Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Liuzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Liuzhou: $765 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,100 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Liuzhou
Learn more

Liuzhou Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Liuzhou

🇨🇳 China

$765

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Liuzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $765 in Liuzhou.

Barcelona $2,443
Liuzhou $765

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,190 in Liuzhou.

Barcelona $3,519
Liuzhou $1,190

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $1,616 in Liuzhou.

Barcelona $4,595
Liuzhou $1,616

Living in Barcelona is roughly 219% more expensive than in Liuzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Liuzhou is 43% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.80

$2.73 ¥18.20

546.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.4

$22.06 ¥147

205.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.18

$4.84 ¥32.23

181.20%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.77

$2.75 ¥18.32

12.73%

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

$3.00 €2.69

$0.51 ¥3.40

488.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$0.31 ¥2.09

522.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.44

$1.08 ¥7.17

255.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.90

$2.04 ¥13.57

113.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.12

$1.78 ¥11.83

-29.78%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.90

$1.67 ¥11.10

26.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.96 ¥6.38

105.21%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.26

$1.64 ¥10.91

190.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.27

$13.62 ¥90.7

25.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €8.01

$3.37 ¥22.42

165.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.48

$11.06 ¥73.7

86.71%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.83

$1.54 ¥10.27

105.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.87 ¥5.76

126.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$1.57 ¥10.46

68.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.58

$1.31 ¥8.76

119.85%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.84

$0.69 ¥4.60

198.55%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.95

$0.97 ¥6.44

124.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$0.64 ¥4.24

139.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.87

$0.56 ¥3.70

73.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.23

$3.80 ¥25.28

83.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$11.08 ¥73.8

-28.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.27

$0.87 ¥5.80

63.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.40

$1.57 ¥10.44

71.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.96

$0.31 ¥2.08

967.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.91

$17.96 ¥120

42.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.76

$1.52 ¥10.10

102.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.33

$0.35 ¥2.34

322.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.42

$7.24 ¥48.25

354.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.67

$1.41 ¥9.39

32.62%

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

$33.0K €29.5K

$19.3K ¥128.3K

71.11%

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

$31.9K €28.6K

$17.7K ¥117.9K

80.51%

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

$183 €164

$56.8 ¥378

222.03%

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

$14.24 €12.74

$8.96 ¥59.7

58.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.93

$11.08 ¥73.8

211.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €46.01

$80.8 ¥538

-36.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.66

$14.84 ¥98.8

10.38%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.90

$6.22 ¥41.42

77.81%

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

$944 €844

$442 ¥2,944

113.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.9K

$17.7K ¥117.8K

25.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.5

$42.89 ¥286

104.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.70

$33.14 ¥221

16.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.6

$75.6 ¥503

38.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$73.5 ¥489

60.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,518

$241 ¥1,603

605.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,196

$185 ¥1,231

623.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,409

$419 ¥2,790

542.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,858

$316 ¥2,107

556.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,402

$3,155 ¥21.0K

126.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,545

$1,956 ¥13.0K

159.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €2,006

$602 ¥4,006

272.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

3.36

-5.06%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Liuzhou: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Liuzhou

$185 24.2% 86.2% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Liuzhou

$204 26.7% 37.7% $123

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Liuzhou

$82 10.7% 69.2% $185

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Liuzhou

$77 10% 66.8% $155

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Liuzhou

$101 13.2% 35.4% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Liuzhou

$93 12.2% 26.8% $20

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Liuzhou

$22 2.9% 54.4% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $241 in Liuzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 3.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $22 in Liuzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $204 per month, with Liuzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Liuzhou

🕒 Local time

17:17 5:17 PM

00:17 12:17 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

4,157,934

💱 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

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Between locations

Barcelona Liuzhou 9,560 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Liuzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $765 in Liuzhou, so Liuzhou is about 69% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 3.7 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 $241 in Liuzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $442 in Liuzhou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 60% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $765 in Liuzhou versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Liuzhou but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Liuzhou 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 Liuzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 69% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.