Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Mashhad, Iraq

For one person, living is cheaper in Mashhad: $756 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,200 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Mashhad
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Mashhad Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Mashhad

🇮🇶 Iraq

$756

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Mashhad

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $756 in Mashhad.

Barcelona $2,443
Mashhad $756

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,119 in Mashhad.

Barcelona $3,519
Mashhad $1,119

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $1,481 in Mashhad.

Barcelona $4,595
Mashhad $1,481

Living in Barcelona is roughly 223% more expensive than in Mashhad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Mashhad is 44% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.75

$4.49 IQD 6,781

293.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.2

$26.73 IQD 40.4K

152.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.14

$6.73 IQD 10.2K

102.23%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.77

$2.71 IQD 4,100

14.39%

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

$3.00 €2.68

$0.36 IQD 542

733.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$0.20 IQD 302

865.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.43

$3.37 IQD 5,090

13.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.89

$3.39 IQD 5,126

28.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$0.91 IQD 1,368

37.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.90

$0.73 IQD 1,106

190.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.32 IQD 1,997

49.24%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.25

$0.82 IQD 1,242

480.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.22

$3.41 IQD 5,157

400.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.99

$1.98 IQD 2,985

352.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.42

$2.95 IQD 4,463

600.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.82

$1.03 IQD 1,556

206.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.91 IQD 1,377

116.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$0.87 IQD 1,321

204.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$0.64 IQD 971

350.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.84

$0.59 IQD 898

249.15%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.95

$0.56 IQD 840

289.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$0.31 IQD 474

393.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.87

$0.21 IQD 321

361.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.21

$0.77 IQD 1,168

805.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$11.82 IQD 17.9K

-33.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.92 IQD 2,898

-26.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.40

$1.87 IQD 2,832

43.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.95

$0.34 IQD 520

873.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.84

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.75

$1.96 IQD 2,965

57.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$1.31 IQD 1,972

12.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.32

$6.42 IQD 9,699

411.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.54 IQD 810

246.30%

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

$33.0K €29.4K

$16.8K IQD 25.4M

96.30%

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

$31.9K €28.5K

$16.5K IQD 25.0M

93.32%

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

$183 €163

$191 IQD 288.5K

-4.24%

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

$14.24 €12.70

$19.44 IQD 29.4K

-26.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.83

$38.59 IQD 58.3K

-10.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.87

$36.79 IQD 55.6K

39.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.62

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.87

$9.69 IQD 14.6K

14.14%

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

$944 €842

$143 IQD 215.6K

561.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.9K

$3,191 IQD 4.8M

597.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.2

$25.57 IQD 38.6K

242.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.59

$34.03 IQD 51.4K

13.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$58.7 IQD 88.8K

78.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$42.44 IQD 64.1K

177.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,514

$212 IQD 319.9K

701.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,192

$139 IQD 210.6K

859.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,401

$378 IQD 571.7K

611.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,853

$319 IQD 482.6K

550.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,382

$862 IQD 1.3M

730.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,530

$491 IQD 742.5K

933.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,999

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

4.12

-22.57%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Mashhad: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Mashhad

$139 18.4% 89.6% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Mashhad

$115 15.2% 64.9% $213

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Mashhad

$115 15.1% 57.1% $152

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Mashhad

$249 32.9% 7.5% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Mashhad

$72 9.6% 53.9% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Mashhad

$56 7.4% 23.6% $17

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Mashhad

$9.9 * 1.3% 80% $39

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $212 in Mashhad. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $27 in Mashhad for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $115 per month, with Mashhad cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇮🇶 Mashhad

🕒 Local time

09:16 9:16 AM

11:16 11:16 AM

2 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

13,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.9 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IQD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,694 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.9 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Mashhad 3,530 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Mashhad

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 Mashhad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $756 in Mashhad, so Mashhad is about 69% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,664 in Barcelona and $1,134 in Mashhad to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $212 in Mashhad. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $143 in Mashhad. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mashhad – a meal for two runs $27 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $756 in Mashhad versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Mashhad but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Mashhad 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 Mashhad are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.