Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Benxi

For one person, living is cheaper in Benxi: $692 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,100 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
33

Cost of Living Index in Benxi
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Benxi Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Benxi

🇨🇳 China

$692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Benxi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $692 in Benxi.

Barcelona $2,453
Benxi $692

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $991 in Benxi.

Barcelona $3,509
Benxi $991

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,291 in Benxi.

Barcelona $4,564
Benxi $1,291

Living in Barcelona is roughly 254% more expensive than in Benxi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Benxi is 49% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$3.04 ¥20.19

478.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$22.33 ¥148

202.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.31 ¥35.25

154.80%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.40 ¥15.98

32.92%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.51 ¥3.39

470.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.29 ¥1.89

551.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$0.73 ¥4.84

449.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$1.76 ¥11.69

157.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.85 ¥12.28

-29.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.22 ¥8.08

65.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$0.84 ¥5.60

120.24%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.60 ¥10.65

201.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$10.00 ¥66.4

67.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$2.85 ¥18.92

220.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$8.92 ¥59.3

120.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.62 ¥10.74

83.95%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.38 ¥9.17

46.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.62 ¥10.76

66.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.37 ¥9.12

104.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.58 ¥3.88

260.34%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.85 ¥12.26

11.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.61 ¥4.09

139.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.69 ¥4.57

36.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$2.97 ¥19.75

131.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$8.24 ¥54.7

-4.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.58 ¥3.85

143.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.25 ¥8.30

103.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.31 ¥2.09

912.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$12.21 ¥81.1

108.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$0.88 ¥5.84

239.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.29 ¥1.91

413.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$2.98 ¥19.82

1019.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.13 ¥7.53

59.29%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$19.8K ¥131.7K

67.52%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$18.0K ¥119.4K

76.41%

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

$180 €162

$54.4 ¥361

231.88%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$6.70 ¥44.51

106.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$10.41 ¥69.2

223.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$66.3 ¥441

-22.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$8.31 ¥55.2

92.06%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$6.03 ¥40.08

82.26%

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

$917 €821

$449 ¥2,985

104.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$8,894 ¥59.1K

85.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$29.74 ¥198

192.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$32.77 ¥218

17.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$60.2 ¥400

75.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$52.4 ¥348

128.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$137 ¥907

1144.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$189 ¥1,259

615.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$258 ¥1,711

910.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$153 ¥1,015

1249.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$3,371 ¥22.4K

105.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$1,941 ¥12.9K

164.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$447 ¥2,971

394.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

-18.00%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Benxi: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Benxi

$189 27.4% 86% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Benxi

$179 25.9% 44.3% $143

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Benxi

$79 11.5% 70.4% $188

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Benxi

$71 10.3% 68.6% $156

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Benxi

$79 11.4% 50.1% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Benxi

$78 11.3% 6.7% $4.9

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Benxi

$16 2.3% 67.4% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $137 in Benxi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 4.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $22 in Benxi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $179 per month, with Benxi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Benxi

🕒 Local time

04:47 4:47 AM

11:47 11:47 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

809,655

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Benxi 9,110 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Benxi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $692 in Benxi, so Benxi is about 72% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 4.9 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 $137 in Benxi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $449 in Benxi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 80% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $692 in Benxi versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $800 budget is realistic in Benxi but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Benxi 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 Benxi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 72% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.