Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Mecca

For one person, living is cheaper in Mecca: $1,076 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,500 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Mecca
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Mecca Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Mecca

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,076

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Mecca

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,076 in Mecca.

Barcelona $2,453
Mecca $1,076

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,613 in Mecca.

Barcelona $3,509
Mecca $1,613

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,151 in Mecca.

Barcelona $4,564
Mecca $2,151

Living in Barcelona is roughly 128% more expensive than in Mecca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Mecca is 21% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$4.64 SAR 17.41

279.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$26.18 SAR 98.3

157.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$7.00 SAR 26.27

93.29%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 SAR 5.68

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 SAR 5.86

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.53 SAR 9.50

26.09%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.71 SAR 2.67

309.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.25 SAR 0.94

656.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.69 SAR 6.34

-22.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.96 SAR 3.62

110.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.10 SAR 7.89

-11.90%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.50 SAR 9.39

93.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$5.91 SAR 22.16

183.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$8.18 SAR 30.71

11.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$13.00 SAR 48.78

51.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.09 SAR 7.83

42.58%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.62 SAR 6.07

24.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.60 SAR 5.99

68.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.54 SAR 5.76

81.82%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.17 SAR 4.39

78.63%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.32 SAR 4.94

56.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.09 SAR 4.08

33.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.54 SAR 2.03

74.07%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.24 SAR 15.91

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 SAR 6.62

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 SAR 6.18

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$6.70 SAR 25.16

2.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.09 SAR 4.07

188.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$45.74 SAR 172

-44.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$2.43 SAR 9.11

23.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.77 SAR 6.65

-15.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$13.28 SAR 49.85

151.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.61 SAR 2.27

195.08%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$26.5K SAR 99.5K

25.19%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$21.4K SAR 80.2K

48.30%

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

$180 €162

$67.8 SAR 254

166.25%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$34.99 SAR 131

-60.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$61.9 SAR 232

-45.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$80.8 SAR 303

-36.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$41.97 SAR 158

-61.97%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$12.00 SAR 45.05

-8.42%

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

$917 €821

$757 SAR 2,841

21.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$16.8K SAR 63.0K

-1.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$13.39 SAR 50.3

549.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$56.6 SAR 212

-31.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$39.94 SAR 150

164.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$52.6 SAR 197

127.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$603 SAR 2,265

181.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$386 SAR 1,449

251.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$903 SAR 3,389

188.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$620 SAR 2,327

232.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$5,392 SAR 20.2K

28.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$1,411 SAR 5,294

263.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$1,071 SAR 4,021

106.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.25

-37.52%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mecca: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Mecca

$386 35.9% 71.5% $969

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Mecca

$194 18% 39.8% $128

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Mecca

$92 8.6% 65.5% $176

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Mecca

$165 15.3% 27.8% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Mecca

$73 6.8% 53.7% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Mecca

$105 9.7% 42.6% $31

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Mecca

$61 5.7% 26.6% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $603 in Mecca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.1 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $26 in Mecca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $194 per month, with Mecca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇸🇦 Mecca

🕒 Local time

11:19 11:19 AM

13:19 1:19 PM

2 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,675,368

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Mecca 4,160 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Mecca

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 Mecca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,076 in Mecca, so Mecca is about 56% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.1 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 $603 in Mecca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $757 in Mecca. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 66% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,076 in Mecca versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Mecca but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Mecca 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 Mecca are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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