Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Marrakech

For one person, living is cheaper in Marrakech: $934 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,200 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
45

Cost of Living Index in Marrakech
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Marrakech Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Marrakech

🇲🇦 Morocco

$934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Marrakech

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $934 in Marrakech.

Barcelona $2,453
Marrakech $934

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,350 in Marrakech.

Barcelona $3,509
Marrakech $1,350

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,766 in Marrakech.

Barcelona $4,564
Marrakech $1,766

Living in Barcelona is roughly 163% more expensive than in Marrakech, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Marrakech is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$3.81 MAD 37.50

361.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$30.09 MAD 296

124.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$5.98 MAD 58.9

126.25%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$2.34 MAD 23.03

36.32%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$1.85 MAD 18.22

57.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.67 MAD 6.62

182.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$6.72 MAD 66.1

-40.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$5.58 MAD 55.0

-18.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$0.82 MAD 8.04

59.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.79 MAD 7.81

155.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.54 MAD 15.16

20.13%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$1.97 MAD 19.44

145.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$7.72 MAD 76.0

116.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$5.35 MAD 52.7

70.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$11.57 MAD 114

69.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$1.61 MAD 15.88

85.09%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.35 MAD 13.27

49.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$0.92 MAD 9.10

193.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$0.78 MAD 7.69

258.97%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.72 MAD 7.09

190.28%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$0.80 MAD 7.85

158.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.25 MAD 2.47

484.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.57 MAD 5.60

64.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$3.99 MAD 39.28

72.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$7.69 MAD 75.7

2.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.19 MAD 21.58

-35.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$3.23 MAD 31.77

-21.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.39 MAD 3.84

705.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$31.05 MAD 306

-18.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$0.86 MAD 8.43

247.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.60 MAD 5.89

148.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$6.98 MAD 68.8

378.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.47 MAD 14.43

22.45%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$30.3K MAD 298.2K

9.61%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$30.8K MAD 303.2K

2.96%

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

$180 €162

$35.37 MAD 348

410.07%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$8.80 MAD 86.6

57.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$36.26 MAD 357

-7.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$28.33 MAD 279

81.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$20.59 MAD 203

-22.49%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$6.41 MAD 63.1

71.45%

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

$917 €823

$99.4 MAD 979

821.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$8,210 MAD 80.9K

100.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$31.09 MAD 306

179.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$43.39 MAD 427

-11.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$82.3 MAD 810

28.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$80.1 MAD 789

49.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$518 MAD 5,101

228.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$355 MAD 3,495

281.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$720 MAD 7,090

261.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$449 MAD 4,422

359.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$1,866 MAD 18.4K

270.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$1,062 MAD 10.5K

382.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$489 MAD 4,817

351.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.5

-27.11%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Marrakech: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Marrakech

$355 38% 73.8% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Marrakech

$183 19.6% 43.2% $139

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Marrakech

$131 14.1% 51% $137

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Marrakech

$80 8.6% 64.7% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Marrakech

$107 11.4% 32.5% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Marrakech

$41 4.4% 44% $32

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Marrakech

$36 3.9% 24.8% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $518 in Marrakech. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 4.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $30 in Marrakech for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $183 per month, with Marrakech cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇦 Marrakech

🕒 Local time

16:28 4:28 PM

15:28 3:28 PM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,002,697

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 MAD = 10.15 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.85 MAD (1 MAD = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Marrakech 1,410 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Marrakech

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 Marrakech: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Marrakech differ by about 163% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $934 including rent). Marrakech is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 4.5 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 $518 in Marrakech. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $99 in Marrakech. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 76% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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 Marrakech are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

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