Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Otsu

For one person, living is cheaper in Otsu: $1,297 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $13,900 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
63

Cost of Living Index in Otsu
Learn more

Otsu Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Otsu

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,297

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Otsu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,297 in Otsu.

Barcelona $2,453
Otsu $1,297

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,890 in Otsu.

Barcelona $3,509
Otsu $1,890

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,482 in Otsu.

Barcelona $4,564
Otsu $2,482

Living in Barcelona is roughly 89% more expensive than in Otsu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Otsu is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$8.43 ¥1,330

108.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$31.93 ¥5,041

111.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$5.13 ¥810

163.74%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$3.12 ¥493

2.24%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$1.18 ¥187

146.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.90 ¥142

110.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$3.19 ¥504

25.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$4.51 ¥712

0.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.53 ¥242

-14.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.55 ¥245

30.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$4.52 ¥714

-59.07%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$2.14 ¥338

125.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$15.67 ¥2,474

6.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$6.88 ¥1,086

32.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$17.21 ¥2,717

14.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$4.95 ¥781

-39.80%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.49 ¥392

-18.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$4.97 ¥784

-45.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$4.42 ¥698

-36.65%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.20 ¥348

-5.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.87 ¥295

10.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.19 ¥187

22.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.87 ¥137

8.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$3.97 ¥626

73.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$9.69 ¥1,529

-18.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.06 ¥325

-31.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$2.19 ¥345

15.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.49 ¥235

110.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$57.5 ¥9,077

-55.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$3.26 ¥514

-8.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.85 ¥449

-47.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$28.41 ¥4,485

17.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.12 ¥177

60.71%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$22.2K ¥3.5M

49.74%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$15.3K ¥2.4M

107.69%

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

$180 €162

$118 ¥18.6K

53.27%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$23.18 ¥3,660

-40.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$30.70 ¥4,848

9.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$50.9 ¥8,039

1.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$9.46 ¥1,493

68.71%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$12.85 ¥2,029

-14.47%

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

$917 €823

$700 ¥110.6K

30.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$12.6K ¥2.0M

30.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$55.5 ¥8,764

56.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$36.05 ¥5,691

6.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$69.5 ¥11.0K

52.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$97.1 ¥15.3K

23.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$443 ¥69.9K

283.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$366 ¥57.8K

269.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$623 ¥98.3K

317.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$461 ¥72.8K

347.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$4,199 ¥662.9K

64.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$2,274 ¥359.1K

125.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$1,818 ¥287.0K

21.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

2.1

56.19%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Otsu: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Otsu

$366 28.3% 73% $989

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Otsu

$332 25.6% 3.1% $9.8

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Otsu

$154 11.8% 42.7% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Otsu

$172 13.2% 24.7% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Otsu

$116 9% 26.5% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Otsu

$77 5.9% 4.2% $3.1

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Otsu

$81 6.2% 67% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $443 in Otsu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 22% 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 $32 in Otsu. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $332, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇯🇵 Otsu

🕒 Local time

21:32 9:32 PM

05:32 5:32 AM

8 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

341,314

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Otsu 10,290 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Otsu

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 Otsu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,297 in Otsu, so Otsu is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 22% 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 $443 in Otsu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $700 in Otsu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 3% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Otsu is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Otsu are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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