Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Manakara

For one person, living is cheaper in Manakara: $397 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $24,600 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
19

Cost of Living Index in Manakara
Learn more

Manakara Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Manakara

🇲🇬 Madagascar

$397

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Manakara

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $397 in Manakara.

Barcelona $2,443
Manakara $397

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $609 in Manakara.

Barcelona $3,519
Manakara $609

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $820 in Manakara.

Barcelona $4,595
Manakara $820

Living in Barcelona is roughly 516% more expensive than in Manakara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Manakara is 71% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.69

$2.16 MGA 9,875

717.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €59.9

$14.51 MGA 66.3K

364.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.09

$3.61 MGA 16.5K

277.01%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.75

$1.19 MGA 5,450

160.50%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$0.60 MGA 2,744

400.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.71

$0.53 MGA 2,414

264.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.41

$1.19 MGA 5,455

222.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.87

$1.42 MGA 6,483

207.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.72 MGA 7,874

-27.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.01 MGA 4,626

109.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.73 MGA 3,317

169.86%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.23

$2.25 MGA 10.3K

111.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.16

$6.62 MGA 30.2K

157.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.96

$3.47 MGA 15.9K

158.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.34

$3.55 MGA 16.2K

481.69%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.81

$0.96 MGA 4,372

229.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.72 MGA 3,305

173.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$0.34 MGA 1,572

679.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.56

$0.72 MGA 3,284

300.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$0.55 MGA 2,504

274.55%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$0.77 MGA 3,504

183.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.36

$0.32 MGA 1,461

378.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$0.64 MGA 2,910

51.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.19

$1.42 MGA 6,491

390.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.01

$4.34 MGA 19.9K

81.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.03 MGA 4,708

37.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.25 MGA 5,723

115.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.94

$0.21 MGA 957

1476.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.75

$35.63 MGA 162.9K

-28.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.74

$1.08 MGA 4,954

185.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$2.23 MGA 10.2K

-33.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.20

$3.31 MGA 15.2K

893.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.17 MGA 5,368

59.83%

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

$33.0K €29.3K

$15.2K MGA 69.7M

116.32%

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

$31.9K €28.4K

$20.2K MGA 92.5M

57.88%

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

$183 €162

$41.78 MGA 191.0K

337.65%

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

$14.24 €12.65

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.70

$52.7 MGA 241.0K

-34.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.68

$11.37 MGA 52.0K

352.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.55

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.83

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

$944 €838

$21.87 MGA 100.0K

4214.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €77.9

$16.27 MGA 74.4K

438.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.44

$20.10 MGA 91.9K

92.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €92.9

$45.39 MGA 207.6K

130.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$44.17 MGA 202.0K

166.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,507

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,187

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,391

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,845

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,356

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,512

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,991

$114 MGA 519.3K

1873.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

-86.71%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Manakara: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Manakara

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Manakara

$130 32.7% 60.5% $198

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Manakara

$56 14.1% 79.1% $211

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Manakara

$94 * 23.8% 59.2% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Manakara

$57 14.3% 63.9% $100

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Manakara

$11 * 2.9% 84.5% $62

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Manakara

$49 12.3% 1.3% $0.6

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

Cost Breakdown

Barcelona pays about 20 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $15 in Manakara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $130 per month, with Manakara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇬 Manakara

🕒 Local time

20:23 8:23 PM

22:23 10:23 PM

2 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

44,237

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Malagasy Ariary MGA Ar

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.13 USD

10,000 MGA = 2.19 USD

10,000 MGA = 1.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MGA, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.888 EUR (1 EUR = 1.13 USD).

Malagasy Ariary exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 4,572 MGA (10,000 MGA = 2.19 USD). 1 EUR = 5,147 MGA (10,000 MGA = 1.94 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Manakara 8,500 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Manakara

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 Manakara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $397 in Manakara, so Manakara is about 84% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 20 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $22 in Manakara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 153% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $397 in Manakara versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Manakara but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Manakara 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.

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