Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Matsudo

For one person, living is cheaper in Matsudo: $1,239 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,600 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Matsudo
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Matsudo Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Matsudo

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,239

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Matsudo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,239 in Matsudo.

Barcelona $2,453
Matsudo $1,239

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,907 in Matsudo.

Barcelona $3,509
Matsudo $1,907

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,574 in Matsudo.

Barcelona $4,564
Matsudo $2,574

Living in Barcelona is roughly 98% more expensive than in Matsudo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Matsudo is 9% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.69

$6.20 ¥979

183.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.2

$37.45 ¥5,915

80.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.07

$4.94 ¥781

173.89%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.85

$3.54 ¥559

-9.89%

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

$2.91 €2.60

$1.10 ¥174

164.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.69

$0.79 ¥124

139.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.58

$2.58 ¥407

55.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.04

$3.13 ¥495

44.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.16

$1.45 ¥229

-9.66%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.67 ¥264

20.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.65

$3.60 ¥569

-48.61%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.31

$1.99 ¥314

142.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.93

$10.36 ¥1,636

61.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.14

$5.96 ¥941

53.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.52

$14.76 ¥2,331

33.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.66

$4.82 ¥762

-38.17%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$2.27 ¥358

-11.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.41

$2.82 ¥446

-4.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.50

$4.23 ¥668

-33.81%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.86

$2.64 ¥417

-20.83%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$2.66 ¥420

-22.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.19 ¥189

22.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.76 ¥120

23.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.13

$3.78 ¥597

81.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$6.43 ¥1,016

22.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.25

$1.71 ¥271

-17.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.26

$2.01 ¥318

26.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.80

$1.52 ¥239

106.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.70

$57.6 ¥9,094

-55.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.67

$3.15 ¥497

-5.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.33

$2.69 ¥424

-44.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.78

$18.50 ¥2,922

80.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.60

$1.10 ¥173

63.64%

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

$33.2K €29.6K

$21.9K ¥3.5M

51.45%

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

$31.7K €28.3K

$14.9K ¥2.4M

112.09%

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

$180 €161

$135 ¥21.3K

33.46%

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

$13.84 €12.35

$23.07 ¥3,644

-40.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.06

$30.51 ¥4,819

10.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €45.96

$45.93 ¥7,253

12.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.24

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.81

$13.05 ¥2,061

-15.79%

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

$917 €818

$835 ¥131.8K

9.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$14.8K ¥2.3M

11.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.7

$55.8 ¥8,811

56.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.35

$32.81 ¥5,182

17.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.4

$62.5 ¥9,873

69.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$70.7 ¥11.2K

69.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,516

$593 ¥93.7K

186.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,209

$383 ¥60.6K

253.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,322

$904 ¥142.8K

187.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,840

$718 ¥113.4K

187.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,169

$4,478 ¥707.3K

54.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,575

$2,545 ¥401.9K

101.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,972

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

2.25

45.78%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Matsudo: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Matsudo

$383 31% 71.7% $972

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Matsudo

$281 22.7% 12.5% $40

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Matsudo

$134 10.8% 50.1% $134

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Matsudo

$189 15.2% 17.2% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Matsudo

$100 8.1% 36.8% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Matsudo

$72 5.8% 2% $1.5

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Matsudo

$80 6.5% 65.5% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $593 in Matsudo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $37 in Matsudo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $281 per month, with Matsudo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇯🇵 Matsudo

🕒 Local time

15:21 3:21 PM

23:21 11:21 PM

8 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

485,803

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.67 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Matsudo 10,410 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Matsudo

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 Matsudo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,239 in Matsudo, so Matsudo is about 49% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,679 in Barcelona and $1,859 in Matsudo 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $593 in Matsudo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $835 in Matsudo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 14% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,239 in Matsudo versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Matsudo but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Matsudo 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 Matsudo are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.