Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Maputo

For one person, living is cheaper in Maputo: $1,127 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Maputo
Learn more

Maputo Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Maputo

🇲🇿 Mozambique

$1,127

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Maputo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,127 in Maputo.

Barcelona $2,453
Maputo $1,127

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,729 in Maputo.

Barcelona $3,509
Maputo $1,729

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,331 in Maputo.

Barcelona $4,564
Maputo $2,331

Living in Barcelona is roughly 118% more expensive than in Maputo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Maputo is 17% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$10.08 MZN 637

74.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$63.4 MZN 4,010

6.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$7.01 MZN 443

93.01%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.17 MZN 137

47.00%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.81 MZN 51.5

259.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.69 MZN 43.66

173.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.60 MZN 101

150.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.39 MZN 151

89.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.60 MZN 101

-18.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.99 MZN 62.4

104.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.59 MZN 101

16.35%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.47 MZN 156

95.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$20.84 MZN 1,318

-19.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$5.70 MZN 361

60.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$5.68 MZN 360

245.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.97 MZN 125

51.27%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.76 MZN 48.10

165.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.68 MZN 106

60.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.09 MZN 69.0

156.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.00 MZN 63.3

109.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.81 MZN 51.1

155.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.98 MZN 62.2

48.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.85 MZN 54.0

10.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$2.78 MZN 176

147.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$10.18 MZN 644

-22.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.01 MZN 64.0

39.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.29 MZN 81.5

96.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.22 MZN 13.89

1327.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$23.85 MZN 1,508

6.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.60 MZN 101

86.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.19 MZN 75.5

25.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$24.69 MZN 1,562

35.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.36 MZN 86.2

32.35%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$31.3K MZN 2.0M

5.96%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$23.0K MZN 1.5M

37.85%

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

$180 €162

$70.3 MZN 4,444

156.77%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$7.64 MZN 483

81.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$88.1 MZN 5,573

-61.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$42.70 MZN 2,701

20.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$26.59 MZN 1,682

-39.98%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$7.69 MZN 486

42.91%

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

$917 €821

$174 MZN 11.0K

428.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$5,168 MZN 326.9K

218.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$50.2 MZN 3,177

73.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$56.0 MZN 3,540

-31.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$79.6 MZN 5,035

32.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$79.2 MZN 5,007

51.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$547 MZN 34.6K

210.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$381 MZN 24.1K

255.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$1,059 MZN 67.0K

145.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$558 MZN 35.3K

269.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$4,188 MZN 264.9K

65.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$2,047 MZN 129.5K

150.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$326 MZN 20.6K

578.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

-86.88%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Maputo: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Maputo

$381 33.8% 71.9% $974

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Maputo

$224 19.9% 30.5% $98

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Maputo

$147 13% 45.3% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Maputo

$166 14.7% 27.2% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Maputo

$119 10.6% 24.5% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Maputo

$58 5.2% 21% $15

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Maputo

$32 2.9% 33.4% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $547 in Maputo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 6.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $63 in Maputo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $224 per month, with Maputo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇿 Maputo

🕒 Local time

17:20 5:20 PM

18:20 6:20 PM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,244,227 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mozambican Metical MZN MT

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MZN = 1.58 USD

100 MZN = 1.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MZN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mozambican Metical exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 63.25 MZN (100 MZN = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 70.62 MZN (100 MZN = 1.42 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Maputo 8,120 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Maputo

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 Maputo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,127 in Maputo, so Maputo is about 54% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 6.8 times higher, 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $547 in Maputo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $174 in Maputo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 44% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,127 in Maputo versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Maputo but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Maputo 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.

Expats usually find Maputo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.