Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Quezon City

For one person, living is cheaper in Quezon City: $923 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,400 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Quezon City
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Quezon City Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Quezon City

🇵🇭 Philippines

$923

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Quezon City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $923 in Quezon City.

Barcelona $2,453
Quezon City $923

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,469 in Quezon City.

Barcelona $3,509
Quezon City $1,469

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,016 in Quezon City.

Barcelona $4,564
Quezon City $2,016

Living in Barcelona is roughly 166% more expensive than in Quezon City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Quezon City is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$4.29 ₱273

310.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$19.04 ₱1,213

254.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$2.70 ₱172

401.11%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.62 ₱167

21.76%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.67 ₱42.91

334.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.26 ₱16.47

626.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.42 ₱90.8

182.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.80 ₱179

61.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.67 ₱107

-21.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.10 ₱69.9

83.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$0.85 ₱54.0

117.65%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.76 ₱112

174.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$6.60 ₱420

153.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$4.10 ₱261

122.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$7.05 ₱449

178.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$3.96 ₱252

-24.75%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.41 ₱90.1

43.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$3.49 ₱222

-22.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.14 ₱72.8

145.61%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.26 ₱144

-7.52%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$3.29 ₱210

-37.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.36 ₱86.7

7.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.95 ₱60.3

-1.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$2.75 ₱176

149.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$7.24 ₱461

8.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.27 ₱80.7

11.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.72 ₱110

47.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.26 ₱16.47

1107.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$19.11 ₱1,217

33.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$0.80 ₱51.1

273.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.23 ₱14.69

547.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$2.56 ₱163

1203.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.17 ₱74.8

53.85%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

56.79%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$18.6K ₱1.2M

70.24%

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

$180 €162

$161 ₱10.3K

12.13%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$14.15 ₱901

-2.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$24.29 ₱1,548

38.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$37.60 ₱2,396

36.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$3.33 ₱212

379.28%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$7.09 ₱452

55.01%

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

$917 €821

$71.8 ₱4,576

1176.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$2,476 ₱157.8K

565.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$34.53 ₱2,200

152.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$21.92 ₱1,397

75.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$78.5 ₱5,000

34.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$75.5 ₱4,812

58.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$476 ₱30.3K

257.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$263 ₱16.7K

415.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$984 ₱62.7K

164.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$691 ₱44.0K

198.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$2,779 ₱177.1K

148.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$1,839 ₱117.2K

178.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$428 ₱27.3K

416.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

-53.14%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Quezon City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Quezon City

$263 28.5% 80.6% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Quezon City

$202 21.9% 37.3% $120

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Quezon City

$90 9.8% 66.3% $178

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Quezon City

$199 21.6% 12.6% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Quezon City

$95 10.3% 40.1% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Quezon City

$52 5.6% 29.6% $22

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Quezon City

$22 2.4% 54.4% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $476 in Quezon City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 5.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $19 in Quezon City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $202 per month, with Quezon City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇵🇭 Quezon City

🕒 Local time

00:23 12:23 AM

07:23 7:23 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

2,936,116

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 63.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.15 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Quezon City 11,180 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Quezon City

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 Quezon City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $923 in Quezon City, so Quezon City is about 62% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 5.2 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 $476 in Quezon City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $72 in Quezon City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 59% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Quezon City 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.

Expats usually find Quezon City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.