Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Manila

For one person, living is cheaper in Manila: $931 a month against $2,405 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,700 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
46

Cost of Living Index in Manila
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Manila Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,405

/mo nomad

Manila

🇵🇭 Philippines

$931

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Manila

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,405 in Barcelona versus $931 in Manila.

Barcelona $2,405
Manila $931

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,477 in Barcelona versus $1,519 in Manila.

Barcelona $3,477
Manila $1,519

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,550 in Barcelona versus $2,106 in Manila.

Barcelona $4,550
Manila $2,106

Living in Barcelona is roughly 158% more expensive than in Manila, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 79% above, Manila is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.98 €16.05

$5.61 ₱352

220.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 €60.2

$27.39 ₱1,718

146.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.37 €11.93

$3.95 ₱248

238.48%

Cappuccino

$3.34 €2.98

$2.56 ₱161

30.47%

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

$2.95 €2.64

$1.42 ₱89.1

107.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.69

$0.81 ₱50.9

134.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.88 €3.46

$1.17 ₱73.2

231.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 €4.08

$2.36 ₱148

93.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 €1.13

$1.94 ₱122

-34.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 €1.75

$1.40 ₱88.0

40.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$1.02 ₱64.2

71.57%

Eggs

$4.89 €4.36

$2.29 ₱144

113.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.47 €15.59

$7.86 ₱493

122.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.06 €8.09

$4.89 ₱307

85.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.18 €18.01

$6.77 ₱425

198.08%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 €2.75

$3.38 ₱212

-8.88%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.85 ₱116

9.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.60 €2.32

$2.96 ₱186

-12.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 €2.42

$1.79 ₱112

51.40%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 €1.92

$2.24 ₱140

-4.02%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$2.69 ₱168

-17.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.38

$2.20 ₱138

-30.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 €0.83

$0.59 ₱37.25

57.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.09 €6.32

$3.13 ₱196

126.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.63 €6.81

$9.42 ₱591

-19.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 €1.33

$1.33 ₱83.3

12.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 €2.43

$2.00 ₱125

36.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.95 €2.63

$0.47 ₱29.46

527.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.91 €23.13

$12.58 ₱789

105.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.13 €2.80

$0.78 ₱48.77

301.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.23 ₱14.43

530.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.17 €30.49

$1.94 ₱122

1661.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.60

$1.33 ₱83.5

34.59%

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

$34.7K €31.0K

$21.3K ₱1.3M

62.56%

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

$30.3K €27.0K

$19.7K ₱1.2M

53.89%

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

$181 €161

$121 ₱7,614

48.83%

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

$13.56 €12.10

$16.04 ₱1,006

-15.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.12 €31.34

$24.25 ₱1,521

44.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.2 €47.44

$43.44 ₱2,724

22.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.05 €14.33

$5.90 ₱370

172.03%

Cinema Ticket

$11.37 €10.14

$6.63 ₱416

71.49%

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

$939 €838

$613 ₱38.4K

53.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$8,953 ₱561.6K

84.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.7

$58.2 ₱3,647

51.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.77 €35.49

$27.18 ₱1,704

46.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.3

$77.5 ₱4,862

33.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €107

$57.0 ₱3,574

109.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,513

$534 ₱33.5K

217.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,301 €1,161

$287 ₱18.0K

353.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,299

$1,916 ₱120.2K

34.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,941 €1,732

$677 ₱42.5K

186.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,470 €6,666

$4,439 ₱278.4K

68.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,195 €4,636

$2,556 ₱160.3K

103.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,299 €2,052

$485 ₱30.4K

373.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

7.43

-55.85%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 4, 2026

Last update for Manila: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54%

Manila

$287 30.2% 77.9% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.5%

Manila

$221 23.3% 31.9% $104

Eating Out

Barcelona

$272 11.3%

Manila

$107 11.3% 60.7% $165

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.5%

Manila

$162 17% 29.5% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Manila

$99 10.4% 37.3% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$76 3.2%

Manila

$57 6% 25.3% $19

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Manila

$16 1.7% 65.9% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $534 in Manila. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 374% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $67.0 in Barcelona vs $27.00 in Manila for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $221 per month, with Manila cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇵🇭 Manila

🕒 Local time

09:21 9:21 AM

15:21 3:21 PM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,780,148 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.35 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Manila 11,180 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Manila

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 Manila: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Manila differ by about 158% in total monthly costs ($2,405 vs $931 including rent). Manila is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 374% higher in Barcelona, 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $534 in Manila. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $939 in Barcelona versus $613 in Manila. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 47% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $931 in Manila versus $2,405 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Manila but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Manila 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 Manila are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Manila gentler on the wallet – expenses run 158% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.