Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Oskemen

For one person, living is cheaper in Oskemen: $904 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Oskemen
Learn more

Oskemen Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Oskemen

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$904

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Oskemen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $904 in Oskemen.

Barcelona $2,381
Oskemen $904

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $1,517 in Oskemen.

Barcelona $3,406
Oskemen $1,517

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $2,131 in Oskemen.

Barcelona $4,431
Oskemen $2,131

Living in Barcelona is roughly 163% more expensive than in Oskemen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Oskemen is 33% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$13.29 ₸6,010

34.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$26.05 ₸11.8K

153.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$3.90 ₸1,764

251.03%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.42 ₸1,547

-10.53%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$0.98 ₸444

213.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.55 ₸248

252.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$1.58 ₸716

144.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$1.69 ₸766

172.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.45 ₸656

-10.34%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$0.49 ₸223

328.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$1.37 ₸618

33.58%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$1.76 ₸795

162.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$10.07 ₸4,554

72.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$5.93 ₸2,681

56.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$8.02 ₸3,624

147.26%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$1.17 ₸530

157.26%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$2.01 ₸907

1.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.72 ₸1,230

-2.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$2.52 ₸1,140

13.89%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.94 ₸425

129.79%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$0.52 ₸236

313.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$0.32 ₸145

359.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.05 ₸476

-16.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$2.23 ₸1,006

210.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$4.87 ₸2,201

60.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.45 ₸656

-4.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$1.62 ₸733

62.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$0.24 ₸108

1112.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$1.13 ₸511

165.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.32 ₸146

350.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$2.47 ₸1,119

1244.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.66 ₸297

181.82%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$32.4K ₸14.7M

-0.25%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$31.1K ₸14.1M

1.92%

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

$183 €163

$46.60 ₸21.1K

292.19%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$11.54 ₸5,217

17.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$22.44 ₸10.1K

46.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$26.34 ₸11.9K

107.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$19.83 ₸8,964

-16.69%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$5.09 ₸2,301

120.63%

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

$954 €849

$66.0 ₸29.8K

1346.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$2,835 ₸1.3M

485.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$112 ₸50.8K

-23.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$81.0 ₸36.6K

-51.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$97.9 ₸44.3K

5.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$121 ₸54.7K

-1.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$339 ₸153.3K

399.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$226 ₸102.2K

464.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$675 ₸305.0K

281.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$572 ₸258.6K

236.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$1,107 ₸500.3K

557.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$838 ₸378.8K

497.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$800 ₸361.6K

178.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

19.5

-83.18%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Oskemen: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Oskemen

$226 25% 82.3% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Oskemen

$195 21.6% 39.9% $130

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Oskemen

$177 19.5% 34.5% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Oskemen

$81 8.9% 64.9% $149

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Oskemen

$185 20.5% 18.6% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Oskemen

$37 4% 52.7% $41

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Oskemen

$3.7 * 0.4% 92.2% $44

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 $1,695 in Barcelona and $339 in Oskemen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 178% 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: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $26.00 in Oskemen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $195 per month, with Oskemen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇰🇿 Oskemen

🕒 Local time

14:31 2:31 PM

18:31 6:31 PM

4 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

354,770

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KZT, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 452 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD). 1 EUR = 508 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Oskemen 6,020 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Oskemen

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 Oskemen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Oskemen differ by about 163% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $904 including rent). Oskemen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 178% 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $339 in Oskemen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $66.0 in Oskemen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Oskemen – a meal for two runs $26.00 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $904 in Oskemen versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Oskemen but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Oskemen 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 Oskemen 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 Oskemen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 163% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.