Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Qena

For one person, living is cheaper in Qena: $435 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $24,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
21

Cost of Living Index in Qena
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Qena Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Qena

🇪🇬 Egypt

$435

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Qena

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $435 in Qena.

Barcelona $2,443
Qena $435

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $698 in Qena.

Barcelona $3,519
Qena $698

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $961 in Qena.

Barcelona $4,595
Qena $961

Living in Barcelona is roughly 461% more expensive than in Qena, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Qena is 68% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.79

$3.62 E£200

387.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.3

$14.42 E£797

367.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.17

$5.41 E£299

151.57%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.77

$1.94 E£107

59.79%

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

$3.00 €2.68

$0.45 E£24.87

566.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$0.17 E£9.22

1035.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.44

$1.76 E£97.5

118.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.90

$2.94 E£163

48.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$0.88 E£48.40

42.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.90

$0.74 E£40.70

186.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.59 E£32.60

233.90%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.26

$1.82 E£101

161.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.26

$3.00 E£166

469.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €8.01

$5.39 E£298

66.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.46

$9.34 E£516

121.09%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.83

$1.39 E£76.9

127.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.46 E£25.29

328.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$0.39 E£21.37

579.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.58

$0.40 E£22.02

620.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.84

$0.32 E£17.81

543.75%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.95

$0.35 E£19.15

522.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$0.25 E£13.75

512.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.87

$0.19 E£10.37

410.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.23

$2.03 E£112

243.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.05

$7.00 E£387

12.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.27

$1.15 E£63.6

23.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.40

$1.63 E£90.4

65.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.96

$0.19 E£10.28

1642.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.90

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.76

$0.37 E£20.63

732.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.33

$0.17 E£9.31

770.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.40

$1.13 E£62.3

2808.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.67

$0.39 E£21.59

379.49%

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

$33.0K €29.5K

$29.8K E£1.6M

10.71%

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

$31.9K €28.6K

$22.3K E£1.2M

43.19%

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

$183 €164

$24.29 E£1,343

652.78%

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

$14.24 €12.73

$7.30 E£404

95.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.91

$9.00 E£498

284.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.98

$14.93 E£826

244.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.65

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.89

$3.34 E£185

231.14%

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

$944 €844

$96.9 E£5,355

874.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.9K

$584 E£32.3K

3712.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.4

$19.39 E£1,072

352.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.67

$31.34 E£1,733

23.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.5

$109 E£6,001

-3.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$26.25 E£1,452

348.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,517

$127 E£7,042

1232.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,195

$70.9 E£3,919

1785.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,407

$245 E£13.5K

1000.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,857

$136 E£7,530

1425.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,398

$720 E£39.8K

893.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,542

$323 E£17.9K

1470.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €2,004

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

16.21

-80.32%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Qena: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Qena

$71 16.3% 94.7% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Qena

$131 30.1% 60.1% $197

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Qena

$86 19.7% 67.9% $181

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Qena

$41 9.3% 82.5% $191

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Qena

$83 19.2% 46.8% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Qena

$22 5% 70.6% $52

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Qena

$2 * 0.5% 96% $47

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 $1,697 in Barcelona and $127 in Qena. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $14 in Qena for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $131 per month, with Qena cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇪🇬 Qena

🕒 Local time

23:16 11:16 PM

00:16 12:16 AM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

235,362

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 EGP = 1.81 USD

100 EGP = 1.62 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.894 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 55.29 EGP (100 EGP = 1.81 USD). 1 EUR = 61.83 EGP (100 EGP = 1.62 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Qena 3,270 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Qena

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 Qena: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $435 in Qena, so Qena is about 82% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,664 in Barcelona and $653 in Qena 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: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $127 in Qena. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $97 in Qena. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Qena – a meal for two runs $14 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $435 in Qena versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Qena but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Qena 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.