Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Meknes

For one person, living is cheaper in Meknes: $732 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,700 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Meknes
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Meknes Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Meknes

🇲🇦 Morocco

$732

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Meknes

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $732 in Meknes.

Barcelona $2,453
Meknes $732

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,096 in Meknes.

Barcelona $3,509
Meknes $1,096

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,460 in Meknes.

Barcelona $4,564
Meknes $1,460

Living in Barcelona is roughly 235% more expensive than in Meknes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Meknes is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$2.59 MAD 25.49

579.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$15.47 MAD 152

336.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$6.21 MAD 61.0

117.87%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$1.76 MAD 17.34

81.25%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.95 MAD 9.30

206.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.55 MAD 5.39

243.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$2.98 MAD 29.29

34.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$3.63 MAD 35.71

24.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$0.80 MAD 7.85

63.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.37 MAD 3.67

445.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.28 MAD 12.54

44.53%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.79 MAD 17.61

169.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$11.05 MAD 109

51.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$5.13 MAD 50.4

77.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$9.13 MAD 89.8

115.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.19 MAD 11.69

150.42%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.31 MAD 12.91

54.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$0.65 MAD 6.35

315.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$0.71 MAD 6.97

294.37%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.56 MAD 5.54

273.21%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.51 MAD 5.02

305.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.48 MAD 4.75

204.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.54 MAD 5.30

74.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$3.98 MAD 39.11

72.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$8.07 MAD 79.4

-2.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.36 MAD 23.20

-40.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.61 MAD 25.61

-2.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.39 MAD 3.87

705.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$15.11 MAD 148

68.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$0.69 MAD 6.74

333.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.32 MAD 3.17

365.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$4.56 MAD 44.84

631.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.38 MAD 13.54

30.43%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$31.0K MAD 304.2K

7.24%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$30.4K MAD 298.6K

4.36%

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

$180 €162

$45.53 MAD 448

296.24%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$9.78 MAD 96.2

41.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$37.13 MAD 365

-9.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$27.67 MAD 272

86.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$31.74 MAD 312

-49.72%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$4.18 MAD 41.08

162.92%

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

$917 €821

$122 MAD 1,204

648.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$5,612 MAD 55.2K

193.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$58.2 MAD 572

49.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$44.01 MAD 433

-12.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$90.6 MAD 890

16.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$60.2 MAD 592

98.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$343 MAD 3,369

395.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$207 MAD 2,039

553.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$600 MAD 5,898

333.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$323 MAD 3,179

537.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$950 MAD 9,337

627.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$592 MAD 5,818

766.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$468 MAD 4,604

371.99%

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 Meknes: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Meknes

$207 28.3% 84.7% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Meknes

$174 23.8% 45.8% $147

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Meknes

$89 12.1% 66.9% $179

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Meknes

$92 12.6% 59.4% $136

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Meknes

$114 15.6% 27.9% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Meknes

$36 4.9% 51% $37

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Meknes

$19 2.6% 60.8% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $343 in Meknes. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 4.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $15 in Meknes for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $174 per month, with Meknes cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇦 Meknes

🕒 Local time

09:58 9:58 AM

08:58 8:58 AM

1 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

520,428

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MAD = 10.17 USD

100 MAD = 9.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 9.83 MAD (1 MAD = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.98 MAD (100 MAD = 9.11 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Meknes 1,070 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Meknes

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 Meknes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $732 in Meknes, so Meknes is about 70% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 4.7 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 $343 in Meknes. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $122 in Meknes. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 85% 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 Meknes are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Meknes gentler on the wallet – expenses run 70% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.