Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Changsha

For one person, living is cheaper in Changsha: $783 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,000 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Changsha
Learn more

Changsha Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Changsha

🇨🇳 China

$783

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Changsha

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $783 in Changsha.

Barcelona $2,453
Changsha $783

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,282 in Changsha.

Barcelona $3,509
Changsha $1,282

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,780 in Changsha.

Barcelona $4,564
Changsha $1,780

Living in Barcelona is roughly 213% more expensive than in Changsha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Changsha is 42% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$2.96 ¥19.69

494.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$22.41 ¥149

201.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$4.90 ¥32.60

176.12%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$3.34 ¥22.23

-4.49%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$0.51 ¥3.38

470.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.27 ¥1.82

600.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$1.24 ¥8.24

223.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$1.90 ¥12.61

138.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.97 ¥13.09

-33.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.37 ¥15.77

-14.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$0.94 ¥6.28

96.81%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$1.72 ¥11.45

180.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$12.99 ¥86.4

28.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$4.10 ¥27.31

122.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$11.65 ¥77.5

68.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$2.84 ¥18.91

4.93%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.39 ¥9.27

45.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$1.93 ¥12.83

39.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$2.02 ¥13.46

38.61%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.96 ¥6.39

117.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.66 ¥11.04

24.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.65 ¥4.33

124.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.49 ¥3.27

91.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$2.92 ¥19.41

135.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$12.72 ¥84.7

-37.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.03 ¥6.86

36.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$1.54 ¥10.27

64.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.35 ¥2.35

797.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$14.75 ¥98.2

72.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$1.48 ¥9.83

102.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.31 ¥2.10

380.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$4.56 ¥30.32

631.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.26 ¥8.40

42.86%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$19.9K ¥132.1K

67.15%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$17.8K ¥118.6K

77.88%

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

$180 €162

$56.1 ¥373

221.53%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$9.08 ¥60.4

52.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$13.61 ¥90.6

147.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$54.8 ¥365

-6.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$24.80 ¥165

-35.65%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$6.54 ¥43.55

68.04%

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

$917 €823

$326 ¥2,172

180.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$17.2K ¥114.3K

-4.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$84.4 ¥562

3.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$34.62 ¥230

11.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$90.0 ¥599

17.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$61.2 ¥407

95.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$266 ¥1,772

538.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$167 ¥1,111

711.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$559 ¥3,721

365.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$381 ¥2,536

441.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$2,482 ¥16.5K

178.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$1,414 ¥9,413

262.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$1,104 ¥7,348

100.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.46

-5.20%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Changsha: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Changsha

$167 21.3% 87.7% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Changsha

$237 30.3% 26.3% $85

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Changsha

$92 11.7% 65.8% $176

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Changsha

$79 10.1% 65.4% $149

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Changsha

$122 15.5% 23% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Changsha

$68 8.7% 7.6% $5.6

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Changsha

$19 2.5% 60.3% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $266 in Changsha. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2 times 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 $22 in Changsha for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $237 per month, with Changsha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Changsha

🕒 Local time

23:05 11:05 PM

06:05 6:05 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

5,289,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Changsha 9,510 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
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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 Changsha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $783 in Changsha, so Changsha is about 68% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2 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 $266 in Changsha. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $326 in Changsha. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 36% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $783 in Changsha versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Changsha but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Changsha 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.

Expats usually find Changsha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 68% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.