Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Kaifeng

For one person, living is cheaper in Kaifeng: $500 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $23,400 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
24

Cost of Living Index in Kaifeng
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Kaifeng Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Kaifeng

🇨🇳 China

$500

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Kaifeng

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $500 in Kaifeng.

Barcelona $2,453
Kaifeng $500

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $792 in Kaifeng.

Barcelona $3,509
Kaifeng $792

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,083 in Kaifeng.

Barcelona $4,564
Kaifeng $1,083

Living in Barcelona is roughly 391% more expensive than in Kaifeng, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Kaifeng is 63% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$1.85 ¥12.30

850.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$13.44 ¥89.3

402.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$4.12 ¥27.40

228.40%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.19 ¥14.54

45.66%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.39 ¥2.56

646.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.17 ¥1.14

1011.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$0.89 ¥5.91

350.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$1.53 ¥10.16

196.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.57 ¥10.40

-16.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.54 ¥10.21

31.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$0.81 ¥5.39

128.40%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$0.96 ¥6.39

403.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$6.67 ¥44.30

150.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$2.30 ¥15.25

296.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$10.21 ¥67.8

92.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$0.87 ¥5.78

242.53%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.97 ¥6.42

108.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$0.59 ¥3.94

357.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$0.64 ¥4.25

337.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.58 ¥3.84

260.34%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.67 ¥4.47

208.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.21 ¥1.39

595.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.55 ¥3.67

70.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$2.94 ¥19.56

133.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$14.88 ¥98.9

-46.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.01 ¥6.70

39.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.01 ¥13.36

26.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.13 ¥0.87

2315.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.17 ¥7.75

155.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.15 ¥0.99

893.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$3.69 ¥24.50

804.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.27 ¥8.44

41.73%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$19.2K ¥127.3K

73.21%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$14.9K ¥99.0K

112.85%

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

$180 €162

$45.22 ¥300

298.96%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$4.76 ¥31.62

190.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$5.28 ¥35.07

538.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$29.67 ¥197

73.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$10.55 ¥70.1

51.28%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$3.82 ¥25.36

187.70%

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

$917 €821

$388 ¥2,581

135.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$31.2K ¥207.3K

-47.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$43.81 ¥291

98.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$33.96 ¥226

13.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$71.9 ¥478

47.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$45.32 ¥301

164.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$121 ¥801

1309.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$88.7 ¥589

1428.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$225 ¥1,494

1057.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$180 ¥1,197

1044.40%

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

$580 ¥3,852

281.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.1

5.81%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Kaifeng: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Kaifeng

$89 17.7% 93.5% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Kaifeng

$165 33.1% 48.6% $157

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Kaifeng

$63 12.6% 76.4% $205

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Kaifeng

$55 11.1% 75.8% $173

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Kaifeng

$88 17.6% 44.5% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Kaifeng

$37 7.5% 49.3% $36

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Kaifeng

$2.4 * 0.5% 95% $46

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 $121 in Kaifeng. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 3.8 times 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 $13 in Kaifeng for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $165 per month, with Kaifeng cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Kaifeng

🕒 Local time

11:43 11:43 AM

18:43 6:43 PM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

4,676,159

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Kaifeng 9,080 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Kaifeng

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 Kaifeng: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $500 in Kaifeng, so Kaifeng is about 80% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 3.8 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 $121 in Kaifeng. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $388 in Kaifeng. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Kaifeng – a meal for two runs $13 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $500 in Kaifeng versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $800 budget is realistic in Kaifeng but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Kaifeng 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 – Kaifeng wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.