Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Papeete

For one person, living is cheaper in Papeete: $2,283 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
109

Cost of Living Index in Papeete
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Papeete Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Papeete

🇵🇫 French Polynesia

$2,283

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Papeete

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $2,283 in Papeete.

Barcelona $2,453
Papeete $2,283

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $3,451 in Papeete.

Barcelona $3,509
Papeete $3,451

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $4,620 in Papeete.

Barcelona $4,564
Papeete $4,620

Living in Barcelona is roughly 7% more expensive than in Papeete, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Papeete 68% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$18.56 CFPF 1,980

-5.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$95.4 CFPF 10.2K

-29.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$14.54 CFPF 1,551

-6.95%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$3.41 CFPF 364

-6.45%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$2.62 CFPF 280

11.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$3.25 CFPF 346

-41.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$3.35 CFPF 358

19.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$3.76 CFPF 402

20.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.49 CFPF 159

-12.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.75 CFPF 293

-26.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.61 CFPF 171

14.91%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$6.36 CFPF 678

-24.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$27.25 CFPF 2,907

-38.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$15.12 CFPF 1,613

-39.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$26.88 CFPF 2,868

-26.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$4.79 CFPF 512

-37.79%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.42 CFPF 258

-16.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$6.39 CFPF 682

-57.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$7.76 CFPF 828

-63.92%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.64 CFPF 282

-20.83%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$2.18 CFPF 233

-5.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$3.65 CFPF 390

-60.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.14 CFPF 121

-17.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$12.97 CFPF 1,384

-47.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$21.00 CFPF 2,240

-62.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.69 CFPF 287

-47.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$3.19 CFPF 340

-20.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.91 CFPF 204

64.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$9.23 CFPF 984

-67.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.51 CFPF 161

19.21%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$18.4K CFPF 2.0M

80.49%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$27.8K CFPF 3.0M

14.11%

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

$180 €162

$179 CFPF 19.1K

0.56%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$19.50 CFPF 2,081

-29.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$70.8 CFPF 7,549

-52.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$84.0 CFPF 8,963

-38.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$14.21 CFPF 1,516

-22.66%

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

$917 €823

$461 CFPF 49.2K

98.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$9,248 CFPF 986.7K

78.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$69.2 CFPF 7,380

25.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$70.5 CFPF 7,517

-45.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$77.7 CFPF 8,288

36.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$89.3 CFPF 9,529

34.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$1,328 CFPF 141.7K

27.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$947 CFPF 101.1K

43.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$1,806 CFPF 192.7K

44.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$1,513 CFPF 161.4K

36.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$7,081 CFPF 755.6K

-2.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$7,507 CFPF 801.0K

-31.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$2,222 CFPF 237.1K

-0.49%

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 Papeete: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Papeete

$947 41.5% 30.1% $408

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Papeete

$517 22.7% 60.8% $196

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Papeete

$281 12.3% 4.8% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Papeete

$270 11.8% 18.3% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Papeete

$138 6% 12.7% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Papeete

$112 4.9% 53% $39

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Papeete

$17 * 0.7% 65.2% $32

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 $1,699 in Barcelona and $1,328 in Papeete. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $95 in Papeete for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $517 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇵🇫 Papeete

🕒 Local time

07:28 7:28 AM

20:28 8:28 PM

11 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

26,050 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

CFP Franc XPF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1,000 XPF = 9.37 USD

1,000 XPF = 8.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Papeete 16,240 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Papeete

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 Papeete: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $2,283 in Papeete, so Papeete is about 7% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,679 in Barcelona and $3,424 in Papeete to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $1,328 in Papeete. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

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

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelona – a meal for two runs $67 versus $95 in Papeete. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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