Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and George Town

For one person, living is cheaper in George Town: $956 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,300 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
46

Cost of Living Index in George Town
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George Town Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

George Town

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$956

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in George Town

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $956 in George Town.

Barcelona $2,399
George Town $956

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $1,599 in George Town.

Barcelona $3,410
George Town $1,599

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $2,243 in George Town.

Barcelona $4,421
George Town $2,243

Living in Barcelona is roughly 151% more expensive than in George Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, George Town is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$3.41 MYR 13.92

426.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$15.33 MYR 62.5

343.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$4.55 MYR 18.58

191.87%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$2.61 MYR 10.66

24.52%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$0.78 MYR 3.16

285.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.35 MYR 1.43

434.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$2.42 MYR 9.88

59.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$4.46 MYR 18.21

0.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.85 MYR 7.56

-30.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.05 MYR 4.28

94.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$1.68 MYR 6.85

2.38%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$2.21 MYR 9.03

115.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$13.65 MYR 55.7

22.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$4.51 MYR 18.38

98.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$8.49 MYR 34.62

134.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$2.43 MYR 9.89

22.63%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.43 MYR 5.84

41.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$2.23 MYR 9.12

22.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$1.19 MYR 4.86

125.21%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$0.93 MYR 3.77

125.81%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$0.85 MYR 3.45

144.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.70 MYR 2.87

107.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.57 MYR 2.31

56.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$4.42 MYR 18.03

57.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$18.74 MYR 76.5

-58.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$2.42 MYR 9.89

-40.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$3.59 MYR 14.65

-28.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$0.47 MYR 1.91

536.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$10.84 MYR 44.24

132.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$1.24 MYR 5.08

151.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.51 MYR 2.09

182.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$6.87 MYR 28.03

387.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$0.84 MYR 3.43

113.10%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$42.3K MYR 172.6K

-18.17%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$28.7K MYR 117.0K

4.81%

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

$178 €158

$36.87 MYR 150

382.37%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$8.21 MYR 33.51

62.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$28.51 MYR 116

22.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$40.21 MYR 164

32.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$5.04 MYR 20.55

217.66%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$4.76 MYR 19.43

132.35%

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

$957 €851

$173 MYR 705

454.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$4,848 MYR 19.8K

241.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$53.1 MYR 216

66.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$34.45 MYR 141

14.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$74.5 MYR 304

38.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$69.8 MYR 285

74.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$505 MYR 2,059

227.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$374 MYR 1,524

248.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$932 MYR 3,804

174.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$992 MYR 4,046

93.03%

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

$1,094 MYR 4,462

108.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.04

-18.81%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for George Town: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

George Town

$374 39.1% 71.3% $928

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

George Town

$240 25.1% 25% $80

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

George Town

$98 10.2% 63.8% $172

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

George Town

$74 7.7% 67.4% $152

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

George Town

$104 10.9% 34.1% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

George Town

$50 5.2% 34% $26

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

George Town

$17 1.7% 65.2% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $505 in George Town. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 109% 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 $15.00 in George Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $240 per month, with George Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇾 George Town

🕒 Local time

22:14 10:14 PM

04:14 4:14 AM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

794,313

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona George Town 10,280 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
George Town

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 George Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and George Town differ by about 151% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $956 including rent). George Town is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 109% 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 $505 in George Town. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $173 in George Town. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 33% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $956 in George Town versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in George Town but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes George Town 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 George Town 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 George Town gentler on the wallet – expenses run 151% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.