Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Gaborone

For one person, living is cheaper in Gaborone: $850 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Gaborone
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Gaborone Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Gaborone

🇧🇼 Botswana

$850

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Gaborone

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $850 in Gaborone.

Barcelona $2,381
Gaborone $850

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $1,312 in Gaborone.

Barcelona $3,406
Gaborone $1,312

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $1,775 in Gaborone.

Barcelona $4,431
Gaborone $1,775

Living in Barcelona is roughly 180% more expensive than in Gaborone, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Gaborone is 37% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$10.85 P 145

64.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$29.64 P 396

123.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$5.68 P 76.0

141.02%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.39 P 31.99

28.03%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$0.70 P 9.37

338.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.43 P 5.79

351.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$2.00 P 26.68

93.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$2.54 P 33.94

81.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.54 P 20.54

-15.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$0.89 P 11.88

135.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$1.86 P 24.85

-1.61%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$2.44 P 32.57

89.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$6.32 P 84.5

174.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$4.52 P 60.4

105.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$5.30 P 70.9

274.15%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$1.65 P 22.05

82.42%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.46 P 19.52

39.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.08 P 27.84

27.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$1.69 P 22.53

69.82%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.35 P 18.02

60.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.17 P 15.58

83.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.33 P 17.78

10.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.98 P 13.04

-10.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$3.58 P 47.82

93.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$4.46 P 59.6

75.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.42 P 18.92

-2.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$1.72 P 22.97

52.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$0.66 P 8.77

340.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$29.46 P 394

-13.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$0.59 P 7.89

408.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.51 P 33.48

-42.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$2.86 P 38.17

1060.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.38 P 18.48

34.78%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$30.5K P 407.6K

6.04%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$20.4K P 272.0K

55.76%

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

$183 €163

$59.1 P 790

209.19%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$18.66 P 249

-27.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$43.88 P 586

-24.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$33.24 P 444

64.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$16.49 P 220

0.18%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$6.36 P 85.0

76.57%

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

$954 €849

$126 P 1,689

655.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$2,515 P 33.6K

560.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$47.94 P 641

79.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$16.57 P 221

136.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$72.4 P 968

43.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$78.6 P 1,050

50.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$343 P 4,587

393.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$212 P 2,836

501.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$535 P 7,151

381.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$352 P 4,711

445.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$1,992 P 26.6K

265.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$1,246 P 16.7K

302.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$451 P 6,032

393.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

11.33

-71.05%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Gaborone: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Gaborone

$212 25% 83.4% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Gaborone

$176 20.7% 46% $150

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Gaborone

$152 17.9% 43.5% $117

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Gaborone

$122 14.3% 46.9% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Gaborone

$97 11.4% 38% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Gaborone

$46 5.4% 40.4% $31

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Gaborone

$45 5.3% 4.5% $2.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $343 in Gaborone. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 393% 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: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $30.00 in Gaborone for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $176 per month, with Gaborone cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇧🇼 Gaborone

🕒 Local time

01:29 1:29 AM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

231,626 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Botswana Pula BWP P

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 BWP = 7.48 USD

100 BWP = 6.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BWP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Botswana Pula exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 13.36 BWP (100 BWP = 7.48 USD). 1 EUR = 15.02 BWP (100 BWP = 6.66 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Gaborone 7,740 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Gaborone

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 Gaborone: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Gaborone differ by about 180% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $850 including rent). Gaborone is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 393% 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 $343 in Gaborone. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $126 in Gaborone. 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.

At $850 in Gaborone versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Gaborone but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Gaborone 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 Gaborone 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 Gaborone gentler on the wallet – expenses run 180% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.