Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Dubai Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Dubai

🙂 Solo nomad: Barcelona is 16.3% cheaper than Dubai without rent, and 20.4% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Barcelona is 10.5% cheaper than Dubai without rent, and 23% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Barcelona
Dubai
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$17.41 €15.03
$11.02 AED 40.48
57.99%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$68.7 €59.3
$80.4 AED 295
-14.48%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$13.71 €11.84
$9.33 AED 34.28
46.95%
Cappuccino
$2.78 €2.4
$5.49 AED 20.15
-49.36%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.8 €2.42
$1.24 AED 4.57
125.81%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.98 €1.71
$0.88 AED 3.22
125.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.43 €3.83
$12.4 AED 45.55
-64.27%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.53 €3.91
$13.52 AED 49.66
-66.49%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Barcelona
Dubai
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.24 €1.07
$2.01 AED 7.36
-38.31%
White Bread (500g)
$2.03 €1.75
$1.42 AED 5.22
42.96%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.98 €1.71
$2.27 AED 8.32
-12.78%
Eggs
$3.46 €2.99
$3.31 AED 12.15
4.53%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$18.32 €15.82
$10.19 AED 37.4
79.78%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.82 €8.47
$9.18 AED 33.71
6.97%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$19.24 €16.61
$12.76 AED 46.85
50.78%
Apples (1kg)
$2.61 €2.25
$2.3 AED 8.44
13.48%
Banana (1kg)
$2.34 €2.02
$1.87 AED 6.85
25.13%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.11 €1.82
$1.86 AED 6.82
13.44%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.77 €2.39
$1.49 AED 5.48
85.91%
Potato (1kg)
$2.04 €1.76
$1.19 AED 4.39
71.43%
Onion (1kg)
$1.77 €1.53
$1.26 AED 4.64
40.48%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.5 €1.3
$1.4 AED 5.13
7.14%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.85 €0.73
$0.65 AED 2.38
30.77%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$7 €6.04
$6.7 AED 24.61
4.48%
Wine (Bottle)
$7.13 €6.16
$16.32 AED 59.9
-56.31%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.43 €1.24
$2.64 AED 9.68
-45.83%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.29 €1.98
$3.52 AED 12.92
-34.94%
🚌 Getting Around
Barcelona
Dubai
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.02 €2.6
$1.59 AED 5.84
89.94%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$28.97 €25.01
$80.7 AED 296
-64.11%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.59 €3.96
$3.22 AED 11.83
42.55%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.02 €1.74
$0.85 AED 3.14
137.65%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$29.56 €25.53
$8.37 AED 30.73
253.17%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.81 €1.56
$0.72 AED 2.65
151.39%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$38.4K €33.1K
$33K AED 121K
16.47%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$32.4K €28K
$22.7K AED 83.3K
42.84%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Barcelona
Dubai
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$190 €164
$217 AED 796
-12.57%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$22.18 €19.15
$63.4 AED 233
-65.02%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$36.37 €31.4
$101 AED 371
-63.99%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Barcelona
Dubai
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$57.4 €49.55
$89.1 AED 327
-35.56%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$20.95 €18.09
$46.03 AED 169
-54.49%
Cinema Ticket
$10.8 €9.33
$14.96 AED 54.9
-27.81%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Barcelona
Dubai
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$732 €632
$833 AED 3,060
-12.16%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$15.1K €13.1K
$14.3K AED 52.4K
6.03%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Barcelona
Dubai
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$86.8 €74.9
$83.3 AED 306
4.15%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$36.78 €31.76
$63.7 AED 234
-42.23%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$102 €88.2
$113 AED 413
-9.20%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$117 €101
$122 AED 447
-3.77%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Barcelona
Dubai
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,581 €1,365
$2,421 AED 8,892
-34.72%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,230 €1,062
$1,560 AED 5,729
-21.16%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,707 €2,337
$4,608 AED 16.9K
-41.25%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,028 €1,751
$2,940 AED 10.8K
-31.02%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$6,602 €5,700
$7,378 AED 27.1K
-10.52%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$5,045 €4,356
$3,803 AED 14K
32.66%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Barcelona
Dubai
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$2,198 €1,898
$4,063 AED 14.9K
-45.89%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.39
4.49
-24.50%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 28, 2025

Last update for Dubai: October 27, 2025

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