Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Kunshan

For one person, living is cheaper in Kunshan: $716 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Kunshan
Learn more

Kunshan Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Kunshan

🇨🇳 China

$716

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Kunshan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $716 in Kunshan.

Barcelona $2,453
Kunshan $716

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,137 in Kunshan.

Barcelona $3,509
Kunshan $1,137

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,557 in Kunshan.

Barcelona $4,564
Kunshan $1,557

Living in Barcelona is roughly 242% more expensive than in Kunshan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Kunshan is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.71

$2.87 ¥19.07

512.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.3

$21.68 ¥144

211.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.08

$4.73 ¥31.41

186.05%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.85

$3.04 ¥20.24

4.93%

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

$2.91 €2.60

$0.47 ¥3.11

519.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.69

$0.29 ¥1.94

551.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.58

$0.95 ¥6.31

322.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.05

$2.05 ¥13.64

120.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.86 ¥12.36

-29.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.55 ¥10.33

30.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.65

$0.96 ¥6.41

92.71%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.32

$1.61 ¥10.67

200.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.95

$12.91 ¥85.8

29.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.14

$3.22 ¥21.43

183.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.54

$10.37 ¥69.0

89.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.66

$1.88 ¥12.50

58.51%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.20 ¥7.96

68.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.41

$1.48 ¥9.81

82.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.50

$1.14 ¥7.59

145.61%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.86

$0.70 ¥4.64

198.57%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.91 ¥6.05

127.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.61 ¥4.05

139.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.54 ¥3.59

74.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.14

$3.07 ¥20.40

123.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$10.35 ¥68.8

-23.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.80 ¥5.29

76.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.26

$1.66 ¥11.05

53.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.81

$0.27 ¥1.78

1062.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.73

$16.73 ¥111

52.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.67

$1.36 ¥9.02

119.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.33

$0.33 ¥2.16

351.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.81

$6.76 ¥44.91

393.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.13 ¥7.49

59.29%

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

$33.2K €29.6K

$19.3K ¥128.0K

72.33%

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

$31.7K €28.3K

$17.5K ¥116.2K

81.42%

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

$180 €161

$46.00 ¥306

292.20%

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

$13.84 €12.36

$10.03 ¥66.7

37.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.10

$11.60 ¥77.1

190.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.01

$42.36 ¥282

21.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.26

$13.68 ¥91.0

16.67%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.82

$5.91 ¥39.26

85.96%

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

$917 €819

$329 ¥2,186

178.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$16.9K ¥112.5K

-2.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.7

$44.05 ¥293

97.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.39

$30.35 ¥202

26.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.5

$72.2 ¥480

46.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$70.9 ¥471

68.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,518

$279 ¥1,855

508.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,211

$191 ¥1,269

609.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,325

$597 ¥3,970

335.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,842

$360 ¥2,392

473.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,176

$3,017 ¥20.1K

129.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,580

$2,034 ¥13.5K

152.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,975

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.89

-15.68%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Kunshan: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Kunshan

$191 26.7% 85.9% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Kunshan

$199 27.9% 38% $122

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Kunshan

$86 11.9% 68.1% $182

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Kunshan

$68 9.4% 70.3% $160

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Kunshan

$98 13.7% 38.1% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Kunshan

$54 7.6% 26.3% $19

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Kunshan

$21 2.9% 57.1% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $279 in Kunshan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $22 in Kunshan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $199 per month, with Kunshan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Kunshan

🕒 Local time

08:18 8:18 AM

15:18 3:18 PM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

2,092,496

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Kunshan 9,780 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Kunshan

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 Kunshan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $716 in Kunshan, so Kunshan is about 71% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,679 in Barcelona and $1,074 in Kunshan 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 $279 in Kunshan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $329 in Kunshan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 61% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $716 in Kunshan versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kunshan but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Kunshan 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 Kunshan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 71% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.