Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Bulawayo

For one person, living is cheaper in Bulawayo: $747 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,500 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 Bulawayo
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Bulawayo Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Bulawayo

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

$747

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Bulawayo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $747 in Bulawayo.

Barcelona $2,453
Bulawayo $747

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,194 in Bulawayo.

Barcelona $3,509
Bulawayo $1,194

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,642 in Bulawayo.

Barcelona $4,564
Bulawayo $1,642

Living in Barcelona is roughly 229% more expensive than in Bulawayo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Bulawayo is 45% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$4.37 ZWL 116

302.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$29.90 ZWL 795

125.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$5.10 ZWL 136

165.29%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$2.14 ZWL 56.8

49.07%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$0.52 ZWL 13.79

459.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.36 ZWL 9.59

425.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$1.46 ZWL 38.92

174.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$1.97 ZWL 52.3

129.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.63 ZWL 43.27

-19.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.98 ZWL 26.05

106.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.55 ZWL 41.16

19.35%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$1.86 ZWL 49.36

159.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$9.42 ZWL 250

77.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$3.82 ZWL 102

138.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$4.60 ZWL 122

326.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$1.80 ZWL 47.79

65.56%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.55 ZWL 41.15

30.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$2.40 ZWL 63.8

12.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$1.04 ZWL 27.65

169.23%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.26 ZWL 33.50

65.87%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.44 ZWL 38.16

43.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.10 ZWL 29.27

32.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.77 ZWL 20.45

22.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$1.51 ZWL 40.16

354.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$5.02 ZWL 133

57.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.36 ZWL 36.09

3.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$1.83 ZWL 48.67

38.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.72 ZWL 19.06

336.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$29.51 ZWL 784

-13.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$3.06 ZWL 81.2

-2.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.98 ZWL 52.6

-24.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$5.03 ZWL 134

563.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.69 ZWL 44.95

6.51%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$25.1K ZWL 667.3K

32.16%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$25.4K ZWL 674.8K

24.81%

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

$180 €162

$93.0 ZWL 2,472

93.91%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$17.52 ZWL 466

-21.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$107 ZWL 2,831

-68.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$30.99 ZWL 823

66.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$20.38 ZWL 542

-21.69%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$10.09 ZWL 268

8.92%

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

$917 €823

$228 ZWL 6,051

302.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$3,484 ZWL 92.6K

372.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$20.95 ZWL 557

315.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$11.80 ZWL 314

226.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$46.98 ZWL 1,248

125.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$57.8 ZWL 1,536

107.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$172 ZWL 4,573

887.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$106 ZWL 2,803

1184.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$406 ZWL 10.8K

541.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$323 ZWL 8,574

539.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$2,061 ZWL 54.8K

235.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$2,031 ZWL 54.0K

152.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$303 ZWL 8,056

629.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

-78.13%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Bulawayo: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Bulawayo

$106 14.1% 92.2% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Bulawayo

$175 23.4% 45.7% $147

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Bulawayo

$91 12.2% 66.2% $177

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Bulawayo

$217 29.1% 4.8% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Bulawayo

$62 8.3% 60.8% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Bulawayo

$51 6.9% 30.4% $22

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Bulawayo

$45 6.1% 6.5% $3.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $172 in Bulawayo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 7.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $30 in Bulawayo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $175 per month, with Bulawayo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇿🇼 Bulawayo

🕒 Local time

19:41 7:41 PM

20:41 8:41 PM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

653,337

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Zimbabwean Dollar ZWL $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 ZWL = 3.76 USD

100 ZWL = 3.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZWL, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 26.57 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.76 USD). 1 EUR = 29.58 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.38 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Bulawayo 7,360 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Bulawayo

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 Bulawayo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Bulawayo differ by about 229% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $747 including rent). Bulawayo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 7.3 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 $172 in Bulawayo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $228 in Bulawayo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 84% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $747 in Bulawayo versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Bulawayo but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Bulawayo 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 – Bulawayo wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.