Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Mbabane

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbabane: $764 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Mbabane
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Mbabane Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Mbabane

🇸🇿 Eswatini

$764

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Mbabane

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $764 in Mbabane.

Barcelona $2,399
Mbabane $764

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $1,223 in Mbabane.

Barcelona $3,410
Mbabane $1,223

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $1,681 in Mbabane.

Barcelona $4,421
Mbabane $1,681

Living in Barcelona is roughly 214% more expensive than in Mbabane, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Mbabane is 43% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$10.22 SZL 168

75.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$33.39 SZL 550

103.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$6.12 SZL 101

116.99%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$2.59 SZL 42.65

25.48%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$1.13 SZL 18.52

166.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.62 SZL 10.15

201.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$2.17 SZL 35.78

77.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$2.36 SZL 38.77

89.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.61 SZL 26.47

-19.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$0.84 SZL 13.84

142.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$1.75 SZL 28.78

-1.71%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$1.83 SZL 30.06

160.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$10.93 SZL 180

53.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$5.72 SZL 94.1

56.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$5.04 SZL 82.9

294.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$1.83 SZL 30.13

62.84%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$0.66 SZL 10.87

207.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.20 SZL 19.83

127.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$1.35 SZL 22.25

98.52%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.32 SZL 21.74

59.09%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.50 SZL 24.67

38.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.67 SZL 11.01

116.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.78 SZL 12.82

14.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$2.77 SZL 45.58

150.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$6.19 SZL 102

25.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.61 SZL 26.49

-9.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.68 SZL 27.63

52.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$0.70 SZL 11.50

327.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.41 SZL 23.15

2.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$3.00 SZL 49.30

1016.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.30 SZL 21.37

37.69%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

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

$30.1K €26.7K

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

$178 €158

$63.9 SZL 1,051

178.46%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$38.35 SZL 631

-65.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$27.56 SZL 454

26.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$22.37 SZL 368

138.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$2.98 SZL 49.10

437.25%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$3.73 SZL 61.5

196.51%

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

$957 €851

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$6,395 SZL 105.3K

159.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$34.61 SZL 570

154.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$15.29 SZL 252

158.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$70.9 SZL 1,167

45.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$53.7 SZL 884

126.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$267 SZL 4,394

519.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$180 SZL 2,956

624.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$454 SZL 7,477

462.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$357 SZL 5,872

436.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$476 SZL 7,840

1429.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$356 SZL 5,855

1328.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

7.25

-54.76%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Mbabane: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Mbabane

$180 23.5% 86.2% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Mbabane

$183 23.9% 42.9% $137

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Mbabane

$154 20.1% 43.1% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Mbabane

$130 17% 42.6% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Mbabane

$79 10.3% 50.4% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Mbabane

$30 3.9% 60.4% $46

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Mbabane

$9.8 * 1.3% 79.3% $38

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 $1,653 in Barcelona and $267 in Mbabane. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $33.00 in Mbabane for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $183 per month, with Mbabane cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇸🇿 Mbabane

🕒 Local time

21:36 9:36 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

94,874 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Eswatini Lilangeni SZL L

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 SZL = 6.08 USD

100 SZL = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SZL, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Eswatini Lilangeni exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.46 SZL (100 SZL = 6.08 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 SZL (100 SZL = 5.4 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Mbabane 8,100 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Mbabane

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 Mbabane: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Mbabane differ by about 214% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $764 including rent). Mbabane is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,599 in Barcelona and $1,146 in Mbabane 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: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $267 in Mbabane. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Mbabane – a meal for two runs $33.00 versus $68.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,399 per month in Barcelona versus $764 in Mbabane – a 214% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $764 in Mbabane versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Mbabane but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Mbabane 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 Mbabane 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 Mbabane gentler on the wallet – expenses run 214% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.