Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Pekanbaru

For one person, living is cheaper in Pekanbaru: $628 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Pekanbaru
Learn more

Pekanbaru Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Pekanbaru

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$628

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Pekanbaru

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $628 in Pekanbaru.

Barcelona $2,399
Pekanbaru $628

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $983 in Pekanbaru.

Barcelona $3,410
Pekanbaru $983

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $1,339 in Pekanbaru.

Barcelona $4,421
Pekanbaru $1,339

Living in Barcelona is roughly 282% more expensive than in Pekanbaru, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Pekanbaru is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$1.43 Rp 25.8K

1154.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$8.20 Rp 147.6K

730.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$2.41 Rp 43.4K

451.04%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$1.30 Rp 23.3K

150.00%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$0.58 Rp 10.4K

418.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.33 Rp 5,954

466.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$2.07 Rp 37.3K

85.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$3.45 Rp 62.1K

29.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.30 Rp 23.3K

-0.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.15 Rp 20.6K

77.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$0.89 Rp 16.1K

93.26%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$1.68 Rp 30.3K

183.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$7.30 Rp 131.3K

129.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$2.37 Rp 42.7K

276.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$6.49 Rp 116.9K

206.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$2.70 Rp 48.5K

10.37%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.70 Rp 30.6K

19.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$2.41 Rp 43.4K

13.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$1.27 Rp 22.8K

111.02%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.24 Rp 22.3K

69.35%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

8.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.75 Rp 13.5K

93.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.35 Rp 6,350

154.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$2.16 Rp 38.9K

221.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$21.45 Rp 386.0K

-63.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

-24.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$3.01 Rp 54.2K

-14.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$0.29 Rp 5,230

931.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$8.44 Rp 152.0K

198.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$0.92 Rp 16.6K

239.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.40 Rp 7,154

260.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$2.68 Rp 48.2K

1150.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$0.76 Rp 13.6K

135.53%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$23.3K Rp 418.9M

48.81%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$26.0K Rp 468.5M

15.51%

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

$178 €158

$62.1 Rp 1.1M

186.49%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$5.99 Rp 107.9K

122.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$23.78 Rp 428.1K

46.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$28.34 Rp 510.2K

87.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$8.31 Rp 149.7K

92.66%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$3.03 Rp 54.6K

265.02%

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

$957 €851

$96.0 Rp 1.7M

896.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$7,773 Rp 139.9M

113.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$31.96 Rp 575.3K

175.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$28.42 Rp 511.6K

38.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$54.8 Rp 985.5K

87.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$80.8 Rp 1.5M

50.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$262 Rp 4.7M

531.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$145 Rp 2.6M

798.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$540 Rp 9.7M

373.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$356 Rp 6.4M

437.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$1,070 Rp 19.3M

580.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$807 Rp 14.5M

529.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$176 Rp 3.2M

1195.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

9.46

-65.33%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Pekanbaru: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Pekanbaru

$145 23.1% 88.9% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Pekanbaru

$201 32% 37.3% $119

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Pekanbaru

$55 8.8% 79.6% $215

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Pekanbaru

$92 14.6% 59.4% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Pekanbaru

$88 14% 44.3% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Pekanbaru

$34 5.5% 54.3% $41

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Pekanbaru

$13 2% 73.6% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $262 in Pekanbaru. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 1196% 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: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $8.00 in Pekanbaru for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $201 per month, with Pekanbaru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇮🇩 Pekanbaru

🕒 Local time

06:19 6:19 AM

11:19 11:19 AM

5 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,020,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Barcelona Pekanbaru 10,740 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Pekanbaru

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 Pekanbaru: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Pekanbaru differ by about 282% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $628 including rent). Pekanbaru is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1196% 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: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $262 in Pekanbaru. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $96.0 in Pekanbaru. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 59% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $628 in Pekanbaru versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Pekanbaru but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Pekanbaru 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 Pekanbaru 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 Pekanbaru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 282% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.