Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and General Santos

For one person, living is cheaper in General Santos: $628 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,300 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
31

Cost of Living Index in General Santos
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General Santos Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

General Santos

🇵🇭 Philippines

$628

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in General Santos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $628 in General Santos.

Barcelona $2,399
General Santos $628

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $1,009 in General Santos.

Barcelona $3,410
General Santos $1,009

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $1,391 in General Santos.

Barcelona $4,421
General Santos $1,391

Living in Barcelona is roughly 282% more expensive than in General Santos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, General Santos is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$3.38 ₱213

430.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$27.40 ₱1,725

148.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$2.72 ₱172

388.24%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$2.56 ₱161

26.95%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$0.28 ₱17.41

975.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.25 ₱15.83

648.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$1.58 ₱99.3

143.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$2.34 ₱147

91.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$2.00 ₱126

-35.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.08 ₱68.2

88.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$0.87 ₱54.7

97.70%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$1.86 ₱117

156.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$6.38 ₱402

162.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$4.77 ₱300

87.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$9.25 ₱582

114.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$2.74 ₱172

8.76%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.07 ₱67.2

89.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$2.45 ₱154

11.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$1.19 ₱74.6

125.21%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.98 ₱125

6.06%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$3.28 ₱207

-36.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.24 ₱78.2

16.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.68 ₱42.60

30.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$2.46 ₱155

182.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$7.76 ₱488

0.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.25 ₱78.5

16.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.68 ₱106

52.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$0.39 ₱24.37

666.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$8.15 ₱513

209.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$0.78 ₱49.25

300.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.25 ₱15.79

476.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$0.82 ₱51.4

3985.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.12 ₱70.7

59.82%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$20.9K ₱1.3M

65.94%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

57.26%

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

$178 €158

$76.6 ₱4,825

132.06%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$6.53 ₱411

103.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$31.67 ₱1,994

10.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$4.91 ₱309

125.25%

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

$957 €851

$109 ₱6,840

780.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$7,532 ₱474.2K

119.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$59.8 ₱3,767

47.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$30.67 ₱1,931

28.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$70.3 ₱4,428

46.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$60.7 ₱3,823

100.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$174 ₱11.0K

847.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$112 ₱7,068

1059.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$359 ₱22.6K

612.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$238 ₱15.0K

703.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

8.31

-60.53%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for General Santos: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

General Santos

$112 17.9% 91.4% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

General Santos

$199 31.7% 37.8% $121

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

General Santos

$81 12.8% 70.1% $189

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

General Santos

$115 18.3% 49.2% $111

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

General Santos

$100 15.9% 37.1% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

General Santos

$9.8 * 1.6% 87% $66

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

General Santos

$12 1.9% 75.3% $36

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $174 in General Santos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $27.00 in General Santos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $199 per month, with General Santos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇵🇭 General Santos

🕒 Local time

10:03 10:03 AM

16:03 4:03 PM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

697,315

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona General Santos 12,190 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
General Santos

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 General Santos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and General Santos differ by about 282% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $628 including rent). General Santos is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,599 in Barcelona and $942 in General Santos to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $174 in General Santos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $109 in General Santos. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 61% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $628 in General Santos versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in General Santos but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes General Santos 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 General Santos 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 General Santos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 282% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.