Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Boroko

For one person, living is cheaper in Boroko: $868 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,000 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Boroko
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Boroko Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Boroko

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$868

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Boroko

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $868 in Boroko.

Barcelona $2,453
Boroko $868

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,259 in Boroko.

Barcelona $3,509
Boroko $1,259

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,649 in Boroko.

Barcelona $4,564
Boroko $1,649

Living in Barcelona is roughly 183% more expensive than in Boroko, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Boroko is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$7.29 PGK 31.69

141.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$34.42 PGK 150

96.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.35 PGK 23.27

152.90%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.48 PGK 10.76

28.63%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.71 PGK 3.07

309.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.64 PGK 2.78

195.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$2.58 PGK 11.23

55.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$3.42 PGK 14.86

32.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.50 PGK 6.52

-12.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.16 PGK 5.03

74.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.16 PGK 5.03

59.48%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.55 PGK 15.41

36.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$4.98 PGK 21.66

236.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$4.79 PGK 20.80

90.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$6.61 PGK 28.73

197.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$3.85 PGK 16.71

-22.60%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$3.08 PGK 13.38

-34.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.72 PGK 11.80

-0.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$2.70 PGK 11.75

3.70%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.82 PGK 12.25

-25.89%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.84 PGK 3.66

146.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.12 PGK 4.86

30.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.42 PGK 1.83

123.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$5.42 PGK 23.54

26.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$4.95 PGK 21.53

59.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.07 PGK 4.67

31.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.49 PGK 6.48

70.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.42 PGK 1.83

647.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$28.88 PGK 126

-11.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$4.40 PGK 19.12

-32.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.34 PGK 5.84

11.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$10.97 PGK 47.68

204.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.80 PGK 3.47

125.00%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$35.7K PGK 155.1K

-7.00%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$17.6K PGK 76.5K

80.10%

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

$180 €162

$61.6 PGK 268

192.92%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$20.71 PGK 90.0

-33.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$82.1 PGK 357

-58.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$41.86 PGK 182

23.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$14.29 PGK 62.1

11.69%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$6.47 PGK 28.10

69.86%

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

$917 €821

$333 PGK 1,445

175.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$2,215 PGK 9,626

643.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$34.50 PGK 150

152.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$12.91 PGK 56.1

198.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$44.28 PGK 192

138.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$26.31 PGK 114

354.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$3,336 PGK 14.5K

-49.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$221 PGK 959

513.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$3,257 PGK 14.2K

-20.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$218 PGK 948

845.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$352 PGK 1,531

527.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

-70.18%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Boroko: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Boroko

$221 25.4% 83.7% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Boroko

$204 23.5% 36.6% $118

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Boroko

$129 14.9% 51.8% $139

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Boroko

$164 18.9% 27.9% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Boroko

$53 6.1% 66.4% $105

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Boroko

$55 6.3% 25.5% $19

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Boroko

$42 4.8% 14% $6.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $3,336 in Boroko. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 6.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $34 in Boroko for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $204 per month, with Boroko cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇵🇬 Boroko

🕒 Local time

08:01 8:01 AM

17:01 5:01 PM

9 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 PGK = 0.23 USD

1 PGK = 0.206 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PGK, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

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

Papua New Guinean Kina exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.35 PGK (1 PGK = 0.23 USD). 1 EUR = 4.85 PGK (1 PGK = 0.206 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Boroko 15,080 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Boroko

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 Boroko: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $868 in Boroko, so Boroko is about 65% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 6.3 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 $3,336 in Boroko. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $333 in Boroko. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 58% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Boroko is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Boroko wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.