Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Ismailia

For one person, living is cheaper in Ismailia: $330 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $24,600 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
16

Cost of Living Index in Ismailia
Learn more

Ismailia Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Ismailia

🇪🇬 Egypt

$330

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Ismailia

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $330 in Ismailia.

Barcelona $2,381
Ismailia $330

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $561 in Ismailia.

Barcelona $3,406
Ismailia $561

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $792 in Ismailia.

Barcelona $4,431
Ismailia $792

Living in Barcelona is roughly 622% more expensive than in Ismailia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$3.30 E£176

442.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$14.58 E£778

353.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$3.76 E£201

264.10%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$1.04 E£55.5

194.23%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$0.30 E£15.91

923.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.13 E£6.85

1392.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$1.32 E£70.6

193.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$1.80 E£96.0

156.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$0.79 E£42.30

64.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$0.36 E£19.07

483.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$0.60 E£32.12

205.00%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$1.15 E£61.5

301.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$3.49 E£186

397.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$3.98 E£213

133.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$6.95 E£371

185.32%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$1.45 E£77.3

107.59%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$0.54 E£29.05

275.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$0.41 E£22.01

546.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$0.31 E£16.79

825.81%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.26 E£13.89

730.77%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$0.32 E£17.12

571.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$0.23 E£12.31

539.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.20 E£10.67

340.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$1.86 E£99.5

272.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$5.48 E£293

42.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.04 E£55.4

33.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$1.89 E£101

39.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$0.23 E£12.26

1165.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$3.77 E£201

575.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$0.39 E£20.60

669.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.48 E£25.72

200.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$1.13 E£60.2

2838.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.42 E£22.18

342.86%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$27.6K E£1.5M

17.01%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$14.6K E£780.2K

117.00%

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

$183 €163

$13.94 E£744

1211.05%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$6.66 E£355

104.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$7.33 E£391

349.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$9.65 E£515

466.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$18.42 E£984

-10.31%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$1.82 E£97.4

517.03%

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

$954 €849

$65.6 E£3,502

1354.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$1,171 E£62.5K

1317.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$12.92 E£690

565.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$9.19 E£491

325.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$127 E£6,764

-18.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$27.53 E£1,470

330.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$78.3 E£4,181

2065.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$31.44 E£1,679

3959.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$120 E£6,414

2044.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$75.2 E£4,017

2455.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$458 E£24.5K

1488.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$131 E£6,984

3730.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$101 E£5,387

2107.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

21.33

-84.62%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Ismailia: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Ismailia

$31 9.5% 97.5% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Ismailia

$108 32.8% 66.7% $217

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Ismailia

$62 18.8% 77% $207

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Ismailia

$28 8.5% 87.8% $201

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Ismailia

$79 24.1% 49.2% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Ismailia

$13 4% 82.8% $64

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Ismailia

$7.5 2.3% 84.2% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $78.3 in Ismailia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 2107% 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 $15.00 in Ismailia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $108 per month, with Ismailia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇪🇬 Ismailia

🕒 Local time

22:58 10:58 PM

23:58 11:58 PM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

352,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Ismailia 2,940 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Ismailia

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 Ismailia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Ismailia differ by about 622% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $330 including rent). Ismailia is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 2107% 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 $78.3 in Ismailia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $65.6 in Ismailia. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 201% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $330 in Ismailia versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ismailia but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Ismailia 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 Ismailia 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 Ismailia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 622% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.