Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Haikou

For one person, living is cheaper in Haikou: $813 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,700 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Haikou
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Haikou Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Haikou

🇨🇳 China

$813

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Haikou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $813 in Haikou.

Barcelona $2,453
Haikou $813

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,165 in Haikou.

Barcelona $3,509
Haikou $1,165

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,516 in Haikou.

Barcelona $4,564
Haikou $1,516

Living in Barcelona is roughly 202% more expensive than in Haikou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Haikou is 40% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$4.49 ¥29.83

291.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$14.88 ¥98.9

353.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.93 ¥39.40

128.16%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.50 ¥16.59

27.60%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.84 ¥5.58

246.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.37 ¥2.44

410.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.52 ¥10.07

163.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.77 ¥18.41

63.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.12 ¥14.10

-38.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.41 ¥9.37

43.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$0.69 ¥4.59

168.12%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.37 ¥9.11

252.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$3.97 ¥26.39

129.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$15.52 ¥103

26.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.75 ¥11.62

70.29%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.93 ¥6.20

117.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.09 ¥7.26

147.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$0.94 ¥6.23

197.87%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.86 ¥5.72

143.02%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.74 ¥4.89

179.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.43 ¥2.88

239.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.56 ¥3.72

67.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$3.17 ¥21.08

116.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$9.01 ¥59.9

-12.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.62 ¥4.14

127.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.17 ¥7.76

117.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.86 ¥5.70

265.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$54.9 ¥365

-53.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$2.29 ¥15.23

30.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.47 ¥3.13

217.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.27 ¥8.46

41.73%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

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

$31.7K €28.4K

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

$180 €162

$36.44 ¥242

395.09%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$13.45 ¥89.4

2.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$13.72 ¥91.2

145.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$46.34 ¥308

11.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$6.51 ¥43.24

145.16%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$4.62 ¥30.70

137.88%

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

$917 €821

$871 ¥5,787

5.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$19.7K ¥131.1K

-16.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$27.29 ¥181

218.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$35.76 ¥238

7.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$44.30 ¥294

138.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$38.38 ¥255

211.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$370 ¥2,460

359.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$294 ¥1,954

360.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$571 ¥3,796

355.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$374 ¥2,485

451.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$3,265 ¥21.7K

111.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$2,136 ¥14.2K

140.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$715 ¥4,750

209.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.85

-14.81%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Haikou: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Haikou

$294 36.2% 78.3% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Haikou

$169 * 20.8% 47.4% $152

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Haikou

$102 12.5% 62.1% $166

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Haikou

$64 7.8% 72.1% $164

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Haikou

$66 8.1% 58.5% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Haikou

$56 6.8% 24.4% $18

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Haikou

$63 7.8% 30% $15

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 $1,699 in Barcelona and $370 in Haikou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 3.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $15 in Haikou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $169 per month, with Haikou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Haikou

🕒 Local time

02:47 2:47 AM

09:47 9:47 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

2,873,358

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Haikou 9,950 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Haikou

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 Haikou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $813 in Haikou, so Haikou is about 67% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 3.1 times higher, 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 $370 in Haikou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $871 in Haikou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 90% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $813 in Haikou versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Haikou but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Haikou 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.

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