Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Knysna

For one person, living is cheaper in Knysna: $1,193 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Knysna
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Knysna Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Knysna

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,193

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Knysna

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $1,193 in Knysna.

Barcelona $2,443
Knysna $1,193

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,775 in Knysna.

Barcelona $3,519
Knysna $1,775

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $2,357 in Knysna.

Barcelona $4,595
Knysna $2,357

Living in Barcelona is roughly 105% more expensive than in Knysna, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Knysna is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.75

$9.44 R 157

87.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.2

$39.22 R 651

72.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.14

$5.80 R 96.2

134.66%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.77

$2.09 R 34.62

48.33%

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

$3.00 €2.68

$1.04 R 17.28

188.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$0.74 R 12.25

160.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.43

$2.36 R 39.11

62.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.89

$2.72 R 45.17

60.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.16 R 19.32

7.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.90

$1.00 R 16.56

112.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.49 R 24.73

32.21%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.25

$2.70 R 44.84

76.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.22

$8.56 R 142

99.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.99

$4.87 R 80.9

83.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.42

$8.10 R 134

154.94%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.82

$1.63 R 27.10

93.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.46 R 24.17

34.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$1.56 R 25.92

69.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$1.52 R 25.19

89.47%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.84

$1.66 R 27.56

24.10%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.95

$1.43 R 23.80

52.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.22 R 20.18

25.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.87

$1.02 R 16.98

-4.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.21

$3.19 R 52.9

118.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$4.72 R 78.4

67.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.19 R 19.70

19.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.40

$1.46 R 24.18

84.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.95

$1.79 R 29.68

84.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.84

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.75

$0.83 R 13.74

271.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$0.52 R 8.60

184.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.32

$8.29 R 138

296.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.47 R 24.42

27.21%

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

$33.0K €29.4K

$23.4K R 388.1K

40.94%

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

$31.9K €28.5K

$28.2K R 468.5K

13.12%

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

$183 €163

$110 R 1,830

65.78%

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

$14.24 €12.70

$32.86 R 545

-56.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.83

$43.51 R 722

-20.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.87

$47.47 R 788

8.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.62

$10.83 R 180

51.25%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.87

$8.55 R 142

29.36%

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

$944 €842

$176 R 2,925

435.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.9K

$5,855 R 97.1K

280.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.2

$41.94 R 696

109.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.59

$33.00 R 547

17.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$107 R 1,781

-2.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$75.9 R 1,259

55.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,514

$505 R 8,372

236.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,192

$486 R 8,069

174.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,401

$808 R 13.4K

233.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,853

$794 R 13.2K

161.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,382

$755 R 12.5K

847.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,530

$1,011 R 16.8K

402.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,999

$940 R 15.6K

138.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

11.83

-73.03%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Knysna: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Knysna

$486 40.8% 63.6% $850

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Knysna

$187 15.7% 43% $141

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Knysna

$142 11.9% 46.7% $125

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Knysna

$187 15.6% 19.4% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Knysna

$116 9.7% 26% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Knysna

$65 5.4% 12.2% $9

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Knysna

$11 * 0.9% 78.6% $39

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 $1,697 in Barcelona and $505 in Knysna. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $39 in Knysna for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $187 per month, with Knysna cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇿🇦 Knysna

🕒 Local time

22:41 10:41 PM

23:41 11:41 PM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

51,078

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.03 USD

100 ZAR = 5.35 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 16.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.03 USD). 1 EUR = 18.68 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.35 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Knysna 8,650 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Knysna

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 Knysna: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $1,193 in Knysna, so Knysna is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.4 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: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $505 in Knysna. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $176 in Knysna. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Knysna – a meal for two runs $39 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,193 in Knysna versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Knysna but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Knysna 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 Knysna are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Knysna wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.