Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Benghazi

For one person, living is cheaper in Benghazi: $424 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $23,500 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
20

Cost of Living Index in Benghazi
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Benghazi Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Benghazi

🇱🇾 Libya

$424

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Benghazi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $424 in Benghazi.

Barcelona $2,381
Benghazi $424

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $713 in Benghazi.

Barcelona $3,406
Benghazi $713

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $1,003 in Benghazi.

Barcelona $4,431
Benghazi $1,003

Living in Barcelona is roughly 462% more expensive than in Benghazi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Benghazi is 69% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$2.47 LYD 15.84

624.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$12.64 LYD 81.0

423.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$2.39 LYD 15.34

472.80%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.13 LYD 13.63

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.41 LYD 2.60

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$0.66 LYD 4.21

363.64%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$0.43 LYD 2.75

613.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.14 LYD 0.91

1285.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$0.76 LYD 4.85

71.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$0.15 LYD 0.93

1300.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$1.36 LYD 8.72

34.56%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$1.65 LYD 10.55

180.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$6.27 LYD 40.17

176.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$2.77 LYD 17.77

235.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$11.47 LYD 73.5

72.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$2.36 LYD 15.14

27.54%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.83 LYD 11.74

10.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$1.16 LYD 7.42

128.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$0.70 LYD 4.50

310.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.82 LYD 5.24

163.41%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$0.64 LYD 4.09

235.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$0.37 LYD 2.38

297.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.23 LYD 1.47

282.61%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.33 LYD 14.92

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 LYD 3.66

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 LYD 4.77

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$1.89 LYD 12.12

266.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$1.59 LYD 10.21

88.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.32 LYD 2.06

350.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.02 LYD 0.13

9200.00%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$12.6K LYD 80.6K

157.18%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$14.7K LYD 94.3K

115.53%

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

$183 €163

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

$13.61 €12.11

$4.45 LYD 28.50

205.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$18.67 LYD 120

76.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$17.33 LYD 111

215.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$3.82 LYD 24.46

332.46%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$6.39 LYD 40.94

75.74%

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

$954 €849

$76.7 LYD 492

1143.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$352 LYD 2,258

4612.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$42.16 LYD 270

104.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$34.96 LYD 224

11.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$42.12 LYD 270

146.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$68.4 LYD 438

73.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$190 LYD 1,220

790.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$119 LYD 762

973.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$430 LYD 2,755

499.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$260 LYD 1,667

639.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$268 LYD 1,718

730.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Benghazi: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Benghazi

$119 28.1% 90.7% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Benghazi

$127 30% 60.9% $198

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Benghazi

$37 8.8% 86.2% $232

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Benghazi

$23 * 5.5% 89.9% $206

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Benghazi

$84 19.9% 46% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Benghazi

$30 7.1% 61% $47

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Benghazi

$3.2 * 0.8% 93.2% $44

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 $190 in Benghazi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 730% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $13.00 in Benghazi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $127 per month, with Benghazi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇱🇾 Benghazi

🕒 Local time

14:29 2:29 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

631,555

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.139 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Benghazi 1,890 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
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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 Benghazi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Benghazi differ by about 462% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $424 including rent). Benghazi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 730% higher in Barcelona, 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 $190 in Benghazi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $76.7 in Benghazi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Benghazi – a meal for two runs $13.00 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $424 in Benghazi versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Benghazi but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Benghazi 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 Benghazi 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 Benghazi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 462% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.