Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Pingdingshan

For one person, living is cheaper in Pingdingshan: $721 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Pingdingshan
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Pingdingshan Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Pingdingshan

🇨🇳 China

$721

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Pingdingshan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $721 in Pingdingshan.

Barcelona $2,399
Pingdingshan $721

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $1,119 in Pingdingshan.

Barcelona $3,410
Pingdingshan $1,119

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $1,516 in Pingdingshan.

Barcelona $4,421
Pingdingshan $1,516

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Pingdingshan is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$2.18 ¥14.54

720.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$12.03 ¥80.4

449.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$4.52 ¥30.24

202.88%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.18 ¥14.56

40.37%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$0.35 ¥2.36

777.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.17 ¥1.14

1041.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$0.76 ¥5.11

409.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$1.52 ¥10.18

203.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.51 ¥10.07

-13.91%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.67 ¥11.17

25.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$0.83 ¥5.57

120.48%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$0.98 ¥6.55

371.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$8.08 ¥54.0

114.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$3.20 ¥21.38

190.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$10.50 ¥70.2

88.86%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$1.44 ¥9.66

109.03%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$0.98 ¥6.56

107.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$1.09 ¥7.29

143.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$1.18 ¥7.92

143.22%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.62 ¥4.15

248.39%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$0.68 ¥4.56

216.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$0.68 ¥4.53

116.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.72 ¥4.84

22.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$3.28 ¥21.91

111.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$15.03 ¥101

-47.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$0.99 ¥6.60

40.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$2.00 ¥13.39

31.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$0.31 ¥2.10

838.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$17.76 ¥119

43.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$0.77 ¥5.17

289.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.31 ¥2.09

364.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$3.54 ¥23.64

837.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.05 ¥7.05

77.14%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$12.0K ¥80.5K

168.78%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$17.2K ¥115.2K

84.04%

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

$183 €163

$70.0 ¥468

160.97%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$6.92 ¥46.26

96.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$10.24 ¥68.5

221.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$42.43 ¥284

28.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$16.31 ¥109

1.29%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$6.05 ¥40.42

85.62%

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

$954 €849

$383 ¥2,563

148.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$31.0K ¥207.3K

-46.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$43.61 ¥292

97.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$33.36 ¥223

17.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$74.6 ¥499

38.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$71.7 ¥480

65.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$277 ¥1,851

512.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$204 ¥1,364

525.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$610 ¥4,081

322.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$421 ¥2,817

356.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$2,852 ¥19.1K

155.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$1,860 ¥12.4K

169.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.29

-0.30%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Pingdingshan: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Pingdingshan

$204 28.3% 84% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Pingdingshan

$188 26% 42.2% $137

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Pingdingshan

$66 9.2% 75.5% $203

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Pingdingshan

$87 12.1% 62% $142

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Pingdingshan

$100 13.9% 35.7% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Pingdingshan

$55 7.6% 29.3% $23

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Pingdingshan

$21 3% 54.9% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $277 in Pingdingshan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $12.00 in Pingdingshan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $188 per month, with Pingdingshan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Pingdingshan

🕒 Local time

11:59 11:59 AM

17:59 5:59 PM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

5,000,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Pingdingshan 9,100 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

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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 Pingdingshan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Pingdingshan differ by about 233% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $721 including rent). Pingdingshan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,599 in Barcelona and $1,082 in Pingdingshan 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: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $277 in Pingdingshan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $383 in Pingdingshan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 70% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $721 in Pingdingshan versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Pingdingshan but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Pingdingshan 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 Pingdingshan 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 Pingdingshan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 233% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.