Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Chang-hua

For one person, living is cheaper in Chang-hua: $852 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,200 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Chang-hua
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Chang-hua Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Chang-hua

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$852

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Chang-hua

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 Chang-hua actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $852 in Chang-hua.

Barcelona $2,453
Chang-hua $852

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,325 in Chang-hua.

Barcelona $3,509
Chang-hua $1,325

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,799 in Chang-hua.

Barcelona $4,564
Chang-hua $1,799

Living in Barcelona is roughly 188% more expensive than in Chang-hua, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Chang-hua is 37% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$3.74 NT$122

370.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$32.20 NT$1,050

109.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.77 NT$188

134.49%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$1.66 NT$54.1

92.17%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.93 NT$30.35

212.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.55 NT$17.81

243.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.37 NT$44.62

192.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.21 NT$72.0

104.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.26 NT$73.6

-42.04%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.02 NT$66.0

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.79 NT$91.0

-33.69%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.73 NT$89.1

76.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$15.78 NT$514

6.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$9.82 NT$320

-7.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$20.95 NT$683

-6.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$4.85 NT$158

-38.56%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$3.16 NT$103

-36.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.88 NT$93.9

-6.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$3.09 NT$101

-9.39%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.66 NT$86.8

-21.43%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$2.08 NT$67.9

-0.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.67 NT$54.4

-12.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.80 NT$25.93

17.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$3.83 NT$125

79.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$9.19 NT$300

-14.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.40 NT$45.73

0.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.15 NT$70.2

18.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.50 NT$49.00

109.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$34.11 NT$1,112

-25.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$2.58 NT$84.1

15.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.79 NT$25.68

88.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$8.99 NT$293

271.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.04 NT$33.91

73.08%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$34.5K NT$1.1M

-3.85%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$23.4K NT$764.3K

35.23%

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

$180 €162

$30.39 NT$991

493.65%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$16.96 NT$553

-18.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$18.24 NT$595

84.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$31.70 NT$1,034

62.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$9.40 NT$307

16.91%

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

$917 €821

$614 NT$20.0K

49.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$7,800 NT$254.3K

111.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$48.48 NT$1,581

79.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$15.10 NT$492

155.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$76.1 NT$2,483

38.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$48.18 NT$1,571

148.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$255 NT$8,304

567.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$168 NT$5,462

708.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$490 NT$16.0K

430.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$170 NT$5,541

1113.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$2,897 NT$94.4K

138.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$1,606 NT$52.4K

219.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$1,973 NT$64.3K

12.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

2.2

49.09%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chang-hua: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Chang-hua

$168 19.7% 87.6% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Chang-hua

$352 41.4% 9.5% $31

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Chang-hua

$84 9.9% 68.5% $184

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Chang-hua

$66 7.7% 71.2% $162

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Chang-hua

$85 9.9% 46.5% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Chang-hua

$51 5.9% 31.3% $23

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Chang-hua

$47 5.5% 3.8% $1.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $255 in Chang-hua. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 12% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $32 in Chang-hua. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $352, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇹🇼 Chang-hua

🕒 Local time

13:33 1:33 PM

20:33 8:33 PM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

226,564

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, 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).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.39 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Chang-hua 10,360 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Chang-hua

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 Chang-hua: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $852 in Chang-hua, so Chang-hua is about 65% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 12% higher in Barcelona, 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 $255 in Chang-hua. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $614 in Chang-hua. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 9% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Chang-hua 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.

Safety-wise, Barcelona and Chang-hua are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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