Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Chengdu

For one person, living is cheaper in Chengdu: $726 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,700 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Chengdu
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Chengdu Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Chengdu

🇨🇳 China

$726

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Chengdu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $726 in Chengdu.

Barcelona $2,453
Chengdu $726

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,170 in Chengdu.

Barcelona $3,509
Chengdu $1,170

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,614 in Chengdu.

Barcelona $4,564
Chengdu $1,614

Living in Barcelona is roughly 238% more expensive than in Chengdu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Chengdu is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$2.92 ¥19.43

502.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$22.28 ¥148

202.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$4.85 ¥32.28

178.97%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.00 ¥19.94

6.33%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.51 ¥3.39

470.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.26 ¥1.73

626.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.51 ¥10.06

165.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.28 ¥15.20

98.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.85 ¥12.29

-29.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.49 ¥9.89

35.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$0.99 ¥6.58

86.87%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.61 ¥10.70

200.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$14.31 ¥95.2

16.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$3.64 ¥24.25

150.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$11.02 ¥73.3

78.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.90 ¥12.62

56.84%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.39 ¥9.23

45.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.04 ¥6.91

159.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.20 ¥7.97

133.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.74 ¥4.91

182.43%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.69 ¥4.56

200.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.64 ¥4.23

128.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.58 ¥3.83

62.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$3.69 ¥24.53

86.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$4.37 ¥29.08

80.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.84 ¥5.58

67.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.48 ¥9.82

71.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.29 ¥1.93

982.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$25.23 ¥168

0.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.33 ¥8.83

124.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.31 ¥2.07

380.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$4.37 ¥29.07

663.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.27 ¥8.48

41.73%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$19.6K ¥130.7K

68.95%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$18.0K ¥120.1K

75.64%

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

$180 €162

$46.65 ¥310

286.73%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$9.40 ¥62.6

47.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$12.87 ¥85.6

161.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$27.11 ¥180

90.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$11.21 ¥74.6

42.37%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$6.17 ¥41.02

78.12%

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

$917 €821

$1,161 ¥7,724

-21.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$15.3K ¥101.5K

8.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$25.36 ¥169

243.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$27.52 ¥183

39.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$57.1 ¥380

85.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$53.2 ¥354

125.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$425 ¥2,829

299.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$231 ¥1,540

485.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$755 ¥5,026

244.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$478 ¥3,178

331.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$3,476 ¥23.1K

98.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$1,845 ¥12.3K

177.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$1,278 ¥8,502

73.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.38

-2.96%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chengdu: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Chengdu

$231 31.9% 82.9% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Chengdu

$195 26.8% 39.5% $127

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Chengdu

$89 12.3% 66.7% $179

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Chengdu

$69 9.5% 69.8% $159

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Chengdu

$73 10.1% 53.5% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Chengdu

$39 5.4% 46.3% $34

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Chengdu

$29 4% 39.6% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $425 in Chengdu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 73% 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 Chengdu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $195 per month, with Chengdu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Chengdu

🕒 Local time

18:08 6:08 PM

01:08 1:08 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

20,937,757

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Chengdu 8,700 km ≈ 11 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 Chengdu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $726 in Chengdu, so Chengdu is about 70% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 73% 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 $425 in Chengdu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $1,161 in Chengdu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Chengdu – a meal for two runs $22 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $726 in Chengdu versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Chengdu but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Chengdu 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 – Chengdu wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.