Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Machakos

For one person, living is cheaper in Machakos: $520 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $23,200 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
25

Cost of Living Index in Machakos
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Machakos Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Machakos

🇰🇪 Kenya

$520

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Machakos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $520 in Machakos.

Barcelona $2,453
Machakos $520

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $802 in Machakos.

Barcelona $3,509
Machakos $802

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,084 in Machakos.

Barcelona $4,564
Machakos $1,084

Living in Barcelona is roughly 372% more expensive than in Machakos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Machakos is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.69

$2.99 KES 389

488.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.2

$19.26 KES 2,500

250.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.07

$6.26 KES 812

116.13%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.85

$1.97 KES 255

61.93%

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

$2.91 €2.60

$0.66 KES 85.4

340.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.69

$0.54 KES 69.6

250.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.58

$2.16 KES 281

85.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.04

$2.67 KES 346

69.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.16

$0.39 KES 50.9

235.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.80

$0.48 KES 62.7

320.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.65

$0.80 KES 104

131.25%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.31

$1.36 KES 177

255.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.93

$10.89 KES 1,413

53.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.14

$6.36 KES 826

43.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.52

$4.71 KES 612

316.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.66

$1.50 KES 195

98.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$0.81 KES 105

149.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.41

$0.37 KES 47.49

629.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.50

$0.40 KES 51.6

600.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.86

$0.79 KES 102

164.56%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.76 KES 98.6

172.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.75 KES 97.6

94.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.39 KES 51.1

141.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.13

$3.51 KES 455

95.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$11.31 KES 1,468

-30.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.25

$1.91 KES 248

-26.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.26

$2.70 KES 351

-5.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.80

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.70

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.67

$0.74 KES 96.4

304.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.33

$0.75 KES 97.8

98.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.78

$2.86 KES 371

1066.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.60

$1.50 KES 195

20.00%

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

$33.2K €29.6K

$19.1K KES 2.5M

73.59%

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

$31.7K €28.3K

$21.7K KES 2.8M

45.89%

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

$180 €161

$57.0 KES 7,396

216.62%

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

$13.84 €12.35

$7.83 KES 1,017

76.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.06

$11.58 KES 1,503

191.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €45.96

$38.98 KES 5,060

32.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.24

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.81

$7.66 KES 994

43.47%

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

$917 €818

$45.51 KES 5,907

1914.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$12.3K KES 1.6M

33.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.7

$11.62 KES 1,509

648.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.35

$28.49 KES 3,698

35.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.4

$68.8 KES 8,923

53.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$38.19 KES 4,956

213.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,516

$94.2 KES 12.2K

1704.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,209

$70.4 KES 9,132

1826.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,322

$155 KES 20.1K

1582.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,840

$116 KES 15.1K

1672.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,169

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,575

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,972

$385 KES 50.0K

474.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

14.71

-77.70%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Machakos: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Machakos

$70 13.5% 94.8% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Machakos

$161 31% 50% $161

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Machakos

$87 16.8% 67.4% $181

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Machakos

$76 14.7% 66.5% $152

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Machakos

$66 12.7% 58.1% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Machakos

$54 10.4% 26.1% $19

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Machakos

$4.5 * 0.9% 90.7% $44

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 $1,699 in Barcelona and $94 in Machakos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 5.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $19 in Machakos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $161 per month, with Machakos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇰🇪 Machakos

🕒 Local time

18:33 6:33 PM

20:33 8:33 PM

2 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

114,109

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.9 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.9 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Machakos 5,940 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Machakos

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 Machakos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $520 in Machakos, so Machakos is about 79% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 5.7 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $94 in Machakos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $46 in Machakos. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Machakos – a meal for two runs $19 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $520 in Machakos versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $800 budget is realistic in Machakos but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Machakos 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 Machakos are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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