Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Jubail

For one person, living is cheaper in Jubail: $1,100 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,200 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Jubail
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Jubail Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Jubail

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,100

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Jubail

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,100 in Jubail.

Barcelona $2,453
Jubail $1,100

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,720 in Jubail.

Barcelona $3,509
Jubail $1,720

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,339 in Jubail.

Barcelona $4,564
Jubail $2,339

Living in Barcelona is roughly 123% more expensive than in Jubail, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Jubail is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$6.82 SAR 25.61

157.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$39.32 SAR 148

71.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$9.07 SAR 34.03

49.17%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.92 SAR 7.22

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 SAR 8.60

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$3.99 SAR 14.98

-20.05%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$1.00 SAR 3.74

191.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.28 SAR 1.06

575.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.50 SAR 5.61

-12.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.45 SAR 5.45

39.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.62 SAR 6.09

14.20%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$2.06 SAR 7.74

134.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$9.82 SAR 36.86

70.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$6.44 SAR 24.17

41.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$12.15 SAR 45.58

61.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$2.24 SAR 8.39

33.04%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.76 SAR 6.60

14.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$1.56 SAR 5.87

73.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$1.69 SAR 6.35

65.68%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.29 SAR 4.85

62.02%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.40 SAR 5.25

47.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.75 SAR 6.56

-16.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.54 SAR 2.04

74.07%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.00 SAR 11.27

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.19 SAR 8.21

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 SAR 7.63

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$6.64 SAR 24.91

3.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.31 SAR 4.91

139.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$23.90 SAR 89.7

6.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$3.25 SAR 12.21

-8.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.74 SAR 10.27

-45.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$13.54 SAR 50.8

146.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.61 SAR 2.27

195.08%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$26.8K SAR 100.5K

23.92%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$21.7K SAR 81.4K

46.21%

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

$180 €162

$80.1 SAR 301

125.17%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$27.36 SAR 103

-49.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$66.1 SAR 248

-49.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$104 SAR 391

-50.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$39.93 SAR 150

-60.03%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$13.58 SAR 51.0

-19.07%

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

$917 €823

$178 SAR 668

415.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$7,690 SAR 28.9K

114.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$42.14 SAR 158

106.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$59.3 SAR 222

-35.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$80.1 SAR 300

32.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$86.6 SAR 325

38.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$424 SAR 1,591

300.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$295 SAR 1,105

360.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$667 SAR 2,502

290.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$520 SAR 1,951

296.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$2,743 SAR 10.3K

152.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$1,396 SAR 5,240

267.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$1,605 SAR 6,022

37.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.62

-41.64%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Jubail: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Jubail

$295 26.8% 78.3% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Jubail

$199 18.1% 38.2% $123

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Jubail

$135 12.3% 49.7% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Jubail

$174 15.8% 23.9% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Jubail

$121 11% 23.6% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Jubail

$131 11.9% 78.6% $58

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Jubail

$46 4.2% 5% $2.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $424 in Jubail. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 38% 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: $67 in Barcelona vs $39 in Jubail for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $199 per month, with Jubail cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇸🇦 Jubail

🕒 Local time

03:50 3:50 AM

05:50 5:50 AM

2 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

337,778

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Jubail 4,590 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Jubail

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 Jubail: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,100 in Jubail, so Jubail is about 55% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 38% 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $424 in Jubail. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $178 in Jubail. 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.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Jubail is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Jubail are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Jubail gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.