Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Hurghada

For one person, living is cheaper in Hurghada: $445 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $24,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
21

Cost of Living Index in Hurghada
Learn more

Hurghada Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Hurghada

🇪🇬 Egypt

$445

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Hurghada

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $445 in Hurghada.

Barcelona $2,453
Hurghada $445

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $932 in Hurghada.

Barcelona $3,509
Hurghada $932

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,419 in Hurghada.

Barcelona $4,564
Hurghada $1,419

Living in Barcelona is roughly 452% more expensive than in Hurghada, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Hurghada is 67% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$3.56 E£199

394.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$38.24 E£2,140

76.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.30 E£297

155.28%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$1.93 E£108

65.28%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.45 E£25.24

546.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.18 E£10.00

950.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.75 E£98.1

129.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.98 E£167

52.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$0.89 E£49.54

47.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.79 E£44.20

155.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$0.60 E£33.79

208.33%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.79 E£100

169.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$3.09 E£173

441.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$5.49 E£307

66.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$9.34 E£522

110.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.38 E£77.2

115.94%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.50 E£27.97

304.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$0.41 E£23.19

558.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$0.37 E£20.48

656.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.32 E£17.93

553.12%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.35 E£19.55

491.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.26 E£14.41

461.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.17 E£9.26

452.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$2.00 E£112

243.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$7.36 E£412

7.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.21 E£67.9

16.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.64 E£92.0

54.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.08 E£4.35

3825.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$5.22 E£292

387.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$0.90 E£50.6

232.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.20 E£11.05

645.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$1.77 E£98.9

1785.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.39 E£21.88

361.54%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$29.9K E£1.7M

11.00%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$22.4K E£1.3M

41.74%

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

$180 €162

$24.18 E£1,353

646.11%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$7.63 E£427

81.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$8.75 E£490

285.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$26.47 E£1,481

94.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$5.84 E£327

173.29%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$3.28 E£184

235.06%

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

$917 €821

$99.3 E£5,556

823.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$595 E£33.3K

2671.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$18.80 E£1,052

362.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$30.81 E£1,724

24.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$26.42 E£1,478

353.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$205 E£11.5K

730.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$111 E£6,230

1117.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$216 E£12.1K

1105.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$542 E£30.3K

280.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$513 E£28.7K

1248.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$572 E£32.0K

796.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$141 E£7,861

1473.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Hurghada: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Hurghada

$111 25% 91.8% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Hurghada

$133 30% 58.6% $189

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Hurghada

$85 19.1% 68.3% $183

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Hurghada

$41 9.1% 82.2% $187

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Hurghada

$34 * 7.7% 78.3% $124

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Hurghada

$33 7.4% 55% $40

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Hurghada

$7.4 1.7% 84.7% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $205 in Hurghada. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 16 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $38 in Hurghada for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $133 per month, with Hurghada cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇪🇬 Hurghada

🕒 Local time

15:26 3:26 PM

16:26 4:26 PM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

160,901

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

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

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 55.95 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.47 EGP (100 EGP = 1.6 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Hurghada 3,280 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Hurghada

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 Hurghada: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $445 in Hurghada, so Hurghada is about 82% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 16 times higher, 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $205 in Hurghada. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $99 in Hurghada. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 142% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $445 in Hurghada versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Hurghada but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Hurghada 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 Hurghada are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Hurghada gentler on the wallet – expenses run 82% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.