Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Dalian

For one person, living is cheaper in Dalian: $917 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,400 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Dalian
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Dalian Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Dalian

🇨🇳 China

$917

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Dalian

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $917 in Dalian.

Barcelona $2,453
Dalian $917

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,453 in Dalian.

Barcelona $3,509
Dalian $1,453

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,989 in Dalian.

Barcelona $4,564
Dalian $1,989

Living in Barcelona is roughly 168% more expensive than in Dalian, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Dalian is 33% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$3.66 ¥24.37

380.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$25.01 ¥166

169.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.38 ¥35.83

151.49%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.43 ¥22.82

-7.00%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.48 ¥3.19

506.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.23 ¥1.52

721.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$0.99 ¥6.57

305.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$1.51 ¥10.05

200.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.64 ¥10.91

-20.12%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.50 ¥9.95

34.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$0.95 ¥6.33

94.74%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.57 ¥10.47

207.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$20.12 ¥134

-16.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$3.50 ¥23.32

160.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$12.81 ¥85.2

53.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.28 ¥8.55

132.81%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.09 ¥7.25

85.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.97 ¥13.08

37.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$0.89 ¥5.94

214.61%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.89 ¥5.92

134.83%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.69 ¥4.58

200.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.31 ¥8.71

11.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.63 ¥4.19

49.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$3.83 ¥25.46

79.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$15.01 ¥99.9

-47.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.12 ¥7.46

25.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.86 ¥12.36

36.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.29 ¥1.92

982.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$29.71 ¥198

-14.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.54 ¥10.25

94.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.43 ¥2.86

246.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$4.24 ¥28.23

687.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.27 ¥8.44

41.73%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$19.2K ¥127.7K

72.91%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$17.3K ¥115.3K

82.90%

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

$180 €162

$66.0 ¥439

173.43%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$9.51 ¥63.3

45.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$13.65 ¥90.8

146.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$40.42 ¥269

27.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$36.60 ¥244

-56.39%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$6.94 ¥46.21

58.36%

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

$917 €821

$403 ¥2,679

127.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$20.6K ¥137.1K

-20.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$76.0 ¥505

14.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$55.9 ¥372

-31.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$112 ¥746

-5.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$121 ¥808

-1.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$406 ¥2,703

318.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$238 ¥1,583

469.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$701 ¥4,667

271.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$450 ¥2,992

358.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$2,636 ¥17.5K

162.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$1,644 ¥10.9K

211.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$1,077 ¥7,169

105.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.89

-15.68%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Dalian: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Dalian

$238 26% 82.4% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Dalian

$239 26.1% 25.7% $83

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Dalian

$97 10.6% 63.7% $171

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Dalian

$89 9.7% 60.9% $139

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Dalian

$164 17.9% 4.1% $6.4

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Dalian

$54 5.9% 26.1% $19

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Dalian

$35 3.8% 28.7% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $406 in Dalian. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.1 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 $25 in Dalian for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $239 per month, with Dalian cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Dalian

🕒 Local time

06:05 6:05 AM

13:05 1:05 PM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

7,450,785

💱 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

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Between locations

Barcelona Dalian 9,190 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Dalian: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $917 in Dalian, so Dalian is about 63% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.1 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 $406 in Dalian. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $403 in Dalian. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $917 in Dalian versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Dalian but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Dalian 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 – Dalian wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.