Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Hefei

For one person, living is cheaper in Hefei: $768 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Hefei
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Hefei Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Hefei

🇨🇳 China

$768

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Hefei

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $768 in Hefei.

Barcelona $2,381
Hefei $768

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $1,225 in Hefei.

Barcelona $3,406
Hefei $1,225

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $1,681 in Hefei.

Barcelona $4,431
Hefei $1,681

Living in Barcelona is roughly 210% more expensive than in Hefei, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Hefei is 43% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$2.58 ¥17.28

593.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$22.44 ¥150

194.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$4.36 ¥29.18

213.99%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.75 ¥18.39

11.27%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$0.49 ¥3.26

526.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.27 ¥1.80

618.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$1.06 ¥7.09

265.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$2.00 ¥13.35

130.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.62 ¥10.84

-19.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$2.06 ¥13.75

1.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$0.81 ¥5.42

125.93%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$1.92 ¥12.84

140.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$14.10 ¥94.3

23.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$4.90 ¥32.76

89.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$11.57 ¥77.3

71.39%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$2.31 ¥15.45

30.30%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.72 ¥11.52

18.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$1.64 ¥10.95

61.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$1.61 ¥10.79

78.26%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.80 ¥5.37

170.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$0.94 ¥6.26

128.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$0.79 ¥5.26

86.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.70 ¥4.70

25.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$3.08 ¥20.59

125.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$12.16 ¥81.3

-35.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$0.93 ¥6.21

49.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$1.99 ¥13.28

32.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$0.31 ¥2.09

838.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$45.22 ¥302

-43.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$1.23 ¥8.21

143.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.33 ¥2.20

336.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$3.51 ¥23.48

845.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.33 ¥8.91

39.85%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$19.0K ¥127.2K

69.99%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$16.9K ¥112.9K

87.69%

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

$183 €163

$48.54 ¥325

276.51%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$9.54 ¥63.8

42.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$12.08 ¥80.8

172.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$15.66 ¥105

249.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$15.31 ¥102

7.90%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$6.41 ¥42.85

75.20%

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

$954 €849

$236 ¥1,581

303.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$8,656 ¥57.9K

91.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$89.7 ¥600

-4.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$32.76 ¥219

19.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$62.7 ¥419

65.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$96.9 ¥648

22.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$241 ¥1,609

604.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$179 ¥1,197

613.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$532 ¥3,558

384.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$340 ¥2,270

466.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$3,573 ¥23.9K

103.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$1,975 ¥13.2K

153.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$1,011 ¥6,763

120.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.15

4.13%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Hefei: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Hefei

$179 23.3% 86% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Hefei

$235 30.6% 27.9% $91

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Hefei

$79 10.3% 70.7% $190

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Hefei

$70 9.1% 69.4% $159

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Hefei

$127 16.5% 18.8% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Hefei

$28 3.7% 63.1% $49

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Hefei

$49 6.4% 4.3% $2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $241 in Hefei. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 120% 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: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $22.00 in Hefei for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $235 per month, with Hefei cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Hefei

🕒 Local time

13:33 1:33 PM

19:33 7:33 PM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

9,369,881

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Hefei 9,510 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
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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 Hefei: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Hefei differ by about 210% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $768 including rent). Hefei is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 120% 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $241 in Hefei. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $236 in Hefei. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 39% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $768 in Hefei versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Hefei but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Hefei 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 Hefei 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 Hefei gentler on the wallet – expenses run 210% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.