Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Hamamatsu

For one person, living is cheaper in Hamamatsu: $783 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,000 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Hamamatsu
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Hamamatsu Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Hamamatsu

🇯🇵 Japan

$783

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Hamamatsu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $783 in Hamamatsu.

Barcelona $2,453
Hamamatsu $783

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,266 in Hamamatsu.

Barcelona $3,509
Hamamatsu $1,266

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,750 in Hamamatsu.

Barcelona $4,564
Hamamatsu $1,750

Living in Barcelona is roughly 213% more expensive than in Hamamatsu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Hamamatsu is 42% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$3.90 ¥614

351.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$41.78 ¥6,588

61.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.19 ¥819

160.69%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.41 ¥538

-6.45%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.10 ¥174

164.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.75 ¥118

152.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$2.61 ¥411

53.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$3.11 ¥490

45.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.08 ¥170

21.30%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.70 ¥267

18.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.67 ¥578

-49.59%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.68 ¥265

187.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$10.25 ¥1,616

63.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$6.17 ¥972

47.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$14.24 ¥2,245

37.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$5.80 ¥915

-48.62%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.84 ¥447

-28.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.95 ¥465

-8.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$4.30 ¥679

-34.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.61 ¥412

-19.92%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$2.59 ¥408

-20.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.29 ¥204

13.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.66 ¥104

42.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$3.89 ¥613

76.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$6.39 ¥1,007

23.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.82 ¥287

-22.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.10 ¥331

20.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$50.1 ¥7,904

-49.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$3.11 ¥490

-3.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.63 ¥414

-43.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$20.62 ¥3,252

61.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.06 ¥167

69.81%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$21.6K ¥3.4M

53.69%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$15.8K ¥2.5M

100.24%

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

$180 €162

$130 ¥20.6K

38.33%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$8.59 ¥1,354

61.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$32.78 ¥5,169

2.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$17.40 ¥2,744

-8.28%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$13.08 ¥2,062

-15.98%

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

$917 €821

$819 ¥129.2K

11.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$14.8K ¥2.3M

11.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$63.6 ¥10.0K

36.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$37.10 ¥5,850

3.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$61.3 ¥9,665

72.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$103 ¥16.3K

16.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$7,787 ¥1.2M

-11.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$5,298 ¥835.4K

-3.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$1,602 ¥252.7K

37.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

2.64

24.24%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Hamamatsu: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Hamamatsu

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Hamamatsu

$285 36.4% 11.4% $37

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Hamamatsu

$114 14.6% 57.3% $154

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Hamamatsu

$172 21.9% 24.6% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Hamamatsu

$119 15.2% 24.5% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Hamamatsu

$26 * 3.3% 64.4% $47

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Hamamatsu

$66 * 8.5% 37% $18

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

Cost Breakdown

Barcelona pays 38% 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 $42 in Hamamatsu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $285 per month, with Hamamatsu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇯🇵 Hamamatsu

🕒 Local time

01:06 1:06 AM

09:06 9:06 AM

8 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

797,033

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Hamamatsu 10,410 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Hamamatsu

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 Hamamatsu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $783 in Hamamatsu, so Hamamatsu is about 68% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 38% higher in Barcelona, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $819 in Hamamatsu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 13% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $783 in Hamamatsu versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Hamamatsu but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Hamamatsu 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 Hamamatsu are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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