Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Quanzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Quanzhou: $809 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,700 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Quanzhou
Learn more

Quanzhou Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Quanzhou

🇨🇳 China

$809

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Quanzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $809 in Quanzhou.

Barcelona $2,453
Quanzhou $809

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,193 in Quanzhou.

Barcelona $3,509
Quanzhou $1,193

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,578 in Quanzhou.

Barcelona $4,564
Quanzhou $1,578

Living in Barcelona is roughly 203% more expensive than in Quanzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Quanzhou is 41% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$2.27 ¥15.12

674.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$30.03 ¥200

124.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$4.89 ¥32.50

176.69%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.34 ¥22.20

-4.49%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.46 ¥3.07

532.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.29 ¥1.93

551.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$2.97 ¥19.74

35.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$1.85 ¥12.30

144.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.52 ¥10.10

-13.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.84 ¥5.55

140.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$0.93 ¥6.19

98.92%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.55 ¥10.33

211.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$7.48 ¥49.73

123.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$2.28 ¥15.14

300.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$5.13 ¥34.10

282.85%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.48 ¥9.84

101.35%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.93 ¥6.15

117.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$0.76 ¥5.06

255.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.09 ¥7.21

156.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.43 ¥2.87

386.05%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.00 ¥6.68

107.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.17 ¥1.12

758.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.51 ¥3.42

84.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$3.26 ¥21.67

110.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$7.60 ¥50.5

3.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.92 ¥6.13

53.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.32 ¥8.78

92.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.31 ¥2.08

912.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$24.35 ¥162

4.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.17 ¥7.78

155.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.34 ¥2.25

338.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$8.81 ¥58.6

278.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.25 ¥8.34

44.00%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$18.1K ¥120.2K

83.46%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$15.8K ¥104.9K

100.71%

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

$180 €162

$51.8 ¥344

248.21%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$8.13 ¥54.0

70.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$12.28 ¥81.6

174.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$55.9 ¥372

-7.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$18.53 ¥123

-13.87%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$5.96 ¥39.61

84.40%

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

$917 €821

$522 ¥3,470

75.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$11.9K ¥79.1K

38.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$20.68 ¥137

320.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$33.21 ¥221

15.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$91.0 ¥604

16.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$96.1 ¥638

24.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$270 ¥1,792

530.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$300 ¥1,995

351.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$490 ¥3,254

431.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$400 ¥2,658

415.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$3,041 ¥20.2K

127.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$1,972 ¥13.1K

160.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$827 ¥5,496

167.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.15

4.13%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Quanzhou: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Quanzhou

$300 37.1% 77.8% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Quanzhou

$137 16.9% 57.5% $185

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Quanzhou

$95 11.7% 64.7% $173

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Quanzhou

$72 8.9% 68.3% $156

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Quanzhou

$108 13.4% 31.4% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Quanzhou

$68 8.4% 7.7% $5.6

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Quanzhou

$28 3.5% 41.3% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $270 in Quanzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.7 times 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: $67 in Barcelona vs $30 in Quanzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $137 per month, with Quanzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Quanzhou

🕒 Local time

08:40 8:40 AM

15:40 3:40 PM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

8,128,530

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Quanzhou 10,170 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Quanzhou

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 Quanzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $809 in Quanzhou, so Quanzhou is about 67% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.7 times higher, 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $270 in Quanzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $522 in Quanzhou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 135% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $809 in Quanzhou versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Quanzhou but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Quanzhou 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.

Expats usually find Quanzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 67% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.