Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Buraydah

For one person, living is cheaper in Buraydah: $1,226 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Barcelona, Spain
Buraydah, Saudi Arabia
Barcelona
🇪🇸 Spain
$2,453
/mo nomad
Buraydah
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
$1,226
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Buraydah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,226 in Buraydah.

  • Barcelona $2,453
  • Buraydah $1,226

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,036 in Buraydah.

  • Barcelona $3,509
  • Buraydah $2,036

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,845 in Buraydah.

  • Barcelona $4,564
  • Buraydah $2,845

Living in Barcelona is roughly 100% more expensive than in Buraydah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Buraydah is 10% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Barcelona
Buraydah
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$17.59 €15.76
$13.15 SAR 49.35
33.76%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$67.5 €60.5
$39.53 SAR 148
70.73%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$13.53 €12.12
$7.99 SAR 29.99
69.34%
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$1.88 SAR 7.07
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$1.31 SAR 4.91
-
Cappuccino
$3.19 €2.86
$3.54 SAR 13.27
-9.89%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.91 €2.61
$0.79 SAR 2.96
268.35%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.89 €1.70
$0.26 SAR 0.98
626.92%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.01 €3.59
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.53 €4.06
-
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Barcelona
Buraydah
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.31 €1.17
$1.67 SAR 6.25
-21.56%
White Bread (500g)
$2.02 €1.81
$1.10 SAR 4.14
83.64%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.85 €1.66
$2.53 SAR 9.51
-26.88%
Eggs
$4.83 €4.33
$2.89 SAR 10.83
67.13%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$16.74 €15.00
$8.31 SAR 31.19
101.44%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.12 €8.17
$6.57 SAR 24.65
38.81%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$19.64 €17.60
$13.54 SAR 50.8
45.05%
Apples (1kg)
$2.98 €2.67
$2.28 SAR 8.57
30.70%
Banana (1kg)
$2.02 €1.81
$1.83 SAR 6.87
10.38%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.70 €2.42
$1.74 SAR 6.53
55.17%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.80 €2.51
$1.75 SAR 6.58
60.00%
Potato (1kg)
$2.09 €1.87
$1.40 SAR 5.26
49.29%
Onion (1kg)
$2.07 €1.85
$1.30 SAR 4.88
59.23%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.46 €1.31
$1.05 SAR 3.94
39.05%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.94 €0.84
$0.67 SAR 2.52
40.30%
Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)
-
$1.81 SAR 6.81
-
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
-
$1.48 SAR 5.54
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$2.58 SAR 9.68
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.87 €6.16
$6.23 SAR 23.37
10.27%
Wine (Bottle)
$7.89 €7.07
-
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.41 €1.26
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.54 €2.27
-
-
🚌 Getting Around
Barcelona
Buraydah
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.14 €2.82
$1.08 SAR 4.05
190.74%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$25.45 €22.80
$37.57 SAR 141
-32.26%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.99 €2.68
$2.62 SAR 9.85
14.12%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.49 €1.34
$2.70 SAR 10.13
-44.81%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$33.37 €29.91
$16.75 SAR 62.9
99.22%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.80 €1.61
$0.59 SAR 2.22
205.08%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$33.2K €29.7K
$42.2K SAR 158.4K
-21.36%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.7K €28.4K
$23.0K SAR 86.2K
38.04%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Barcelona
Buraydah
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$180 €162
$69.9 SAR 262
158.02%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$13.84 €12.40
$31.54 SAR 118
-56.12%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$33.70 €30.20
$70.1 SAR 263
-51.89%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Barcelona
Buraydah
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$51.5 €46.16
$138 SAR 517
-62.62%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$15.96 €14.30
$35.66 SAR 134
-55.24%
Cinema Ticket
$10.99 €9.85
$15.09 SAR 56.6
-27.17%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Barcelona
Buraydah
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$917 €821
$269 SAR 1,010
240.62%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$16.5K €14.8K
$3,800 SAR 14.3K
333.67%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Barcelona
Buraydah
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$87.0 €78.0
$52.1 SAR 196
67.04%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$38.51 €34.51
$54.4 SAR 204
-29.17%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$106 €94.8
$80.4 SAR 302
31.69%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$120 €107
$70.9 SAR 266
68.78%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Barcelona
Buraydah
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,699 €1,523
$700 SAR 2,628
142.67%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,355 €1,214
$332 SAR 1,245
308.42%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,603 €2,332
$905 SAR 3,397
187.53%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,062 €1,848
$827 SAR 3,104
149.33%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$6,915 €6,196
$1,949 SAR 7,314
254.82%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$5,128 €4,595
$1,335 SAR 5,009
284.18%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Barcelona
Buraydah
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$2,211 €1,981
$2,467 SAR 9,257
-10.37%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.28
3.98
-17.59%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Buraydah: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Barcelona
$1.4K
Buraydah
$332 75.5% $1K
Groceries & Markets
Barcelona
$322
Buraydah
$205 36.3% $117
Eating Out
Barcelona
$268
Buraydah
$176 34.4% $92
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Barcelona
$228
Buraydah
$172 24.8% $56
Clothing & Footwear
Barcelona
$158
Buraydah
$116 26.6% $42
Sport & Entertainment
Barcelona
$74
Buraydah
$168 129% $94
Getting Around
Barcelona
$48
Buraydah
$58 19.7% $9.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $700 in Buraydah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buraydah pays 12% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $40 in Buraydah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $205 per month, with Buraydah cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇪🇸 Barcelona
🇸🇦 Buraydah
🕒 Local time
02:58 2:58 AM
04:58 4:58 AM
2 h ahead of Barcelona
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
1,660,122
467,410
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س
Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

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

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.19 SAR (1 SAR = 0.239 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Barcelona Buraydah 4,160 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Barcelona
  • Buraydah

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 Buraydah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Barcelona and in Buraydah?
Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,226 in Buraydah, so Buraydah is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city has better-paying jobs?
On paper, salaries run 10% lower in Barcelona. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
How do apartment prices compare in Barcelona and in Buraydah?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $700 in Buraydah. 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 Buraydah?
Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $269 in Buraydah. 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 57% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city is feasible on a $1,000 budget?
Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Buraydah is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.
How does quality of life compare between Barcelona and Buraydah?
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 Buraydah safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Barcelona and Buraydah are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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