Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Hawassa

For one person, living is cheaper in Hawassa: $838 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,300 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Hawassa
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Hawassa Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Hawassa

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

$838

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Hawassa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $838 in Hawassa.

Barcelona $2,443
Hawassa $838

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,202 in Hawassa.

Barcelona $3,519
Hawassa $1,202

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $1,566 in Hawassa.

Barcelona $4,595
Hawassa $1,566

Living in Barcelona is roughly 191% more expensive than in Hawassa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Hawassa is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.72

$3.88 ETB 625

355.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.1

$42.15 ETB 6,777

60.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.12

$6.60 ETB 1,061

106.21%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.76

$0.88 ETB 142

252.27%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$0.63 ETB 101

376.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$0.68 ETB 109

183.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.42

$0.78 ETB 125

392.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.88

$2.21 ETB 355

97.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.05 ETB 169

19.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.17 ETB 189

81.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.03 ETB 165

91.26%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.24

$1.58 ETB 254

201.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.20

$7.38 ETB 1,186

131.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.97

$10.02 ETB 1,612

-10.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.39

$9.27 ETB 1,491

122.76%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.81

$5.23 ETB 841

-39.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.63 ETB 101

212.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.24 ETB 361

18.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$0.69 ETB 112

317.39%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$0.47 ETB 75.0

338.30%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$1.09 ETB 175

100.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$0.66 ETB 106

131.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$0.57 ETB 91.7

70.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.20

$7.91 ETB 1,272

-11.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.02

$5.65 ETB 908

39.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$0.67 ETB 108

111.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.22 ETB 197

120.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.95

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.80

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.75

$1.36 ETB 218

126.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$0.27 ETB 43.39

448.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.27

$2.02 ETB 325

1527.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.95 ETB 153

96.84%

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

$33.0K €29.4K

$54.3K ETB 8.7M

-39.27%

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

$31.9K €28.4K

$55.5K ETB 8.9M

-42.48%

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

$183 €163

$205 ETB 33.0K

-10.86%

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

$14.24 €12.68

$7.48 ETB 1,202

90.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.78

$216 ETB 34.8K

-84.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.79

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.59

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.85

$3.81 ETB 613

190.29%

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

$944 €840

$616 ETB 99.1K

53.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

$30.4K ETB 4.9M

-26.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.1

$33.38 ETB 5,368

162.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.52

$69.6 ETB 11.2K

-44.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.1

$77.4 ETB 12.4K

35.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$83.5 ETB 13.4K

40.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,511

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,190

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,397

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,849

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,371

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,522

$500 ETB 80.3K

916.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,996

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

18.5

-82.76%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Hawassa: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Hawassa

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Hawassa

$205 24.5% 37.4% $122

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Hawassa

$75 8.9% 71.9% $192

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Hawassa

$429 51.2% 85.2% $197

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Hawassa

$119 14.2% 24.3% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Hawassa

$7.6 * 0.9% 89.6% $66

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Hawassa

$2.7 * 0.3% 94.5% $47

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $42 in Hawassa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $205 per month, with Hawassa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇪🇹 Hawassa

🕒 Local time

11:07 11:07 AM

13:07 1:07 PM

2 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

160,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Ethiopian Birr ETB Br

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD

1,000 ETB = 5.54 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ETB, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Ethiopian Birr exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 161 ETB (1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD). 1 EUR = 181 ETB (1,000 ETB = 5.54 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Hawassa 5,230 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Hawassa

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 Hawassa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $838 in Hawassa, so Hawassa is about 66% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,664 in Barcelona and $1,258 in Hawassa 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.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $616 in Hawassa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Hawassa – a meal for two runs $42 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $838 in Hawassa versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Hawassa but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Hawassa 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.