777 Rp 14.1M

559.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,975

$238 Rp 4.3M

830.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

9.46

-65.33%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Balikpapan: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Balikpapan

$143 21.4% 89.4% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Balikpapan

$206 30.8% 36% $116

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Balikpapan

$58 8.6% 78.5% $210

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Balikpapan

$98 14.6% 57.1% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Balikpapan

$120 18% 23.9% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Balikpapan

$29 4.4% 59.9% $44

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Balikpapan

$15 2.2% 69.2% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $197 in Balikpapan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 9.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $11 in Balikpapan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $206 per month, with Balikpapan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇮🇩 Balikpapan

🕒 Local time

06:50 6:50 AM

13:50 1:50 PM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

701,066

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.91 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18,161 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,355 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.91 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Balikpapan 12,130 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Balikpapan

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 Balikpapan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $669 in Balikpapan, so Balikpapan is about 73% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 9.3 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $197 in Balikpapan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Balikpapan runs roughly 55% less than in Barcelona. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $92 in Balikpapan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $669 in Balikpapan versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Balikpapan but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Balikpapan 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 Balikpapan are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Balikpapan 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.