Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Sabratha

For one person, living is cheaper in Sabratha: $406 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $24,600 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
20

Cost of Living Index in Sabratha
Learn more

Sabratha Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Sabratha

🇱🇾 Libya

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Sabratha

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $406 in Sabratha.

Barcelona $2,453
Sabratha $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $596 in Sabratha.

Barcelona $3,509
Sabratha $596

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $785 in Sabratha.

Barcelona $4,564
Sabratha $785

Living in Barcelona is roughly 504% more expensive than in Sabratha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Sabratha is 70% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$3.03 LYD 19.40

480.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$9.55 LYD 61.2

606.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$1.54 LYD 9.87

778.57%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.60 LYD 3.87

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 LYD 4.33

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$0.44 LYD 2.83

625.00%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$0.32 LYD 2.07

809.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.09 LYD 0.57

2000.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$0.92 LYD 5.87

42.39%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.20 LYD 1.28

910.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.10 LYD 7.06

68.18%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$1.41 LYD 9.01

242.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$5.23 LYD 33.54

220.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$3.50 LYD 22.43

160.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$9.32 LYD 59.7

110.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$2.00 LYD 12.79

49.00%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.54 LYD 9.86

31.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$0.69 LYD 4.44

291.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$0.60 LYD 3.85

366.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.48 LYD 3.10

335.42%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$0.32 LYD 2.06

546.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.30 LYD 1.89

386.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.17 LYD 1.09

452.94%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.76 LYD 11.30

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 LYD 5.96

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 LYD 5.42

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$1.89 LYD 12.09

263.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.82 LYD 5.25

282.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$0.81 LYD 5.18

269.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.32 LYD 2.06

365.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$0.76 LYD 4.84

4290.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.02 LYD 0.11

8900.00%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$23.2K LYD 149.0K

42.77%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$21.4K LYD 137.2K

48.09%

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

$180 €162

$91.9 LYD 589

96.33%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$3.80 LYD 24.38

264.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$13.86 LYD 88.9

143.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$11.06 LYD 70.9

365.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$7.61 LYD 48.79

109.72%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

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

$917 €823

$39.49 LYD 253

2221.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$946 LYD 6,064

1641.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$19.10 LYD 122

355.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$17.32 LYD 111

122.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$64.7 LYD 415

63.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$15.66 LYD 100

664.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$157 LYD 1,006

983.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$78.6 LYD 504

1623.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$232 LYD 1,487

1021.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$108 LYD 694

1804.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$280 LYD 1,796

2367.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$189 LYD 1,208

2619.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$187 LYD 1,201

1079.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sabratha: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Sabratha

$79 19.4% 94.2% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Sabratha

$113 27.7% 65% $209

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Sabratha

$36 8.8% 86.6% $232

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Sabratha

$110 27% 51.9% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Sabratha

$53 13% 66.7% $105

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Sabratha

$11 * 2.7% 85% $62

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Sabratha

$5.7 * 1.4% 88.3% $43

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 $1,699 in Barcelona and $157 in Sabratha. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 12 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $10 in Sabratha for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $113 per month, with Sabratha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇱🇾 Sabratha

🕒 Local time

23:56 11:56 PM

00:56 12:56 AM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

83,398

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.14 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Sabratha 1,320 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Sabratha

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 Sabratha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $406 in Sabratha, so Sabratha is about 83% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 12 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 $157 in Sabratha. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $39 in Sabratha. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Sabratha – a meal for two runs $10 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $406 in Sabratha versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $800 budget is realistic in Sabratha but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Sabratha 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.

It comes down to priorities – Sabratha wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.