Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Huai'an

For one person, living is cheaper in Huai'an: $712 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Huai'an
Learn more

Huai'an Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Huai'an

🇨🇳 China

$712

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Huai'an

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $712 in Huai'an.

Barcelona $2,399
Huai'an $712

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $1,127 in Huai'an.

Barcelona $3,410
Huai'an $1,127

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $1,542 in Huai'an.

Barcelona $4,421
Huai'an $1,542

Living in Barcelona is roughly 237% more expensive than in Huai'an, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Huai'an is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$2.84 ¥19.02

531.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$21.39 ¥143

218.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$4.83 ¥32.31

174.95%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$3.09 ¥20.65

5.18%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$0.43 ¥2.90

600.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.29 ¥1.96

544.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$0.88 ¥5.86

337.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$2.15 ¥14.37

108.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.79 ¥11.97

-27.93%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.55 ¥10.33

31.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$0.94 ¥6.31

82.98%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$1.60 ¥10.67

198.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$12.96 ¥86.7

29.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$3.15 ¥21.09

183.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$10.15 ¥67.9

95.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$1.86 ¥12.43

60.22%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.26 ¥8.44

61.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.49 ¥9.97

83.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$1.11 ¥7.39

141.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$0.73 ¥4.89

187.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$0.90 ¥6.03

131.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.56 ¥3.72

158.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.50 ¥3.37

78.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$3.04 ¥20.33

128.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$10.38 ¥69.4

-25.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.81 ¥5.40

79.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.64 ¥11.00

56.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$0.27 ¥1.79

1007.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$16.42 ¥110

53.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$1.41 ¥9.43

121.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.33 ¥2.19

336.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$6.75 ¥45.16

396.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.13 ¥7.54

58.41%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$19.6K ¥131.2K

76.43%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$17.0K ¥113.4K

77.36%

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

$178 €158

$44.97 ¥301

295.49%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$9.59 ¥64.1

38.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$11.53 ¥77.1

202.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$41.25 ¥276

29.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$14.14 ¥94.5

13.22%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$5.85 ¥39.12

89.06%

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

$957 €851

$338 ¥2,262

182.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$16.8K ¥112.6K

-1.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$44.21 ¥296

99.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$29.84 ¥200

32.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$70.8 ¥473

45.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$72.0 ¥481

68.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$276 ¥1,847

498.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$192 ¥1,283

578.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$598 ¥3,999

327.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$356 ¥2,379

438.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$2,977 ¥19.9K

144.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$2,044 ¥13.7K

148.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.89

-15.68%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Huai'an: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Huai'an

$192 27% 85.3% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Huai'an

$197 27.7% 38.3% $123

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Huai'an

$86 12.1% 68.2% $184

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Huai'an

$66 9.3% 70.8% $160

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Huai'an

$98 13.7% 38.4% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Huai'an

$53 7.4% 29.7% $22

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Huai'an

$21 2.9% 56.7% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $276 in Huai'an. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $21.00 in Huai'an for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $197 per month, with Huai'an cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Huai'an

🕒 Local time

07:31 7:31 AM

13:31 1:31 PM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

4,799,889

💱 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 Huai'an 9,490 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Huai'an: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Huai'an differ by about 237% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $712 including rent). Huai'an is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,599 in Barcelona and $1,069 in Huai'an 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $276 in Huai'an. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $338 in Huai'an. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 62% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $712 in Huai'an versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Huai'an but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Huai'an 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 Huai'an 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 Huai'an gentler on the wallet – expenses run 237% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.