Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Chuzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Chuzhou: $685 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,200 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Chuzhou
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Chuzhou Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Chuzhou

🇨🇳 China

$685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Chuzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $685 in Chuzhou.

Barcelona $2,453
Chuzhou $685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,120 in Chuzhou.

Barcelona $3,509
Chuzhou $1,120

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,555 in Chuzhou.

Barcelona $4,564
Chuzhou $1,555

Living in Barcelona is roughly 258% more expensive than in Chuzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Chuzhou is 50% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.71

$2.28 ¥15.14

671.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.3

$22.28 ¥148

202.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.08

$4.76 ¥31.62

184.24%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.85

$2.30 ¥15.30

38.70%

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

$2.91 €2.60

$0.53 ¥3.54

449.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.69

$0.27 ¥1.80

600.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.58

$0.44 ¥2.90

811.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.05

$1.54 ¥10.22

194.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.54 ¥10.26

-14.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.80

$2.07 ¥13.73

-2.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.65

$0.84 ¥5.57

120.24%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.32

$1.32 ¥8.79

265.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.95

$10.57 ¥70.3

58.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.14

$3.03 ¥20.12

200.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.54

$9.07 ¥60.3

116.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.66

$2.09 ¥13.86

42.58%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.26 ¥8.35

60.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.41

$1.71 ¥11.38

57.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.50

$1.07 ¥7.14

161.68%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.86

$0.90 ¥5.95

132.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.97 ¥6.46

113.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.89 ¥5.92

64.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.52 ¥3.46

80.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.14

$3.83 ¥25.48

79.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$13.28 ¥88.3

-40.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.95 ¥6.30

48.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.26

$1.55 ¥10.33

63.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.81

$0.31 ¥2.08

912.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.73

$19.20 ¥128

32.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.67

$1.75 ¥11.65

70.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.33

$0.41 ¥2.74

263.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.81

$9.09 ¥60.4

267.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.32 ¥8.76

36.36%

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

$33.2K €29.6K

$19.3K ¥128.4K

71.87%

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

$31.7K €28.3K

$17.4K ¥115.3K

82.68%

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

$180 €161

$55.5 ¥369

225.00%

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

$13.84 €12.36

$7.88 ¥52.4

75.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.10

$7.28 ¥48.38

362.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.01

$43.09 ¥286

19.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.26

$16.05 ¥107

-0.56%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.82

$6.07 ¥40.36

81.05%

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

$917 €819

$441 ¥2,929

108.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$22.8K ¥151.7K

-27.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.7

$43.42 ¥289

100.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.39

$34.55 ¥230

11.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.5

$64.8 ¥431

63.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$87.6 ¥582

36.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,518

$253 ¥1,681

572.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,211

$165 ¥1,094

723.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,325

$606 ¥4,028

329.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,842

$376 ¥2,500

448.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,176

$3,018 ¥20.1K

129.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,580

$1,996 ¥13.3K

156.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,975

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.42

-4.09%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Chuzhou: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Chuzhou

$165 24% 87.9% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Chuzhou

$198 28.9% 38.5% $124

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Chuzhou

$69 10% 74.4% $199

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Chuzhou

$71 10.3% 69% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Chuzhou

$104 15.1% 34.4% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Chuzhou

$55 8.1% 24.8% $18

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Chuzhou

$24 3.5% 49.9% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $253 in Chuzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $22 in Chuzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $198 per month, with Chuzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Chuzhou

🕒 Local time

06:48 6:48 AM

13:48 1:48 PM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

3,987,054

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Chuzhou 9,540 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Chuzhou

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 Chuzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $685 in Chuzhou, so Chuzhou is about 72% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,679 in Barcelona and $1,027 in Chuzhou to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $253 in Chuzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $441 in Chuzhou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 63% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $685 in Chuzhou versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $800 budget is realistic in Chuzhou but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Chuzhou 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 Chuzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 72% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.