Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Heyuan

For one person, living is cheaper in Heyuan: $792 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Heyuan
Learn more

Heyuan Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Heyuan

🇨🇳 China

$792

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Heyuan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $792 in Heyuan.

Barcelona $2,381
Heyuan $792

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $1,284 in Heyuan.

Barcelona $3,406
Heyuan $1,284

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $1,776 in Heyuan.

Barcelona $4,431
Heyuan $1,776

Living in Barcelona is roughly 201% more expensive than in Heyuan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Heyuan is 42% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.97

$3.06 ¥20.39

484.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €59.1

$29.30 ¥195

125.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.22

$5.34 ¥35.60

156.37%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.73

$3.06 ¥20.42

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

$3.07 €2.74

$0.58 ¥3.86

429.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.34 ¥2.24

470.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.45

$1.36 ¥9.09

184.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.11

$2.75 ¥18.33

67.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.79 ¥11.93

-27.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.91 ¥12.72

9.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.63

$1.11 ¥7.37

64.86%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.13

$1.52 ¥10.17

203.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.49

$16.29 ¥109

6.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.28

$5.14 ¥34.29

80.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.70

$12.23 ¥81.6

62.14%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.69

$2.29 ¥15.25

31.44%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.22 ¥8.16

66.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$1.38 ¥9.20

92.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.56

$1.78 ¥11.86

61.24%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.96 ¥6.39

125.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.92

$1.18 ¥7.90

82.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$0.83 ¥5.54

77.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.66 ¥4.43

33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.18

$3.90 ¥25.98

77.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.98

$10.64 ¥70.9

-26.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.02 ¥6.77

36.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.35

$1.90 ¥12.68

38.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.60

$0.31 ¥2.09

838.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.72

$17.71 ¥118

43.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.67

$1.84 ¥12.29

63.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.29

$0.43 ¥2.88

234.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.63

$7.19 ¥47.93

361.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.33 ¥8.86

39.85%

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

$32.3K €28.9K

$19.2K ¥127.8K

68.85%

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

$31.7K €28.3K

$17.7K ¥118.3K

78.70%

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

$183 €163

$61.4 ¥409

197.85%

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

$13.61 €12.15

$16.39 ¥109

-16.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.39

$14.49 ¥96.6

127.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.81

$41.17 ¥275

32.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.75

$15.11 ¥101

9.33%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €10.02

$6.54 ¥43.61

71.71%

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

$954 €852

$422 ¥2,816

126.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$24.4K ¥163.0K

-32.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.8

$49.24 ¥328

74.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.90

$41.47 ¥277

-5.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.5

$81.1 ¥541

27.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$69.9 ¥466

69.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,513

$303 ¥2,021

459.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,139

$182 ¥1,215

600.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,299

$623 ¥4,155

313.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,716

$375 ¥2,501

412.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,499

$3,487 ¥23.3K

108.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,471

$1,937 ¥12.9K

158.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,987

$1,362 ¥9,082

63.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.38

-2.96%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Heyuan: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Heyuan

$182 23% 85.7% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Heyuan

$239 30.1% 26.6% $87

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Heyuan

$93 11.8% 65.4% $176

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Heyuan

$92 11.6% 59.8% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Heyuan

$109 13.7% 30.4% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Heyuan

$54 6.9% 29.7% $23

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Heyuan

$23 2.9% 51.4% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $303 in Heyuan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 64% 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 $29.00 in Heyuan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $239 per month, with Heyuan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Heyuan

🕒 Local time

16:44 4:44 PM

23:44 11:44 PM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

2,953,019

💱 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

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Heyuan 9,990 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Heyuan

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 Heyuan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Heyuan differ by about 201% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $792 including rent). Heyuan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 64% 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 $303 in Heyuan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $422 in Heyuan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 36% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $792 in Heyuan versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Heyuan but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Heyuan 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 Heyuan 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 Heyuan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 201% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.