Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Koh Chang

For one person, living is cheaper in Koh Chang: $1,021 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,200 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Koh Chang
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Koh Chang Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Koh Chang

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,021

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Koh Chang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,021 in Koh Chang.

Barcelona $2,453
Koh Chang $1,021

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

Barcelona $3,509
Koh Chang $1,720

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,418 in Koh Chang.

Barcelona $4,564
Koh Chang $2,418

Living in Barcelona is roughly 140% more expensive than in Koh Chang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Koh Chang is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$3.47 ฿117

406.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$26.30 ฿888

156.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$7.04 ฿238

92.19%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.18 ฿73.5

46.33%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.75 ฿25.33

288.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.37 ฿12.35

410.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$2.00 ฿67.7

100.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$3.00 ฿101

51.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.48 ฿50.0

-11.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.25 ฿42.31

61.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.37 ฿46.39

35.04%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.89 ฿63.7

155.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$17.29 ฿584

-3.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$3.05 ฿103

199.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$10.19 ฿344

92.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.68 ฿90.6

11.19%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.53 ฿51.7

32.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.95 ฿65.9

38.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.85 ฿62.4

51.35%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.29 ฿43.65

62.02%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.24 ฿41.72

66.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.01 ฿34.04

44.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.49 ฿16.67

91.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$3.77 ฿127

82.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$16.75 ฿565

-52.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.56 ฿52.7

-9.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.46 ฿83.0

3.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.21 ฿40.91

159.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$38.34 ฿1,294

-33.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$2.43 ฿81.9

23.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.85 ฿28.77

75.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$2.93 ฿98.9

1038.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.14 ฿38.48

57.89%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$21.7K ฿733.1K

52.81%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$20.9K ฿707.0K

51.32%

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

$180 €162

$94.6 ฿3,191

90.79%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$10.67 ฿360

29.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$16.02 ฿541

110.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$58.0 ฿1,957

-11.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$9.00 ฿304

77.33%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$6.49 ฿219

69.34%

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

$917 €821

$422 ฿14.3K

117.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$10.2K ฿343.5K

61.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$60.3 ฿2,036

44.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$26.66 ฿900

44.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$89.3 ฿3,015

18.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$81.5 ฿2,751

46.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$469 ฿15.8K

262.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$327 ฿11.0K

314.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$1,292 ฿43.6K

101.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$917 ฿31.0K

124.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$2,704 ฿91.2K

155.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$1,904 ฿64.3K

169.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.57

-41.11%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Koh Chang: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Koh Chang

$327 32% 75.9% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Koh Chang

$240 23.5% 25.3% $81

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Koh Chang

$95 9.4% 64.4% $172

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Koh Chang

$121 11.9% 46.8% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Koh Chang

$116 11.4% 26.6% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Koh Chang

$71 7% 3.4% $2.5

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Koh Chang

$50 4.9% 2.9% $1.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $469 in Koh Chang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $26 in Koh Chang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $240 per month, with Koh Chang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇹🇭 Koh Chang

🕒 Local time

10:00 10:00 AM

16:00 4:00 PM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

8,500

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Koh Chang 9,950 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Koh Chang

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 Koh Chang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,021 in Koh Chang, so Koh Chang is about 58% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,679 in Barcelona and $1,531 in Koh Chang to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $469 in Koh Chang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $422 in Koh Chang. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 34% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,021 in Koh Chang versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Koh Chang but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Koh Chang 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 Koh Chang are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.