Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Nanjing

For one person, living is cheaper in Nanjing: $838 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,400 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Nanjing
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Nanjing Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Nanjing

🇨🇳 China

$838

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Nanjing

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $838 in Nanjing.

Barcelona $2,453
Nanjing $838

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,317 in Nanjing.

Barcelona $3,509
Nanjing $1,317

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,797 in Nanjing.

Barcelona $4,564
Nanjing $1,797

Living in Barcelona is roughly 193% more expensive than in Nanjing, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Nanjing is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.69

$3.84 ¥25.49

358.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.2

$22.82 ¥151

195.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.07

$4.78 ¥31.70

183.05%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.85

$3.17 ¥21.03

0.63%

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

$2.91 €2.60

$0.54 ¥3.59

438.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.69

$0.27 ¥1.81

600.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.58

$1.54 ¥10.23

160.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.04

$2.27 ¥15.05

99.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.16

$2.09 ¥13.86

-37.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.80

$2.07 ¥13.74

-2.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.65

$0.91 ¥6.04

103.30%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.31

$1.36 ¥9.03

255.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.93

$10.45 ¥69.3

60.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.14

$2.96 ¥19.66

208.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.52

$8.81 ¥58.5

122.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.66

$2.09 ¥13.89

42.58%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.30 ¥8.60

55.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.41

$1.81 ¥12.00

49.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.50

$1.06 ¥7.05

164.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.86

$0.90 ¥5.95

132.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.95 ¥6.31

117.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.93 ¥6.18

56.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.53 ¥3.49

77.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.13

$3.85 ¥25.57

78.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$13.42 ¥89.1

-41.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.25

$1.00 ¥6.65

41.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.26

$1.51 ¥10.02

68.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.80

$0.31 ¥2.06

912.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.70

$30.16 ¥200

-15.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.67

$1.70 ¥11.27

75.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.33

$0.38 ¥2.54

292.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.78

$9.16 ¥60.8

264.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.60

$1.36 ¥9.01

32.35%

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

$33.2K €29.6K

$19.6K ¥130.3K

69.06%

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

$31.7K €28.3K

$17.7K ¥117.2K

79.49%

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

$180 €161

$53.8 ¥357

235.33%

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

$13.84 €12.35

$7.62 ¥50.6

81.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.06

$7.14 ¥47.37

371.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €45.96

$28.75 ¥191

79.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.24

$34.96 ¥232

-54.35%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.81

$6.17 ¥40.98

78.12%

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

$917 €818

$1,461 ¥9,696

-37.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$22.8K ¥151.7K

-27.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.7

$43.23 ¥287

101.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.35

$34.43 ¥229

11.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.4

$64.2 ¥426

64.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$88.8 ¥590

34.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,516

$490 ¥3,250

247.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,209

$287 ¥1,908

371.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,322

$1,031 ¥6,839

152.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,840

$531 ¥3,524

288.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,169

$4,837 ¥32.1K

42.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,575

$3,107 ¥20.6K

65.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,972

$1,450 ¥9,620

52.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.42

-4.09%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Nanjing: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Nanjing

$287 34.3% 78.8% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Nanjing

$204 24.3% 36.8% $118

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Nanjing

$99 11.8% 63.2% $169

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Nanjing

$69 8.2% 69.9% $159

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Nanjing

$104 12.4% 34.3% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Nanjing

$41 4.9% 44.1% $32

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Nanjing

$35 4.2% 27.7% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $490 in Nanjing. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 53% 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 $23 in Nanjing for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $204 per month, with Nanjing cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Nanjing

🕒 Local time

16:18 4:18 PM

23:18 11:18 PM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

9,314,685

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.151 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Nanjing 9,590 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Nanjing: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $838 in Nanjing, so Nanjing is about 66% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 53% higher in Barcelona, 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 $490 in Nanjing. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $1,461 in Nanjing. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 58% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $838 in Nanjing versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Nanjing but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Nanjing 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.

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