Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Malindi

For one person, living is cheaper in Malindi: $517 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 Malindi
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Malindi Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Malindi

🇰🇪 Kenya

$517

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Malindi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $517 in Malindi.

Barcelona $2,453
Malindi $517

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $803 in Malindi.

Barcelona $3,509
Malindi $803

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,090 in Malindi.

Barcelona $4,564
Malindi $1,090

Living in Barcelona is roughly 375% more expensive than in Malindi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$2.14 KES 277

721.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$25.30 KES 3,284

166.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$10.44 KES 1,355

29.60%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.70 KES 351

18.15%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.68 KES 88.5

327.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.52 KES 67.1

263.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$2.29 KES 298

75.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$3.23 KES 419

40.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$0.90 KES 117

45.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.50 KES 64.3

304.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.25 KES 162

48.00%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.83 KES 237

163.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$11.40 KES 1,480

46.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$4.98 KES 647

83.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$4.89 KES 635

301.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.07 KES 269

43.96%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.78 KES 101

158.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.76 KES 228

53.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$0.71 KES 91.7

294.37%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.72 KES 93.7

190.28%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.65 KES 84.0

218.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.59 KES 77.1

147.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.45 KES 58.8

108.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$4.16 KES 540

65.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$9.83 KES 1,276

-19.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.01 KES 261

-29.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.96 KES 384

-14.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$3.14 KES 408

-4.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.78 KES 231

-16.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$4.59 KES 596

627.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.37 KES 178

31.39%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$12.0K KES 1.6M

175.48%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$12.0K KES 1.6M

164.06%

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

$180 €162

$76.0 KES 9,870

137.26%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$8.99 KES 1,166

53.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$30.23 KES 3,924

11.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$38.62 KES 5,013

33.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$15.42 KES 2,002

-28.73%

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

$917 €821

$85.5 KES 11.1K

972.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$5,381 KES 698.4K

206.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$13.28 KES 1,723

555.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$13.38 KES 1,737

187.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$23.49 KES 3,049

350.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$46.81 KES 6,076

155.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$379 KES 49.2K

587.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

-74.77%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Malindi: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Malindi

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Malindi

$173 33.4% 46.4% $149

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Malindi

$104 20.1% 61.4% $164

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Malindi

$115 22.3% 49.4% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Malindi

$44 8.5% 72.4% $114

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Malindi

$69 13.5% 5.5% $4

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Malindi

$12 * 2.3% 75.2% $36

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $25 in Malindi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $173 per month, with Malindi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇰🇪 Malindi

🕒 Local time

08:14 8:14 AM

10:14 10:14 AM

2 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

117,735

💱 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 = 0.896 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

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Between locations

Barcelona Malindi 6,270 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Malindi

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 Malindi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $517 in Malindi, so Malindi is about 79% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,679 in Barcelona and $775 in Malindi 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 $917 in Barcelona versus $85 in Malindi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Malindi – a meal for two runs $25 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $517 in Malindi versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $800 budget is realistic in Malindi but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Malindi 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.