Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Foshan

For one person, living is cheaper in Foshan: $777 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Foshan
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Foshan Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Foshan

🇨🇳 China

$777

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Foshan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $777 in Foshan.

Barcelona $2,399
Foshan $777

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $1,242 in Foshan.

Barcelona $3,410
Foshan $1,242

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $1,708 in Foshan.

Barcelona $4,421
Foshan $1,708

Living in Barcelona is roughly 209% more expensive than in Foshan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Foshan is 42% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$3.78 ¥25.26

374.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$22.79 ¥152

198.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$5.11 ¥34.19

159.88%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$3.07 ¥20.50

5.86%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$0.52 ¥3.49

478.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.31 ¥2.09

503.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$1.22 ¥8.17

215.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$1.89 ¥12.61

137.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.66 ¥11.11

-22.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.12 ¥7.48

82.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$0.92 ¥6.16

86.96%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$1.70 ¥11.38

180.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$16.68 ¥112

0.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$3.92 ¥26.18

127.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$10.69 ¥71.5

85.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$3.01 ¥20.16

-1.00%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.27 ¥8.51

59.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.90 ¥12.69

43.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$1.63 ¥10.91

64.42%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.09 ¥7.27

92.66%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$0.95 ¥6.38

118.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.64 ¥4.26

126.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.50 ¥3.36

78.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$2.23 ¥14.89

211.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$10.23 ¥68.4

-23.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.93 ¥6.24

55.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.51 ¥10.13

70.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$0.31 ¥2.08

864.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$10.62 ¥71.0

137.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$1.52 ¥10.18

105.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.47 ¥3.15

206.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$8.81 ¥58.9

280.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.22 ¥8.19

46.72%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$21.3K ¥142.3K

62.73%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$16.2K ¥108.3K

85.66%

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

$178 €158

$84.5 ¥565

110.42%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$7.92 ¥53.0

68.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$15.69 ¥105

122.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$71.4 ¥477

-25.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$23.83 ¥159

-32.82%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$5.31 ¥35.50

108.29%

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

$957 €851

$457 ¥3,054

109.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$23.3K ¥155.8K

-28.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$42.21 ¥282

108.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$18.76 ¥125

110.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$62.1 ¥415

65.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$91.8 ¥614

32.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$304 ¥2,031

444.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$159 ¥1,061

720.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$596 ¥3,982

329.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$341 ¥2,279

461.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$4,329 ¥28.9K

68.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$1,864 ¥12.5K

172.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$802 ¥5,362

184.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.83

-14.36%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Foshan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Foshan

$159 20.4% 87.8% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Foshan

$220 28.4% 31.2% $100

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Foshan

$96 12.3% 64.6% $174

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Foshan

$108 13.9% 52.2% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Foshan

$97 12.4% 38.9% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Foshan

$82 10.6% 8.8% $6.6

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Foshan

$16 2% 66.8% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $304 in Foshan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 184% 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: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $23.00 in Foshan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $220 per month, with Foshan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Foshan

🕒 Local time

07:31 7:31 AM

13:31 1:31 PM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

9,498,863

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Foshan 9,930 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Foshan

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 Foshan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Foshan differ by about 209% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $777 including rent). Foshan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 184% 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: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $304 in Foshan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $457 in Foshan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 45% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $777 in Foshan versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Foshan but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Foshan 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 Foshan 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 Foshan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 209% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.