Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Saitama

For one person, living is cheaper in Saitama: $1,007 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Saitama
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Saitama Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Saitama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,007

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Saitama

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $1,007 in Saitama.

Barcelona $2,381
Saitama $1,007

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $1,330 in Saitama.

Barcelona $3,406
Saitama $1,330

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $1,653 in Saitama.

Barcelona $4,431
Saitama $1,653

Living in Barcelona is roughly 137% more expensive than in Saitama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Saitama is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$5.55 ¥876

222.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$31.14 ¥4,920

112.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$4.86 ¥768

181.69%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.07 ¥486

-0.33%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$0.72 ¥114

326.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.65 ¥103

198.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$2.46 ¥389

57.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$3.18 ¥503

44.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.45 ¥229

-10.34%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.64 ¥260

28.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$2.68 ¥423

-31.72%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$2.00 ¥316

131.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$10.14 ¥1,601

71.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$5.45 ¥861

70.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$14.44 ¥2,281

37.33%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$5.58 ¥882

-46.06%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$2.25 ¥355

-9.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.84 ¥449

-6.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$4.19 ¥662

-31.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$2.61 ¥412

-17.24%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.56 ¥247

37.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.25 ¥197

17.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.80 ¥126

10.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$3.70 ¥585

87.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$6.32 ¥999

23.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.74 ¥274

-20.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$2.11 ¥333

24.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$3.45 ¥545

-15.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$3.11 ¥492

-3.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.70 ¥427

-46.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$20.19 ¥3,190

64.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.10 ¥174

69.09%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$21.9K ¥3.5M

47.56%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$14.4K ¥2.3M

120.27%

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

$183 €163

$131 ¥20.7K

39.47%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$17.62 ¥2,784

-22.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$31.87 ¥5,036

3.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$61.5 ¥9,721

-11.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$11.12 ¥1,757

0.99%

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

$954 €849

$620 ¥97.9K

53.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$14.8K ¥2.3M

11.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$34.90 ¥5,514

146.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$25.61 ¥4,047

52.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$55.5 ¥8,772

86.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$61.9 ¥9,773

91.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$414 ¥65.3K

309.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$237 ¥37.4K

439.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$1,505 ¥237.7K

48.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

2.06

59.22%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Saitama: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Saitama

$237 23.5% 81.5% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Saitama

$275 27.4% 15.3% $50

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Saitama

$120 11.9% 55.5% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Saitama

$181 17.9% 21.3% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Saitama

$80 8% 48.8% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Saitama

$84 8.3% 8.6% $6.6

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Saitama

$30 * 3% 35.7% $17

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 $1,695 in Barcelona and $414 in Saitama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 48% 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: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $31.00 in Saitama for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $275 per month, with Saitama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇯🇵 Saitama

🕒 Local time

14:32 2:32 PM

21:32 9:32 PM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,182,115

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Saitama 10,400 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Saitama

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 Saitama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Saitama differ by about 137% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $1,007 including rent). Saitama is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 48% higher in Barcelona, 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $414 in Saitama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $620 in Saitama. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Saitama – a meal for two runs $31.00 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,007 in Saitama versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Saitama but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Saitama 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 Saitama 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 Saitama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 137% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.