Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Fukuoka

For one person, living is cheaper in Fukuoka: $1,307 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 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
63

Cost of Living Index in Fukuoka
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Fukuoka Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Fukuoka

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,307

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Fukuoka

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,307 in Fukuoka.

Barcelona $2,453
Fukuoka $1,307

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,031 in Fukuoka.

Barcelona $3,509
Fukuoka $2,031

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,754 in Fukuoka.

Barcelona $4,564
Fukuoka $2,754

Living in Barcelona is roughly 88% more expensive than in Fukuoka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Fukuoka is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$7.33 ¥1,155

139.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$43.83 ¥6,904

53.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.97 ¥940

126.63%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.72 ¥586

-14.25%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.06 ¥166

174.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.75 ¥118

152.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$3.85 ¥607

4.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.16 ¥340

109.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.55 ¥244

-15.48%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.83 ¥288

10.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$6.43 ¥1,013

-71.23%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.30 ¥363

110.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$18.19 ¥2,866

-7.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$5.34 ¥841

70.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$18.96 ¥2,987

3.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$3.62 ¥570

-17.68%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.85 ¥292

9.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.83 ¥445

-4.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$3.33 ¥525

-15.92%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.15 ¥338

-2.79%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$2.59 ¥408

-20.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.03 ¥162

41.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.98 ¥154

-4.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$3.98 ¥626

72.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$6.41 ¥1,009

23.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.71 ¥270

-17.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.92 ¥303

32.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.29 ¥204

143.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$52.9 ¥8,332

-51.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$4.11 ¥647

-27.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.39 ¥376

-37.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$17.92 ¥2,823

86.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.10 ¥173

63.64%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$22.2K ¥3.5M

49.70%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$15.0K ¥2.4M

110.90%

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

$180 €162

$215 ¥33.9K

-16.10%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$25.33 ¥3,990

-45.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$34.10 ¥5,371

-1.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$48.11 ¥7,579

7.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$12.61 ¥1,986

-12.85%

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

$917 €821

$702 ¥110.6K

30.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$12.4K ¥1.9M

33.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$48.84 ¥7,694

78.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$26.49 ¥4,172

45.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$65.8 ¥10.4K

60.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$47.48 ¥7,479

152.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$523 ¥82.4K

224.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$332 ¥52.2K

308.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$1,173 ¥184.8K

121.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$709 ¥111.7K

190.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$4,674 ¥736.2K

47.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$2,568 ¥404.5K

99.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$1,647 ¥259.5K

34.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

1.97

66.50%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Fukuoka: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Fukuoka

$332 25.4% 75.5% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Fukuoka

$317 24.2% 1.6% $5.1

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Fukuoka

$152 11.6% 43.3% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Fukuoka

$274 21% 20.4% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Fukuoka

$85 6.5% 46.3% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Fukuoka

$73 5.6% 0.2% $0.2

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Fukuoka

$74 5.7% 52.9% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $523 in Fukuoka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 34% 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 in Barcelona vs $44 in Fukuoka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $317 per month, with Fukuoka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇯🇵 Fukuoka

🕒 Local time

22:20 10:20 PM

06:20 6:20 AM

8 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,612,392

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

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

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Fukuoka 10,140 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Fukuoka

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 Fukuoka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,307 in Fukuoka, so Fukuoka is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 34% 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $523 in Fukuoka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $702 in Fukuoka. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Fukuoka – a meal for two runs $44 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,307 in Fukuoka versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Fukuoka but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Fukuoka 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 Fukuoka are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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