Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Damascus

For one person, living is cheaper in Damascus: $871 a month against $2,405 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Damascus
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Damascus Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,405

/mo nomad

Damascus

🇸🇾 Syria

$871

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Damascus

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,405 in Barcelona versus $871 in Damascus.

Barcelona $2,405
Damascus $871

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,477 in Barcelona versus $1,395 in Damascus.

Barcelona $3,477
Damascus $1,395

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,550 in Barcelona versus $1,920 in Damascus.

Barcelona $4,550
Damascus $1,920

Living in Barcelona is roughly 176% more expensive than in Damascus, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 79% above, Damascus is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.98 €16.05

$9.87 SYP 1,200

82.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 €60.2

$42.24 SYP 5,133

59.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.37 €11.93

$6.83 SYP 830

95.75%

Cappuccino

$3.34 €2.98

$3.75 SYP 456

-10.93%

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

$2.95 €2.64

$2.30 SYP 279

28.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.69

$0.89 SYP 108

113.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.88 €3.46

$1.98 SYP 241

95.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 €4.08

$3.88 SYP 472

17.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 €1.13

$1.08 SYP 132

17.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 €1.75

$0.42 SYP 50.9

366.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$1.52 SYP 184

15.13%

Eggs

$4.89 €4.36

$1.63 SYP 198

200.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.47 €15.59

$3.93 SYP 478

344.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.06 €8.09

$5.84 SYP 709

55.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.18 €18.01

$13.84 SYP 1,682

45.81%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 €2.75

$1.03 SYP 125

199.03%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.41 SYP 171

43.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.60 €2.32

$1.10 SYP 134

136.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 €2.42

$1.06 SYP 129

155.66%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 €1.92

$0.74 SYP 90.0

190.54%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$0.79 SYP 96.4

179.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.38

$0.41 SYP 49.31

275.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 €0.83

$0.63 SYP 76.0

47.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.09 €6.32

$2.81 SYP 341

152.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.63 €6.81

$5.98 SYP 727

27.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 €1.33

$1.10 SYP 134

35.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 €2.43

$2.85 SYP 346

-4.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.95 €2.63

$0.23 SYP 28.03

1182.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.91 €23.13

$9.93 SYP 1,206

160.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.13 €2.80

$1.03 SYP 125

203.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.53 SYP 186

-5.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.17 €30.49

$7.59 SYP 923

350.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.60

$3.61 SYP 439

-50.42%

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

$34.7K €31.0K

$15.1K SYP 1.8M

130.36%

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

$30.3K €27.0K

$19.5K SYP 2.4M

55.72%

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

$181 €161

$139 SYP 16.9K

30.14%

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

$13.56 €12.10

$9.84 SYP 1,196

37.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.12 €31.34

$45.66 SYP 5,548

-23.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.2 €47.44

$28.55 SYP 3,470

86.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.05 €14.33

$8.47 SYP 1,029

89.49%

Cinema Ticket

$11.37 €10.14

$5.64 SYP 685

101.60%

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

$939 €838

$67.7 SYP 8,221

1287.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$1,816 SYP 220.7K

809.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.7

$28.35 SYP 3,445

211.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.77 €35.49

$39.84 SYP 4,841

-0.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.3

$59.5 SYP 7,224

73.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €107

$57.2 SYP 6,955

108.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,513

$526 SYP 63.9K

222.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,301 €1,161

$186 SYP 22.6K

599.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,299

$840 SYP 102.1K

206.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,941 €1,732

$469 SYP 56.9K

314.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,470 €6,666

$1,742 SYP 211.7K

328.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,195 €4,636

$607 SYP 73.8K

755.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,299 €2,052

$73.4 SYP 8,916

3034.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

14.25

-76.98%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 4, 2026

Last update for Damascus: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54%

Damascus

$186 21.4% 85.7% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.5%

Damascus

$170 19.6% 47.8% $155

Eating Out

Barcelona

$272 11.3%

Damascus

$175 20.2% 35.7% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.5%

Damascus

$194 22.4% 15.3% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Damascus

$83 9.6% 47.3% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$76 3.2%

Damascus

$40 4.6% 47.5% $36

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Damascus

$20 2.3% 59.4% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $526 in Damascus. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 3034% 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: $67.0 in Barcelona vs $42.00 in Damascus for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $170 per month, with Damascus cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇸🇾 Damascus

🕒 Local time

08:21 8:21 AM

09:21 9:21 AM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,414,913 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Syrian Pound SYP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD

1,000 SYP = 7.34 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SYP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Syrian Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 122 SYP (1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD). 1 EUR = 136 SYP (1,000 SYP = 7.34 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Damascus 3,120 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Damascus

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 Damascus: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Damascus differ by about 176% in total monthly costs ($2,405 vs $871 including rent). Damascus is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 3034% 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $526 in Damascus. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $939 in Barcelona versus $67.7 in Damascus. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 92% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $871 in Damascus versus $2,405 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Damascus but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Damascus 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.

Safety-wise, Barcelona and Damascus are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Damascus gentler on the wallet – expenses run 176% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.