Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Dar es Salaam

For one person, living is cheaper in Dar es Salaam: $715 a month against $2,405 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,300 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 Dar es Salaam
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Dar es Salaam Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,405

/mo nomad

Dar es Salaam

🇹🇿 Tanzania

$715

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Dar es Salaam

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 Dar es Salaam actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,405 in Barcelona versus $715 in Dar es Salaam.

Barcelona $2,405
Dar es Salaam $715

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,477 in Barcelona versus $1,114 in Dar es Salaam.

Barcelona $3,477
Dar es Salaam $1,114

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,550 in Barcelona versus $1,513 in Dar es Salaam.

Barcelona $4,550
Dar es Salaam $1,513

Living in Barcelona is roughly 236% more expensive than in Dar es Salaam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 79% above, Dar es Salaam is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.98 €16.05

$1.88 TZS 4,931

856.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 €60.2

$18.70 TZS 49.1K

260.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.37 €11.93

$7.50 TZS 19.7K

78.27%

Cappuccino

$3.34 €2.98

$1.93 TZS 5,069

73.06%

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

$2.95 €2.64

$0.35 TZS 910

742.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.69

$0.22 TZS 578

763.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.88 €3.46

$1.01 TZS 2,643

284.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 €4.08

$1.90 TZS 4,993

140.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 €1.13

$0.85 TZS 2,232

49.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 €1.75

$0.61 TZS 1,596

221.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$1.05 TZS 2,764

66.67%

Eggs

$4.89 €4.36

$2.04 TZS 5,366

139.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.47 €15.59

$9.13 TZS 24.0K

91.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.06 €8.09

$4.67 TZS 12.2K

94.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.18 €18.01

$3.99 TZS 10.5K

405.76%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 €2.75

$2.46 TZS 6,455

25.20%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.06 TZS 2,775

91.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.60 €2.32

$1.08 TZS 2,822

140.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 €2.42

$0.92 TZS 2,412

194.57%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 €1.92

$0.89 TZS 2,336

141.57%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$0.99 TZS 2,610

123.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.38

$0.82 TZS 2,160

87.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 €0.83

$0.39 TZS 1,016

138.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.09 €6.32

$2.09 TZS 5,494

239.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.63 €6.81

$7.27 TZS 19.1K

4.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 €1.33

$0.94 TZS 2,455

58.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.63 TZS 4,267

67.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.95 €2.63

$0.26 TZS 688

1034.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.91 €23.13

$14.84 TZS 38.9K

74.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.13 €2.80

$1.68 TZS 4,417

86.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.50 TZS 3,943

-3.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.17 €30.49

$13.03 TZS 34.2K

162.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.60

$1.37 TZS 3,591

30.66%

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

$34.7K €31.0K

$16.8K TZS 44.0M

106.85%

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

$30.3K €27.0K

$25.9K TZS 68.0M

16.99%

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

$181 €161

$56.6 TZS 148.5K

219.28%

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

$13.56 €12.10

$8.88 TZS 23.3K

52.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.12 €31.34

$34.50 TZS 90.5K

1.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.2 €47.44

$85.3 TZS 223.9K

-37.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.05 €14.33

$10.01 TZS 26.3K

60.34%

Cinema Ticket

$11.37 €10.14

$5.23 TZS 13.7K

117.40%

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

$939 €838

$568 TZS 1.5M

65.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$13.4K TZS 35.1M

23.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.7

$15.23 TZS 40.0K

479.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.77 €35.49

$25.44 TZS 66.8K

56.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.3

$44.69 TZS 117.3K

131.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €107

$60.1 TZS 157.6K

98.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,513

$566 TZS 1.5M

199.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,301 €1,161

$194 TZS 508.6K

570.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,299

$1,348 TZS 3.5M

91.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,941 €1,732

$436 TZS 1.1M

345.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,470 €6,666

$1,540 TZS 4.0M

385.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,195 €4,636

$1,058 TZS 2.8M

391.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,299 €2,052

$283 TZS 741.9K

713.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

18.25

-82.03%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 4, 2026

Last update for Dar es Salaam: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54%

Dar es Salaam

$194 27.5% 85.1% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.5%

Dar es Salaam

$152 21.6% 53.1% $173

Eating Out

Barcelona

$272 11.3%

Dar es Salaam

$72 10.2% 73.6% $200

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.5%

Dar es Salaam

$100 14.2% 56.4% $129

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Dar es Salaam

$65 9.3% 58.5% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$76 3.2%

Dar es Salaam

$96 13.6% 26.2% $20

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Dar es Salaam

$25 3.6% 47.9% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $566 in Dar es Salaam. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 713% 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 $19.00 in Dar es Salaam for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $152 per month, with Dar es Salaam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇹🇿 Dar es Salaam

🕒 Local time

13:41 1:41 PM

14:41 2:41 PM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

5,383,728

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Tanzanian Shilling TZS Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 TZS = 3.81 USD

10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TZS, 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).

Tanzanian Shilling exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2,624 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.81 USD). 1 EUR = 2,940 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Dar es Salaam 6,560 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Dar es Salaam

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 Dar es Salaam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Dar es Salaam differ by about 236% in total monthly costs ($2,405 vs $715 including rent). Dar es Salaam is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 713% 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 $566 in Dar es Salaam. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $939 in Barcelona versus $568 in Dar es Salaam. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 113% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $715 in Dar es Salaam versus $2,405 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dar es Salaam but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Dar es Salaam 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 Dar es Salaam 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 Dar es Salaam gentler on the wallet – expenses run 236% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.