Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Manama

For one person, living is cheaper in Manama: $1,561 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 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
75

Cost of Living Index in Manama
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Manama Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Manama

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,561

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Manama

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,561 in Manama.

Barcelona $2,453
Manama $1,561

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,442 in Manama.

Barcelona $3,509
Manama $2,442

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $3,323 in Manama.

Barcelona $4,564
Manama $3,323

Living in Barcelona is roughly 57% more expensive than in Manama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Manama 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$5.17 BHD 1.95

240.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$53.4 BHD 20.14

26.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$7.22 BHD 2.72

87.40%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$5.01 BHD 1.89

-36.33%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.88 BHD 0.33

230.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.32 BHD 0.12

490.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$6.48 BHD 2.45

-38.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$10.09 BHD 3.81

-55.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.39 BHD 0.52

-5.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.05 BHD 0.40

92.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.33 BHD 0.88

-20.60%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.22 BHD 0.84

117.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$8.62 BHD 3.25

94.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$6.58 BHD 2.48

38.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$8.38 BHD 3.16

134.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.39 BHD 0.90

24.69%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.31 BHD 0.87

-12.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.94 BHD 0.73

39.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.38 BHD 0.52

102.90%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.01 BHD 0.38

106.93%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.36 BHD 0.51

52.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.56 BHD 0.59

-6.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.84 BHD 0.32

11.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$5.26 BHD 1.98

30.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$18.18 BHD 6.86

-56.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$3.63 BHD 1.37

-61.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.66 BHD 1.01

-4.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.78 BHD 0.29

302.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$36.65 BHD 13.83

-30.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$5.18 BHD 1.95

-42.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$3.42 BHD 1.29

-56.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$15.82 BHD 5.97

110.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.66 BHD 0.25

172.73%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$25.9K BHD 9,753

28.37%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$19.3K BHD 7,296

63.88%

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

$180 €162

$153 BHD 57.6

18.25%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$24.67 BHD 9.30

-43.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$35.29 BHD 13.31

-4.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$68.9 BHD 25.99

-25.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$30.13 BHD 11.36

-47.03%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$10.78 BHD 4.07

1.95%

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

$917 €821

$622 BHD 235

47.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$10.9K BHD 4,126

50.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$50.1 BHD 18.90

73.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$58.0 BHD 21.89

-33.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$89.1 BHD 33.61

18.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$88.7 BHD 33.45

34.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$1,004 BHD 379

69.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$638 BHD 241

112.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$2,052 BHD 774

26.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$1,303 BHD 491

58.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$2,590 BHD 977

166.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$1,974 BHD 744

159.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$2,384 BHD 899

-7.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

6.21

-47.18%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Manama: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Manama

$638 40.9% 52.9% $717

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Manama

$249 16% 22.7% $73

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Manama

$181 11.6% 32.6% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Manama

$213 13.6% 6.8% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Manama

$129 8.2% 18.5% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Manama

$90 5.8% 23.1% $17

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Manama

$62 4% 28% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $1,004 in Manama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Manama pays 8% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $53 in Manama for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $249 per month, with Manama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇧🇭 Manama

🕒 Local time

02:54 2:54 AM

04:54 4:54 AM

2 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

157,474 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BHD = 2.65 USD

1 BHD = 2.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Manama 4,710 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Manama

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 Manama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,561 in Manama, so Manama is about 36% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 7% lower in Barcelona. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $1,004 in Manama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $622 in Manama. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 29% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Manama 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 Manama are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.