Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Port Vila

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelona: $2,381 a month against $3,155 in Port Vila, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
153

Cost of Living Index in Port Vila
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Port Vila Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Port Vila

🇻🇺 Vanuatu

$3,155

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $3,155 in Port Vila.

Barcelona $2,381
Port Vila $3,155

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $4,285 in Port Vila.

Barcelona $3,406
Port Vila $4,285

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $5,415 in Port Vila.

Barcelona $4,431
Port Vila $5,415

Living in Barcelona costs roughly 25% less than in Port Vila, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 76% above, Port Vila 133% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$12.59 VUV 1,477

42.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$55.5 VUV 6,514

19.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$14.18 VUV 1,663

-3.46%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$4.02 VUV 472

-23.88%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$2.31 VUV 271

32.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$2.39 VUV 280

-18.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$5.16 VUV 605

-25.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$7.09 VUV 832

-34.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$2.78 VUV 326

-53.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.98 VUV 233

6.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$3.78 VUV 443

-51.59%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$6.33 VUV 742

-27.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$17.38 VUV 2,039

-0.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$16.63 VUV 1,950

-44.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$13.93 VUV 1,633

42.35%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$7.25 VUV 850

-58.48%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$2.09 VUV 245

-2.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$4.02 VUV 471

-34.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$9.06 VUV 1,062

-68.32%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$9.07 VUV 1,064

-76.19%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$3.38 VUV 397

-36.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$2.51 VUV 295

-41.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.21 VUV 142

-27.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$9.51 VUV 1,115

-27.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$12.66 VUV 1,485

-38.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$2.41 VUV 283

-42.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$2.70 VUV 317

-2.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$1.31 VUV 153

122.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$66.3 VUV 7,776

-61.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$2.46 VUV 289

21.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.80 VUV 94.3

80.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$5.01 VUV 587

562.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.83 VUV 214

1.64%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$23.6K VUV 2.8M

37.22%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$37.5K VUV 4.4M

-15.36%

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

$183 €163

$624 VUV 73.2K

-70.70%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$22.41 VUV 2,629

-39.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$370 VUV 43.4K

-91.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$68.5 VUV 8,030

-20.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$16.57 VUV 1,944

-0.30%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

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

$954 €849

$623 VUV 73.1K

53.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$6,774 VUV 794.5K

145.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$40.67 VUV 4,770

111.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$68.6 VUV 8,045

-42.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$85.4 VUV 10.0K

21.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$103 VUV 12.1K

15.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$1,587 VUV 186.2K

6.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$1,131 VUV 132.7K

12.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$3,435 VUV 402.9K

-25.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$1,877 VUV 220.2K

2.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$5,965 VUV 699.7K

22.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$2,216 VUV 259.9K

126.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$682 VUV 80.0K

226.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

6.18

-46.93%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Port Vila: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Port Vila

$1.1K 35.9% 11.4% $145

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Port Vila

$477 15.1% 46.6% $152

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Port Vila

$250 7.9% 7.1% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Port Vila

$1K 32.2% 343% $787

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Port Vila

$134 4.3% 14.3% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Port Vila

$68 * 2.2% 11.3% $8.7

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Port Vila

$78 2.5% 64.9% $31

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 $1,695 in Barcelona and $1,587 in Port Vila. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 226% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $56.0 in Port Vila. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $477, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇻🇺 Port Vila

🕒 Local time

16:24 4:24 PM

01:24 1:24 AM

9 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

44,039 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Vanuatu Vatu VUV Vt

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 VUV = 8.53 USD

1,000 VUV = 7.58 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VUV, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Vanuatu Vatu exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 117 VUV (1,000 VUV = 8.53 USD). 1 EUR = 132 VUV (1,000 VUV = 7.58 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Port Vila 17,070 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Port Vila

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 Vila: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Port Vila differ by about 33% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $3,155 including rent). Barcelona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 226% 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $1,587 in Port Vila. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $623 in Port Vila. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 47% higher in Port Vila. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Barcelona 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 Port Vila 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 Barcelona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Port Vila. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.