Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Rizhao

For one person, living is cheaper in Rizhao: $667 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,800 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Rizhao
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Rizhao Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Rizhao

🇨🇳 China

$667

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Rizhao

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $667 in Rizhao.

Barcelona $2,399
Rizhao $667

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $1,077 in Rizhao.

Barcelona $3,410
Rizhao $1,077

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $1,487 in Rizhao.

Barcelona $4,421
Rizhao $1,487

Living in Barcelona is roughly 260% more expensive than in Rizhao, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Rizhao is 51% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$2.54 ¥16.95

606.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$19.14 ¥128

255.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$4.82 ¥32.21

175.52%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$1.95 ¥13.05

66.67%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$0.46 ¥3.10

554.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.23 ¥1.54

713.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$0.88 ¥5.87

337.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$1.98 ¥13.21

126.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.46 ¥9.78

-11.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.48 ¥9.87

37.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$0.46 ¥3.08

273.91%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$1.07 ¥7.14

345.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$11.73 ¥78.4

42.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$3.34 ¥22.32

167.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$11.35 ¥75.9

75.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$1.46 ¥9.78

104.11%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.02 ¥6.81

99.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$0.77 ¥5.17

254.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$1.14 ¥7.65

135.09%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$0.58 ¥3.87

262.07%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$0.68 ¥4.57

205.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.58 ¥3.85

150.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.63 ¥4.19

41.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$3.66 ¥24.45

89.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$9.99 ¥66.8

-22.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.72 ¥4.81

101.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.36 ¥9.08

88.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$0.29 ¥1.93

931.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$17.44 ¥117

44.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$1.23 ¥8.20

153.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.25 ¥1.67

476.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$4.52 ¥30.21

641.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.19 ¥7.92

50.42%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$19.1K ¥127.6K

81.44%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$14.8K ¥99.1K

102.87%

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

$178 €158

$73.5 ¥491

141.97%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$6.63 ¥44.30

100.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$5.18 ¥34.65

573.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$36.51 ¥244

45.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$13.25 ¥88.6

20.83%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$5.36 ¥35.87

106.34%

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

$957 €851

$218 ¥1,458

338.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$19.8K ¥132.4K

-16.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$34.08 ¥228

158.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$43.15 ¥289

-8.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$71.2 ¥476

44.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$69.4 ¥464

75.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$299 ¥1,999

452.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$163 ¥1,090

698.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$623 ¥4,167

310.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$375 ¥2,505

411.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$3,578 ¥23.9K

103.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$2,144 ¥14.3K

136.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.13

4.79%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Rizhao: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Rizhao

$163 24.4% 87.5% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Rizhao

$183 27.4% 42.9% $137

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Rizhao

$69 10.4% 74.3% $201

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Rizhao

$85 12.8% 62.3% $141

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Rizhao

$98 14.7% 38.1% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Rizhao

$47 7.1% 37.3% $28

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Rizhao

$21 3.2% 55.6% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $299 in Rizhao. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $19.00 in Rizhao for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $183 per month, with Rizhao cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Rizhao

🕒 Local time

10:41 10:41 AM

16:41 4:41 PM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,143,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Rizhao 9,350 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
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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 Rizhao: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Rizhao differ by about 260% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $667 including rent). Rizhao is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,599 in Barcelona and $1,000 in Rizhao 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: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $299 in Rizhao. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $218 in Rizhao. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 75% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $667 in Rizhao versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rizhao but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Rizhao 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 Rizhao 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 Rizhao gentler on the wallet – expenses run 260% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.