Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Jilin

For one person, living is cheaper in Jilin: $722 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
36

Cost of Living Index in Jilin
Learn more

Jilin Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Jilin

🇨🇳 China

$722

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Jilin

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $722 in Jilin.

Barcelona $2,453
Jilin $722

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,195 in Jilin.

Barcelona $3,509
Jilin $1,195

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,669 in Jilin.

Barcelona $4,564
Jilin $1,669

Living in Barcelona is roughly 240% more expensive than in Jilin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Jilin is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$3.05 ¥20.31

476.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$22.62 ¥151

198.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$5.17 ¥34.37

161.70%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$3.43 ¥22.83

-7.00%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$0.44 ¥2.96

561.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.27 ¥1.80

600.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$1.09 ¥7.24

267.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$2.31 ¥15.39

96.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.75 ¥11.64

-25.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.61 ¥10.70

25.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$0.99 ¥6.59

86.87%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$1.57 ¥10.46

207.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$15.29 ¥102

9.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$3.12 ¥20.73

192.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$11.08 ¥73.7

77.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$1.88 ¥12.51

58.51%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.27 ¥8.44

59.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$1.47 ¥9.79

83.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$1.29 ¥8.62

117.05%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.66 ¥4.38

216.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.02 ¥6.79

102.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.59 ¥3.96

147.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.59 ¥3.91

59.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$3.77 ¥25.12

82.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$10.21 ¥68.0

-22.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.76 ¥5.07

85.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$1.60 ¥10.65

58.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.34 ¥2.28

823.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$17.48 ¥116

45.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$1.08 ¥7.17

176.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.26 ¥1.73

473.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$7.13 ¥47.44

368.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.27 ¥8.43

41.73%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$19.8K ¥132.1K

67.27%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$17.6K ¥116.9K

80.50%

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

$180 €162

$61.3 ¥408

194.45%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$8.26 ¥55.0

67.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$10.67 ¥71.0

215.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$39.37 ¥262

30.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$16.99 ¥113

-6.06%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$6.41 ¥42.67

71.45%

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

$917 €823

$440 ¥2,930

108.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$17.7K ¥117.5K

-6.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$42.55 ¥283

104.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$32.53 ¥217

18.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$76.4 ¥508

38.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$76.0 ¥506

57.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$244 ¥1,623

596.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$163 ¥1,085

731.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$584 ¥3,884

345.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$406 ¥2,704

407.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$3,551 ¥23.6K

94.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$2,139 ¥14.2K

139.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$441 ¥2,935

401.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.36

-2.38%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Jilin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Jilin

$163 22.6% 88% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Jilin

$209 28.9% 35.1% $113

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Jilin

$94 13% 64.9% $174

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Jilin

$80 11.1% 64.8% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Jilin

$102 14.2% 35.2% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Jilin

$52 7.2% 29% $21

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Jilin

$21 2.9% 56.2% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $244 in Jilin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $23 in Jilin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $209 per month, with Jilin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Jilin

🕒 Local time

23:06 11:06 PM

06:06 6:06 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

3,623,713

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Jilin 9,030 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Jilin

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 Jilin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $722 in Jilin, so Jilin is about 71% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 5 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 $244 in Jilin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $440 in Jilin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 54% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $722 in Jilin versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $800 budget is realistic in Jilin but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Jilin 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.

Expats usually find Jilin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 71% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.