Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

For one person, living is cheaper in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos: $956 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,800 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
46

Cost of Living Index in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos
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Madinat As Sultan Qaboos Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

🇴🇲 Oman

$956

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

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 Madinat As Sultan Qaboos actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $956 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos.

Barcelona $2,443
Madinat As Sultan Qaboos $956

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,434 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos.

Barcelona $3,519
Madinat As Sultan Qaboos $1,434

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $1,911 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos.

Barcelona $4,595
Madinat As Sultan Qaboos $1,911

Living in Barcelona is roughly 156% more expensive than in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Madinat As Sultan Qaboos is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.71

$5.35 OMR 2.06

230.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.0

$38.48 OMR 14.81

75.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.12

$7.89 OMR 3.04

72.50%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.76

$5.01 OMR 1.93

-38.12%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$0.91 OMR 0.35

229.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.71

$0.29 OMR 0.11

565.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.42

$13.09 OMR 5.04

-70.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.88

$13.26 OMR 5.10

-67.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$2.29 OMR 0.88

-45.41%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.24 OMR 0.48

70.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.91 OMR 0.73

3.14%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.24

$3.08 OMR 1.19

54.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.19

$7.12 OMR 2.74

139.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.97

$7.14 OMR 2.75

25.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.38

$10.13 OMR 3.90

103.85%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.81

$3.65 OMR 1.40

-13.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$2.01 OMR 0.77

-1.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.39 OMR 0.92

10.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$1.30 OMR 0.50

121.54%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$1.17 OMR 0.45

76.07%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$1.28 OMR 0.49

70.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.82 OMR 0.70

-15.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$0.65 OMR 0.25

49.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.20

$6.55 OMR 2.52

6.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.02

$15.39 OMR 5.92

-48.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$5.94 OMR 2.29

-76.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$10.26 OMR 3.95

-73.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.94

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.79

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.74

$3.23 OMR 1.24

-4.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$2.53 OMR 0.97

-41.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.25

$7.92 OMR 3.05

315.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.61 OMR 0.23

206.56%

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

$33.0K €29.3K

$25.2K OMR 9,707

30.74%

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

$31.9K €28.4K

$20.7K OMR 7,962

54.47%

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

$183 €163

$180 OMR 69.2

1.79%

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

$14.24 €12.67

$30.21 OMR 11.63

-52.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.76

$70.4 OMR 27.11

-50.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.76

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.58

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.85

$10.58 OMR 4.07

4.54%

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

$944 €840

$492 OMR 190

91.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

$10.4K OMR 4,002

114.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.0

$56.7 OMR 21.81

54.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.51

$43.66 OMR 16.81

-11.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.0

$88.6 OMR 34.11

18.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$87.0 OMR 33.51

35.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,510

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,190

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,396

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,848

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,367

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,520

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,995

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

5.25

-39.24%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Madinat As Sultan Qaboos: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$291 30.5% 11.1% $37

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$223 23.4% 16.4% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$280 29.3% 21% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$124 13% 20.9% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$21 * 2.2% 71.2% $52

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$16 * 1.7% 67.8% $33

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $38 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $291 per month, with Madinat As Sultan Qaboos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇴🇲 Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

🕒 Local time

01:22 1:22 AM

04:22 4:22 AM

3 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.31 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Madinat As Sultan Qaboos 5,530 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

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 Madinat As Sultan Qaboos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $956 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos, so Madinat As Sultan Qaboos is about 61% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,664 in Barcelona and $1,434 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos 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.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $492 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos – a meal for two runs $38 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Madinat As Sultan Qaboos is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Madinat As Sultan Qaboos are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.