Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Buea

For one person, living is cheaper in Buea: $739 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,600 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Buea
Learn more

Buea Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Buea

🇨🇲 Cameroon

$739

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Buea

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $739 in Buea.

Barcelona $2,453
Buea $739

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,340 in Buea.

Barcelona $3,509
Buea $1,340

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,941 in Buea.

Barcelona $4,564
Buea $1,941

Living in Barcelona is roughly 232% more expensive than in Buea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Buea is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$1.69 FCFA 991

940.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$117 FCFA 68.8K

-42.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$6.06 FCFA 3,561

123.27%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.04 FCFA 1,199

56.37%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.25 FCFA 736

132.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.46 FCFA 270

310.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$0.99 FCFA 582

305.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$1.50 FCFA 878

202.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.78 FCFA 1,635

-52.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.40 FCFA 233

405.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.53 FCFA 901

20.92%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.87 FCFA 1,098

158.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$21.74 FCFA 12.8K

-23.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$7.58 FCFA 4,450

20.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$4.36 FCFA 2,562

350.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$3.43 FCFA 2,015

-13.12%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.38 FCFA 808

46.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$0.88 FCFA 516

206.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.31 FCFA 772

113.74%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.72 FCFA 1,013

21.51%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.39 FCFA 816

48.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.73 FCFA 427

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.61 FCFA 361

54.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$2.64 FCFA 1,549

160.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$8.70 FCFA 5,108

-9.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.16 FCFA 679

21.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.73 FCFA 1,018

46.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$0.27 FCFA 159

1007.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.53 FCFA 310

181.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$4.99 FCFA 2,932

568.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.20 FCFA 702

50.00%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$18.7K FCFA 11.0M

77.57%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$15.6K FCFA 9.1M

103.71%

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

$180 €162

$59.1 FCFA 34.7K

205.16%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$16.88 FCFA 9,918

-18.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$167 FCFA 98.2K

-79.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$25.69 FCFA 15.1K

100.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$4.25 FCFA 2,494

275.53%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$8.54 FCFA 5,015

28.69%

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

$917 €821

$506 FCFA 297.3K

81.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$3,349 FCFA 2.0M

392.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$34.09 FCFA 20.0K

155.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$65.7 FCFA 38.6K

-41.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$137 FCFA 80.3K

-22.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$67.9 FCFA 39.9K

76.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

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

$130 FCFA 76.5K

1597.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

19.04

-82.77%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Buea: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Buea

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Buea

$242 32.8% 24.8% $80

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Buea

$71 9.6% 73.5% $197

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Buea

$243 32.9% 6.7% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Buea

$137 18.5% 13.3% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Buea

$43 5.8% 41.8% $31

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Buea

$2.9 * 0.4% 94% $46

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Barcelona pays about 17 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $117 in Buea. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $242, with Buea cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇲 Buea

🕒 Local time

18:28 6:28 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,325,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Central African CFA Franc XAF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 XAF = 1.7 USD

1,000 XAF = 1.53 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

XAF, 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).

Central African CFA Franc exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 587 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.7 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.53 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Buea 4,200 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Buea

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 Buea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $739 in Buea, so Buea is about 70% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 17 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $506 in Buea. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelona – a meal for two runs $67 versus $117 in Buea. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $739 in Buea versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Buea but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Buea 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.

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