Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Nanning

For one person, living is cheaper in Nanning: $737 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,600 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Nanning
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Nanning Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Nanning

🇨🇳 China

$737

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Nanning

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $737 in Nanning.

Barcelona $2,453
Nanning $737

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,176 in Nanning.

Barcelona $3,509
Nanning $1,176

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,615 in Nanning.

Barcelona $4,564
Nanning $1,615

Living in Barcelona is roughly 233% more expensive than in Nanning, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$2.97 ¥19.73

492.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$20.42 ¥136

230.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.76 ¥38.31

134.90%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.33 ¥15.51

36.91%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.56 ¥3.70

419.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.27 ¥1.78

600.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$0.88 ¥5.84

355.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.30 ¥15.29

96.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.24 ¥14.91

-41.52%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.23 ¥14.86

-9.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.13 ¥7.54

63.72%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.93 ¥12.85

150.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$10.30 ¥68.5

62.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$3.93 ¥26.14

132.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$17.63 ¥117

11.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.89 ¥12.57

57.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.31 ¥8.73

54.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.52 ¥10.11

77.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.68 ¥11.17

66.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.97 ¥6.45

115.46%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.21 ¥8.05

71.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.57 ¥3.80

156.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.63 ¥4.22

49.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$4.07 ¥27.10

68.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$14.93 ¥99.3

-47.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.93 ¥6.22

51.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.65 ¥10.96

53.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.50 ¥3.30

528.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$15.90 ¥106

60.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.37 ¥9.13

118.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.46 ¥3.09

223.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$7.48 ¥49.76

346.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.30 ¥8.62

38.46%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$23.2K ¥154.6K

42.85%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$13.2K ¥88.2K

139.28%

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

$180 €162

$33.66 ¥224

435.98%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$14.52 ¥96.6

-4.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$10.84 ¥72.2

210.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$76.0 ¥506

-32.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$7.43 ¥49.41

114.80%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$6.93 ¥46.14

58.59%

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

$917 €821

$304 ¥2,020

201.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$4,423 ¥29.4K

272.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$19.68 ¥131

342.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$29.48 ¥196

30.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$65.5 ¥436

61.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$72.4 ¥481

65.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$251 ¥1,669

577.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$156 ¥1,036

770.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$388 ¥2,580

571.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$294 ¥1,959

600.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$3,516 ¥23.4K

96.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$1,577 ¥10.5K

225.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$667 ¥4,438

231.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.63

-9.64%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Nanning: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Nanning

$156 21.1% 88.5% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Nanning

$245 33.3% 23.8% $77

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Nanning

$81 11% 69.7% $187

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Nanning

$59 8% 74.1% $169

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Nanning

$84 11.4% 46.7% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Nanning

$90 12.2% 22.2% $16

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Nanning

$22 2.9% 55.5% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $251 in Nanning. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 3.3 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 $20 in Nanning for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $245 per month, with Nanning cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Nanning

🕒 Local time

20:38 8:38 PM

03:38 3:38 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

8,741,584

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Nanning 9,600 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
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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 Nanning: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $737 in Nanning, so Nanning is about 70% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 3.3 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 $251 in Nanning. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $304 in Nanning. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $737 in Nanning versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Nanning but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Nanning 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.

Expats usually find Nanning 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.