Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Beni Mellal

For one person, living is cheaper in Beni Mellal: $618 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $22,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Barcelona, Spain
Beni Mellal, Morocco
Barcelona
🇪🇸 Spain
$2,453
/mo nomad
Beni Mellal
🇲🇦 Morocco
$618
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Beni Mellal

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $618 in Beni Mellal.

  • Barcelona $2,453
  • Beni Mellal $618

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $975 in Beni Mellal.

  • Barcelona $3,509
  • Beni Mellal $975

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,332 in Beni Mellal.

  • Barcelona $4,564
  • Beni Mellal $1,332

Living in Barcelona is roughly 297% more expensive than in Beni Mellal, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Beni Mellal is 55% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Barcelona
Beni Mellal
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$17.59 €15.76
$3.63 MAD 35.70
384.57%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$67.5 €60.5
$25.91 MAD 255
160.48%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$13.53 €12.12
$5.25 MAD 51.6
157.71%
Cappuccino
$3.19 €2.86
$1.20 MAD 11.78
165.83%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.91 €2.61
$0.57 MAD 5.56
410.53%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.89 €1.70
$0.32 MAD 3.14
490.62%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.01 €3.59
$2.48 MAD 24.39
61.69%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.53 €4.06
$3.06 MAD 30.12
48.04%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Barcelona
Beni Mellal
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.31 €1.17
$0.90 MAD 8.81
45.56%
White Bread (500g)
$2.02 €1.81
$0.66 MAD 6.49
206.06%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.85 €1.66
$1.88 MAD 18.52
-1.60%
Eggs
$4.83 €4.33
$1.55 MAD 15.26
211.61%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$16.74 €15.00
$11.24 MAD 110
48.93%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.12 €8.17
$6.76 MAD 66.4
34.91%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$19.64 €17.60
$10.30 MAD 101
90.68%
Apples (1kg)
$2.98 €2.67
$1.15 MAD 11.30
159.13%
Banana (1kg)
$2.02 €1.81
$1.01 MAD 9.92
100.00%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.70 €2.42
$0.68 MAD 6.67
297.06%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.80 €2.51
$0.82 MAD 8.10
241.46%
Potato (1kg)
$2.09 €1.87
$0.60 MAD 5.85
248.33%
Onion (1kg)
$2.07 €1.85
$0.69 MAD 6.80
200.00%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.46 €1.31
$0.32 MAD 3.18
356.25%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.94 €0.84
$0.59 MAD 5.80
59.32%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.87 €6.16
$3.85 MAD 37.85
78.44%
Wine (Bottle)
$7.89 €7.07
$7.37 MAD 72.4
7.06%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.41 €1.26
$2.63 MAD 25.81
-46.39%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.54 €2.27
$2.67 MAD 26.26
-4.87%
🚌 Getting Around
Barcelona
Beni Mellal
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.14 €2.82
$0.30 MAD 2.92
946.67%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$25.45 €22.80
$8.31 MAD 81.7
206.26%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.99 €2.68
$0.75 MAD 7.33
298.67%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.49 €1.34
$0.78 MAD 7.67
91.03%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$33.37 €29.91
$2.48 MAD 24.36
1245.56%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.80 €1.61
$1.50 MAD 14.71
20.00%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$33.2K €29.7K
$31.0K MAD 304.5K
7.15%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.7K €28.4K
$31.9K MAD 313.6K
-0.65%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Barcelona
Beni Mellal
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$180 €162
$35.59 MAD 350
406.91%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$13.84 €12.40
$10.13 MAD 99.6
36.62%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$33.70 €30.20
$25.18 MAD 248
33.84%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Barcelona
Beni Mellal
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$51.5 €46.16
$20.29 MAD 199
153.87%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$15.96 €14.30
$15.45 MAD 152
3.30%
Cinema Ticket
$10.99 €9.85
$6.18 MAD 60.8
77.83%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Barcelona
Beni Mellal
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$917 €821
$182 MAD 1,786
404.45%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$16.5K €14.8K
$9,416 MAD 92.6K
75.01%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Barcelona
Beni Mellal
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$87.0 €78.0
$47.36 MAD 465
83.76%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$38.51 €34.51
$39.84 MAD 392
-3.34%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$106 €94.8
$75.7 MAD 744
39.74%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$120 €107
$64.4 MAD 633
86.01%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Barcelona
Beni Mellal
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,699 €1,523
$191 MAD 1,879
789.08%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,355 €1,214
$126 MAD 1,234
979.81%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,603 €2,332
$279 MAD 2,744
832.42%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,062 €1,848
$195 MAD 1,914
959.18%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$6,915 €6,196
$1,226 MAD 12.1K
463.79%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$5,128 €4,595
$828 MAD 8,141
519.14%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Barcelona
Beni Mellal
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$2,211 €1,981
$322 MAD 3,162
587.23%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.28
4.55
-27.91%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Beni Mellal: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Barcelona
$1.4K
Beni Mellal
$126 90.7% $1.2K
Groceries & Markets
Barcelona
$322
Beni Mellal
$191 40.6% $131
Eating Out
Barcelona
$268
Beni Mellal
$81 69.7% $187
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Barcelona
$228
Beni Mellal
$71 68.9% $157
Clothing & Footwear
Barcelona
$158
Beni Mellal
$102 35.3% $56
Sport & Entertainment
Barcelona
$74
Beni Mellal
$33 55.6% $41
Getting Around
Barcelona
$48
Beni Mellal
$14 70.8% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $191 in Beni Mellal. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 6.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $26 in Beni Mellal for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $191 per month, with Beni Mellal cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇪🇸 Barcelona
🇲🇦 Beni Mellal
🕒 Local time
03:51 3:51 AM
02:51 2:51 AM
1 h behind Barcelona
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
1,660,122
192,676
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.83 MAD (1 MAD = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.98 MAD (100 MAD = 9.11 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Barcelona Beni Mellal 1,260 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Barcelona
  • Beni Mellal

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 Beni Mellal: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Barcelona and in Beni Mellal?
Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $618 in Beni Mellal, so Beni Mellal is about 75% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city pays better: Barcelona or Beni Mellal?
Average pay in Barcelona is about 6.9 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
How do apartment prices compare in Barcelona and in Beni Mellal?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $191 in Beni Mellal. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Barcelona and Beni Mellal?
Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $182 in Beni Mellal. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Supermarket bills run roughly 68% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city is more doable on $1,200 per month?
At $618 in Beni Mellal versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Beni Mellal but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Beni Mellal the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Barcelona and Beni Mellal?
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.
Is Barcelona or Beni Mellal safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Barcelona and Beni Mellal are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.
Where should expats move: Barcelona or Beni Mellal?
Expats usually find Beni Mellal gentler on the wallet – expenses run 75% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

Barcelona vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Show times on the 12-hour clock, temperatures in °F and distances in miles?