Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Loei

For one person, living is cheaper in Loei: $1,005 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,300 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 Loei
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Loei Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Loei

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,005

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Loei

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $1,005 in Loei.

Barcelona $2,443
Loei $1,005

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,612 in Loei.

Barcelona $3,519
Loei $1,612

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $2,220 in Loei.

Barcelona $4,595
Loei $2,220

Living in Barcelona is roughly 143% more expensive than in Loei, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Loei is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.75

$3.28 ฿111

438.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.2

$26.26 ฿886

156.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.14

$8.02 ฿271

69.70%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.77

$2.15 ฿72.4

44.19%

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

$3.00 €2.68

$0.72 ฿24.40

316.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$0.32 ฿10.75

503.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.43

$2.11 ฿71.3

81.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.89

$2.91 ฿98.2

49.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.93 ฿65.1

-35.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.90

$1.61 ฿54.3

31.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.49 ฿50.4

32.21%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.25

$2.27 ฿76.6

109.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.22

$18.80 ฿634

-9.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.99

$2.28 ฿76.9

292.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.42

$11.98 ฿404

72.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.82

$2.99 ฿101

5.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.91 ฿30.82

116.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$2.21 ฿74.5

19.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$1.98 ฿66.7

45.45%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.84

$1.52 ฿51.1

35.53%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.95

$1.27 ฿42.90

71.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.00 ฿33.83

53.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.87

$0.45 ฿15.31

115.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.21

$3.80 ฿128

83.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$18.74 ฿632

-57.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.65 ฿55.7

-13.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.40

$2.89 ฿97.4

-6.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.95

$0.81 ฿27.47

308.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.84

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.75

$1.35 ฿45.50

128.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$1.18 ฿39.69

25.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.32

$4.14 ฿140

693.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.27 ฿42.73

47.24%

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

$33.0K €29.4K

$29.4K ฿991.2K

12.18%

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

$31.9K €28.5K

$27.1K ฿914.0K

17.89%

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

$183 €163

$92.4 ฿3,117

97.85%

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

$14.24 €12.70

$9.86 ฿333

44.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.83

$17.50 ฿590

97.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.87

$49.98 ฿1,686

2.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.62

$13.80 ฿465

18.70%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.87

$6.29 ฿212

75.83%

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

$944 €842

$697 ฿23.5K

35.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.9K

$17.3K ฿583.2K

28.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.2

$56.3 ฿1,899

55.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.59

$31.06 ฿1,048

24.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$77.2 ฿2,605

35.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$73.7 ฿2,485

59.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,514

$441 ฿14.9K

285.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,192

$347 ฿11.7K

285.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,401

$1,153 ฿38.9K

133.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,853

$784 ฿26.4K

164.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,382

$2,351 ฿79.3K

204.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,530

$1,710 ฿57.7K

197.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,999

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

5.57

-42.73%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Loei: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Loei

$347 34.5% 74.1% $990

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Loei

$261 26% 20.2% $66

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Loei

$97 9.6% 63.8% $170

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Loei

$120 11.9% 48.3% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Loei

$107 10.7% 31.7% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Loei

$63 6.2% 15% $11

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Loei

$10 * 1% 78.7% $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 $441 in Loei. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $26 in Loei for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $261 per month, with Loei cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇹🇭 Loei

🕒 Local time

03:55 3:55 AM

09:55 9:55 AM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

22,677

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Barcelona Loei 9,500 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Loei

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 Loei: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $1,005 in Loei, so Loei is about 59% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,664 in Barcelona and $1,507 in Loei 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: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $441 in Loei. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $697 in Loei. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Loei – a meal for two runs $26 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,005 in Loei versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Loei but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Loei 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 Loei are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.