Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Ibb

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibb: $876 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,900 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Ibb
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Ibb Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Ibb

🇾🇪 Yemen

$876

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Ibb

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $876 in Ibb.

Barcelona $2,453
Ibb $876

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,454 in Ibb.

Barcelona $3,509
Ibb $1,454

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,033 in Ibb.

Barcelona $4,564
Ibb $2,033

Living in Barcelona is roughly 180% more expensive than in Ibb, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Ibb is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$6.44 YER 1,519

173.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$18.83 YER 4,442

258.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$9.28 YER 2,189

45.80%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.03 YER 480

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 YER 585

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.78 YER 891

-15.61%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.12 YER 265

159.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.46 YER 108

310.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.96 YER 463

-33.16%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.98 YER 231

106.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.06 YER 485

-10.19%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.69 YER 871

30.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$13.94 YER 3,287

20.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$8.14 YER 1,921

12.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$19.05 YER 4,493

3.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$3.30 YER 778

-9.70%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.00 YER 236

102.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.15 YER 508

25.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.72 YER 405

62.79%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.54 YER 362

35.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.37 YER 322

51.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.88 YER 207

65.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.63 YER 148

49.21%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.51 YER 591

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 YER 439

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.53 YER 596

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$3.93 YER 927

74.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$2.13 YER 503

40.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.69 YER 636

-44.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$7.43 YER 1,753

349.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.06 YER 487

-12.62%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$16.8K YER 4.0M

97.40%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$34.8K YER 8.2M

-8.85%

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

$180 €162

$62.4 YER 14.7K

189.26%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$15.86 YER 3,741

-12.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$29.91 YER 7,054

12.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$6.05 YER 1,426

81.65%

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

$917 €821

$24.36 YER 5,747

3662.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$2,204 YER 519.9K

647.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$29.62 YER 6,986

193.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$121 YER 28.4K

-68.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$48.16 YER 11.4K

119.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$40.48 YER 9,549

195.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$319 YER 75.2K

432.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$252 YER 59.4K

438.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$748 YER 176.4K

248.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$640 YER 150.9K

222.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$361 YER 85.1K

512.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

11.25

-70.84%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Ibb: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Ibb

$252 28.7% 81.4% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Ibb

$250 28.6% 22.3% $72

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Ibb

$131 15% 51.1% $137

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Ibb

$108 12.3% 52.6% $120

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Ibb

$107 12.3% 32% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Ibb

$12 * 1.4% 83.6% $61

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Ibb

$16 * 1.8% 67.8% $33

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 $319 in Ibb. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 6.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $19 in Ibb for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $250 per month, with Ibb cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇾🇪 Ibb

🕒 Local time

05:45 5:45 AM

07:45 7:45 AM

2 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

208,844

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Ibb 5,060 km ≈ 7 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 Ibb: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $876 in Ibb, so Ibb is about 64% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 6.1 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 $319 in Ibb. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $24 in Ibb. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ibb – a meal for two runs $19 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $876 in Ibb versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ibb but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Ibb 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.

It comes down to priorities – Ibb wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.