Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Gyeongju

For one person, living is cheaper in Gyeongju: $1,236 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,500 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Gyeongju
Learn more

Gyeongju Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Gyeongju

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,236

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Gyeongju

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $1,236 in Gyeongju.

Barcelona $2,443
Gyeongju $1,236

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $2,053 in Gyeongju.

Barcelona $3,519
Gyeongju $2,053

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $2,871 in Gyeongju.

Barcelona $4,595
Gyeongju $2,871

Living in Barcelona is roughly 98% more expensive than in Gyeongju, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Gyeongju is 9% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.73

$7.38 ₩9,922

139.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.1

$47.59 ₩63.9K

41.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.13

$6.45 ₩8,673

111.01%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.76

$2.99 ₩4,015

3.68%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$1.13 ₩1,522

165.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$0.36 ₩483

436.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.42

$2.62 ₩3,516

46.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.88

$4.21 ₩5,654

3.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$2.33 ₩3,124

-46.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$2.53 ₩3,402

-16.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$3.07 ₩4,132

-35.83%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.24

$2.57 ₩3,459

85.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.20

$10.82 ₩14.5K

57.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.98

$10.34 ₩13.9K

-13.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.39

$18.74 ₩25.2K

10.19%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.82

$4.42 ₩5,944

-28.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$2.67 ₩3,585

-26.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$3.73 ₩5,015

-28.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$3.65 ₩4,908

-21.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$2.54 ₩3,414

-18.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$2.27 ₩3,050

-3.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$2.18 ₩2,928

-29.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$1.31 ₩1,765

-25.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.21

$3.40 ₩4,567

105.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.03

$14.95 ₩20.1K

-47.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.09 ₩1,466

30.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$2.16 ₩2,908

24.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.95

$1.03 ₩1,382

221.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.81

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.75

$2.99 ₩4,024

3.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$0.62 ₩830

138.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.28

$15.01 ₩20.2K

118.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.06 ₩1,420

76.42%

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

$33.0K €29.4K

$38.5K ₩51.8M

-14.43%

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

$31.9K €28.5K

$33.9K ₩45.6M

-5.79%

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

$183 €163

$79.4 ₩106.7K

130.20%

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

$14.24 €12.69

$36.57 ₩49.1K

-61.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.79

$27.28 ₩36.7K

26.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.81

$54.4 ₩73.1K

-5.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.60

$15.33 ₩20.6K

6.85%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.86

$11.20 ₩15.1K

-1.25%

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

$944 €841

$639 ₩858.7K

47.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

$22.0K ₩29.6M

1.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.1

$44.27 ₩59.5K

98.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.54

$22.44 ₩30.1K

72.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.1

$94.0 ₩126.3K

11.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$124 ₩167.0K

-5.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,512

$430 ₩577.4K

294.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,191

$376 ₩505.9K

255.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,398

$1,151 ₩1.5M

133.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,850

$858 ₩1.2M

142.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,373

$6,043 ₩8.1M

18.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,524

$6,003 ₩8.1M

-15.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,997

$1,851 ₩2.5M

21.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

4.22

-24.41%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Gyeongju: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Gyeongju

$376 30.5% 71.8% $960

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Gyeongju

$359 29.1% 9.6% $31

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Gyeongju

$142 11.5% 46.9% $125

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Gyeongju

$143 11.6% 38.2% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Gyeongju

$128 10.4% 18.3% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Gyeongju

$77 6.2% 4.4% $3.2

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Gyeongju

$10 * 0.8% 79.3% $39

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 $1,697 in Barcelona and $430 in Gyeongju. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 21% 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 $48 in Gyeongju. Groceries flip the comparison at $328 vs $359, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇰🇷 Gyeongju

🕒 Local time

15:36 3:36 PM

23:36 11:36 PM

8 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

258,156

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 KRW = 7.44 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.62 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1,344 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.44 USD). 1 EUR = 1,510 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.62 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Gyeongju 9,870 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Gyeongju

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 Gyeongju: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $1,236 in Gyeongju, so Gyeongju is about 49% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 21% 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: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $430 in Gyeongju. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $639 in Gyeongju. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Gyeongju – a meal for two runs $48 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,236 in Gyeongju versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Gyeongju but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Gyeongju 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 Gyeongju are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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