Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Karaganda

For one person, living is cheaper in Karaganda: $929 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,300 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
45

Cost of Living Index in Karaganda
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Karaganda Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Karaganda

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$929

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Karaganda

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $929 in Karaganda.

Barcelona $2,453
Karaganda $929

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,500 in Karaganda.

Barcelona $3,509
Karaganda $1,500

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,071 in Karaganda.

Barcelona $4,564
Karaganda $2,071

Living in Barcelona is roughly 164% more expensive than in Karaganda, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Karaganda is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$9.84 ₸4,462

78.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$34.89 ₸15.8K

93.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.70 ₸2,585

137.37%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$1.99 ₸902

60.30%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.86 ₸391

238.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.59 ₸269

220.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.35 ₸612

197.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.93 ₸1,328

54.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.29 ₸584

1.55%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.45 ₸204

348.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.32 ₸599

40.15%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.85 ₸841

161.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$13.52 ₸6,133

23.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$5.30 ₸2,405

72.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$11.34 ₸5,144

73.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.47 ₸665

102.72%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.93 ₸873

4.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.88 ₸1,307

-6.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$2.18 ₸987

28.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.61 ₸277

242.62%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.55 ₸249

276.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.02 ₸462

43.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.75 ₸338

25.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$2.15 ₸977

219.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$8.13 ₸3,687

-2.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.41 ₸639

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.17 ₸984

17.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.23 ₸104

1265.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$15.38 ₸6,977

65.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.19 ₸540

151.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.24 ₸562

20.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$3.31 ₸1,502

908.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.55 ₸252

227.27%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$22.0K ₸10.0M

50.90%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$32.2K ₸14.6M

-1.58%

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

$180 €162

$72.2 ₸32.8K

149.74%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$10.00 ₸4,538

38.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$11.87 ₸5,383

183.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$46.11 ₸20.9K

11.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$18.33 ₸8,314

-12.93%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$5.35 ₸2,427

105.42%

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

$917 €821

$135 ₸61.4K

577.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$59.5 ₸27.0K

46.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$58.9 ₸26.7K

-34.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$76.6 ₸34.7K

38.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$87.1 ₸39.5K

37.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$400 ₸181.5K

324.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$273 ₸123.9K

396.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$719 ₸325.9K

262.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$546 ₸247.5K

277.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$1,054 ₸477.9K

556.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$720 ₸326.6K

612.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$582 ₸263.9K

279.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

19.25

-82.96%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Karaganda: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Karaganda

$273 29.4% 79.9% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Karaganda

$216 23.3% 32.9% $106

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Karaganda

$138 14.9% 48.5% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Karaganda

$94 10.1% 58.7% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Karaganda

$127 13.7% 19.7% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Karaganda

$57 6.1% 22.7% $17

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Karaganda

$24 2.6% 51.1% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $400 in Karaganda. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 3.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $35 in Karaganda for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $216 per month, with Karaganda cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇰🇿 Karaganda

🕒 Local time

20:05 8:05 PM

00:05 12:05 AM

4 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

520,486

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 KZT = 2.2 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KZT, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 454 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.2 USD). 1 EUR = 506 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.98 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Karaganda 5,390 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Karaganda

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 Karaganda: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $929 in Karaganda, so Karaganda is about 62% 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 $400 in Karaganda. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $135 in Karaganda. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 49% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $929 in Karaganda versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Karaganda but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Karaganda 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 Karaganda gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.