Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Erbil

For one person, living is cheaper in Erbil: $958 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,900 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
46

Cost of Living Index in Erbil
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Erbil Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Erbil

🇮🇶 Iraq

$958

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Erbil

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $958 in Erbil.

Barcelona $2,453
Erbil $958

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,427 in Erbil.

Barcelona $3,509
Erbil $1,427

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,896 in Erbil.

Barcelona $4,564
Erbil $1,896

Living in Barcelona is roughly 156% more expensive than in Erbil, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Erbil is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$6.42 IQD 9,697

173.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$36.55 IQD 55.2K

84.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$7.41 IQD 11.2K

82.59%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.24 IQD 4,886

-1.54%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.89 IQD 1,340

226.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.33 IQD 505

472.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$5.75 IQD 8,675

-30.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$3.92 IQD 5,917

15.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.07 IQD 1,610

22.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.67 IQD 1,018

201.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.52 IQD 2,301

21.71%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.60 IQD 2,412

201.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$7.00 IQD 10.6K

139.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$4.38 IQD 6,610

108.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$12.67 IQD 19.1K

55.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$0.94 IQD 1,414

217.02%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.01 IQD 1,527

100.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.02 IQD 1,543

164.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$0.70 IQD 1,063

300.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.65 IQD 981

221.54%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.63 IQD 951

228.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.64 IQD 967

128.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.52 IQD 781

80.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$2.19 IQD 3,301

213.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$10.83 IQD 16.4K

-27.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.45 IQD 2,190

-2.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.79 IQD 2,710

41.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.49 IQD 736

540.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$39.29 IQD 59.3K

-35.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.67 IQD 2,517

79.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.60 IQD 2,416

-6.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$5.78 IQD 8,722

477.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.57 IQD 866

215.79%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$16.8K IQD 25.4M

97.62%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$17.1K IQD 25.9M

85.03%

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

$180 €162

$111 IQD 168.0K

62.18%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$12.24 IQD 18.5K

13.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$24.61 IQD 37.2K

36.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$57.0 IQD 86.0K

-9.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$13.48 IQD 20.4K

18.40%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$9.63 IQD 14.5K

14.12%

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

$917 €821

$294 IQD 443.5K

212.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$2,726 IQD 4.1M

504.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$26.71 IQD 40.3K

225.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$38.49 IQD 58.1K

0.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$61.1 IQD 92.2K

73.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$59.9 IQD 90.5K

99.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$426 IQD 643.2K

298.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$271 IQD 409.8K

399.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$699 IQD 1.1M

272.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$404 IQD 610.0K

410.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$1,017 IQD 1.5M

580.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$615 IQD 929.2K

733.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$519 IQD 783.2K

326.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

2.53

29.64%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Erbil: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Erbil

$271 28.3% 80% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Erbil

$174 18.1% 46.1% $148

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Erbil

$154 16.1% 42.6% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Erbil

$148 15.5% 35% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Erbil

$84 8.8% 47% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Erbil

$76 8% 3.7% $2.7

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Erbil

$51 5.3% 5% $2.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $426 in Erbil. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 4.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $37 in Erbil for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $174 per month, with Erbil cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇮🇶 Erbil

🕒 Local time

11:04 11:04 AM

13:04 1:04 PM

2 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,713,461

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.93 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IQD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1,510 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,685 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.93 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Erbil 3,640 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Erbil

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 Erbil: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $958 in Erbil, so Erbil is about 61% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 4.3 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 $426 in Erbil. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $294 in Erbil. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 85% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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 Erbil are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Erbil wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.