Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Chiayi

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiayi: $1,041 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,900 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Chiayi
Learn more

Chiayi Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Chiayi

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,041

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Chiayi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,041 in Chiayi.

Barcelona $2,453
Chiayi $1,041

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,471 in Chiayi.

Barcelona $3,509
Chiayi $1,471

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,901 in Chiayi.

Barcelona $4,564
Chiayi $1,901

Living in Barcelona is roughly 136% more expensive than in Chiayi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Chiayi is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$4.59 NT$149

283.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$46.34 NT$1,503

45.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$5.65 NT$183

139.47%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$3.29 NT$107

-3.04%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$0.85 NT$27.57

242.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.67 NT$21.69

182.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$2.98 NT$96.7

34.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$3.58 NT$116

26.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.95 NT$95.7

-55.59%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.95 NT$63.1

3.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.05 NT$99.0

-39.34%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$2.63 NT$85.4

83.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.04

$18.97 NT$615

-11.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$9.89 NT$321

-7.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$21.28 NT$690

-7.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$4.72 NT$153

-36.86%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$3.28 NT$106

-38.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$2.87 NT$93.0

-5.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$4.23 NT$137

-33.81%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.65 NT$85.8

-21.13%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$2.20 NT$71.2

-5.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.72 NT$55.8

-15.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.12 NT$36.28

-16.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$3.75 NT$122

83.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.09

$4.48 NT$145

76.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.58 NT$51.1

-10.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$2.13 NT$69.1

19.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$12.12 NT$393

109.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$2.54 NT$82.3

17.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.45 NT$14.62

231.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.99

$8.97 NT$291

272.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.62

$1.00 NT$32.44

80.00%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$34.1K NT$1.1M

-2.57%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$23.5K NT$761.7K

34.95%

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

$180 €162

$64.7 NT$2,097

179.01%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$17.55 NT$569

-21.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.28

$26.76 NT$868

25.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.28

$30.55 NT$991

68.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$9.62 NT$312

14.24%

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

$917 €824

$712 NT$23.1K

28.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$16.1K NT$523.0K

2.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$62.2 NT$2,016

39.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.60

$39.01 NT$1,265

-1.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$82.8 NT$2,683

27.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$102 NT$3,298

17.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$374 NT$12.1K

353.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,218

$244 NT$7,896

456.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,339

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,213

$3,070 NT$99.5K

125.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,607

$1,843 NT$59.7K

178.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$2,038 NT$66.1K

8.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

2.4

36.67%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chiayi: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Chiayi

$244 23.4% 82% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Chiayi

$372 35.7% 15.4% $50

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Chiayi

$121 11.7% 54.7% $147

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Chiayi

$109 10.5% 52.2% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Chiayi

$129 12.4% 18.6% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Chiayi

$50 4.8% 32.3% $24

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Chiayi

$17 * 1.6% 65.1% $32

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $374 in Chiayi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 8% 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 $46 in Chiayi. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $372, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇹🇼 Chiayi

🕒 Local time

17:52 5:52 PM

00:52 12:52 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

269,874

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, 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).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.09 TWD (100 TWD = 2.77 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Chiayi 10,410 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Chiayi

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 Chiayi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Chiayi differ by about 136% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $1,041 including rent). Chiayi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 8% 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 $374 in Chiayi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $712 in Chiayi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 13% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Chiayi 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 Chiayi are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

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