Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Sakakah

For one person, living is cheaper in Sakakah: $1,223 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Sakakah
Learn more

Sakakah Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Sakakah

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Sakakah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $1,223 in Sakakah.

Barcelona $2,443
Sakakah $1,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,793 in Sakakah.

Barcelona $3,519
Sakakah $1,793

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $2,364 in Sakakah.

Barcelona $4,595
Sakakah $2,364

Living in Barcelona is roughly 100% more expensive than in Sakakah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Sakakah is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.72

$5.81 SAR 21.79

203.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.1

$36.64 SAR 138

84.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.12

$7.81 SAR 29.29

74.26%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.17 SAR 8.13

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 SAR 5.80

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.76

$3.65 SAR 13.69

-15.07%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$0.64 SAR 2.40

368.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$0.34 SAR 1.28

467.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.42

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.88

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.67 SAR 6.26

-25.15%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.35 SAR 5.08

57.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$2.36 SAR 8.85

-16.53%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.24

$2.38 SAR 8.94

100.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.20

$7.68 SAR 28.82

122.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.97

$6.77 SAR 25.42

32.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.39

$12.59 SAR 47.25

64.02%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.81

$2.22 SAR 8.33

42.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.72 SAR 6.46

14.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$1.59 SAR 5.97

66.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$1.56 SAR 5.85

84.62%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$1.23 SAR 4.63

67.48%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$1.32 SAR 4.95

65.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.19 SAR 4.45

28.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$0.53 SAR 1.98

83.02%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.76 SAR 10.37

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 SAR 6.65

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 SAR 7.23

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.20

$5.84 SAR 21.92

19.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.02

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.95

$0.98 SAR 3.69

237.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.80

$36.58 SAR 137

-29.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.75

$2.81 SAR 10.55

9.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$1.73 SAR 6.50

-14.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.27

$14.80 SAR 55.6

122.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.59 SAR 2.23

216.95%

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

$33.0K €29.4K

$25.1K SAR 94.4K

31.12%

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

$31.9K €28.4K

$24.2K SAR 90.9K

31.93%

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

$183 €163

$119 SAR 445

54.11%

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

$14.24 €12.68

$37.42 SAR 140

-61.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.78

$73.6 SAR 276

-53.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.79

$79.1 SAR 297

-34.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.59

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.85

$11.94 SAR 44.80

-7.37%

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

$944 €840

$380 SAR 1,426

148.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

$11.0K SAR 41.2K

102.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.1

$38.10 SAR 143

130.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.52

$59.7 SAR 224

-35.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.1

$101 SAR 379

3.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$80.6 SAR 303

45.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,511

$563 SAR 2,114

201.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,190

$398 SAR 1,494

235.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,397

$872 SAR 3,274

208.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,849

$604 SAR 2,267

243.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,371

$1,840 SAR 6,905

288.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,522

$1,239 SAR 4,651

309.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,996

$912 SAR 3,422

145.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

5.54

-42.42%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Sakakah: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Sakakah

$398 32.6% 70.2% $939

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Sakakah

$197 16.1% 39.9% $131

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Sakakah

$118 9.6% 56% $149

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Sakakah

$230 18.8% 0.9% $2

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Sakakah

$126 10.3% 19.9% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Sakakah

$103 8.4% 40% $29

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Sakakah

$52 4.3% 5.3% $2.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $563 in Sakakah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $37 in Sakakah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $197 per month, with Sakakah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇸🇦 Sakakah

🕒 Local time

08:43 8:43 AM

10:43 10:43 AM

2 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

242,813

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Sakakah 3,630 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Sakakah

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 Sakakah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $1,223 in Sakakah, so Sakakah is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.5 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: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $563 in Sakakah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $380 in Sakakah. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 66% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,223 in Sakakah versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sakakah but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Sakakah 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 Sakakah are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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