Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Port Elizabeth

For one person, living is cheaper in Port Elizabeth: $1,216 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Port Elizabeth
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Port Elizabeth Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Port Elizabeth

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,216

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Port Elizabeth

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $1,216 in Port Elizabeth.

Barcelona $2,399
Port Elizabeth $1,216

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $1,835 in Port Elizabeth.

Barcelona $3,410
Port Elizabeth $1,835

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $2,453 in Port Elizabeth.

Barcelona $4,421
Port Elizabeth $2,453

Living in Barcelona is roughly 97% more expensive than in Port Elizabeth, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Port Elizabeth is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$11.00 R 181

63.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$41.67 R 687

63.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$5.84 R 96.2

127.40%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$2.17 R 35.81

49.77%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$1.03 R 16.91

192.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.76 R 12.59

146.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$2.69 R 44.37

43.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$3.24 R 53.3

38.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.12 R 18.39

15.18%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.04 R 17.20

96.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$1.51 R 24.94

13.91%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$2.81 R 46.35

69.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$8.58 R 141

95.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$5.33 R 87.7

67.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$8.36 R 138

137.80%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$2.19 R 36.04

36.07%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.49 R 24.58

36.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.70 R 28.04

60.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$1.81 R 29.74

48.07%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.66 R 27.41

26.51%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.45 R 23.83

43.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.26 R 20.72

15.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.99 R 16.39

-10.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$3.26 R 53.8

112.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$4.82 R 79.4

61.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.27 R 20.99

14.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.82 R 30.00

41.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$1.10 R 18.17

171.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$36.67 R 604

-31.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$2.04 R 33.68

52.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.50 R 8.25

188.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$8.45 R 139

296.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.48 R 24.38

20.95%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$35.8K R 589.5K

-3.21%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$34.1K R 562.5K

-11.93%

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

$178 €158

$125 R 2,058

42.37%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$34.90 R 575

-61.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$44.55 R 734

-21.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$32.20 R 530

65.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$23.27 R 383

-31.20%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$10.74 R 177

2.98%

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

$957 €851

$177 R 2,924

439.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$6,046 R 99.6K

174.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$72.4 R 1,193

21.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$38.28 R 631

3.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$110 R 1,806

-6.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$95.6 R 1,574

27.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$598 R 9,859

176.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$415 R 6,838

213.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$808 R 13.3K

216.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$682 R 11.2K

180.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$764 R 12.6K

853.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$522 R 8,604

872.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$1,625 R 26.8K

40.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

11.94

-72.53%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Port Elizabeth: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Port Elizabeth

$415 34.1% 68.1% $887

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Port Elizabeth

$197 16.2% 38.6% $124

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Port Elizabeth

$159 13.1% 41.2% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Port Elizabeth

$204 16.8% 9.6% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Port Elizabeth

$142 11.7% 10.2% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Port Elizabeth

$54 4.4% 28.8% $22

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Port Elizabeth

$46 3.8% 3.9% $1.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $598 in Port Elizabeth. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 40% 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 $42.00 in Port Elizabeth for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $197 per month, with Port Elizabeth cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇿🇦 Port Elizabeth

🕒 Local time

14:35 2:35 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,050,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, 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).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Port Elizabeth 8,710 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Port Elizabeth

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 Port Elizabeth: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Port Elizabeth differ by about 97% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $1,216 including rent). Port Elizabeth is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 40% 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 $598 in Port Elizabeth. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $177 in Port Elizabeth. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 63% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,216 in Port Elizabeth versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Port Elizabeth but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Port Elizabeth 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 Port Elizabeth 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 Port Elizabeth gentler on the wallet – expenses run 97% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.