Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Samut Prakan

For one person, living is cheaper in Samut Prakan: $858 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,000 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Samut Prakan
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Samut Prakan Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Samut Prakan

🇹🇭 Thailand

$858

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Samut Prakan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $858 in Samut Prakan.

Barcelona $2,443
Samut Prakan $858

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,341 in Samut Prakan.

Barcelona $3,519
Samut Prakan $1,341

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $1,825 in Samut Prakan.

Barcelona $4,595
Samut Prakan $1,825

Living in Barcelona is roughly 185% more expensive than in Samut Prakan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Samut Prakan is 37% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.75

$3.24 ฿109

445.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.2

$15.11 ฿510

346.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.14

$7.22 ฿244

88.50%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.77

$1.45 ฿48.91

113.79%

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

$3.00 €2.68

$0.49 ฿16.45

512.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$0.26 ฿8.81

642.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.43

$2.05 ฿69.0

87.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.89

$3.00 ฿101

45.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.42 ฿47.93

-11.97%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.90

$0.95 ฿32.12

123.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.90 ฿30.50

118.89%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.25

$1.79 ฿60.5

165.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.22

$12.43 ฿419

37.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.99

$2.47 ฿83.5

262.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.42

$10.50 ฿354

96.67%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.82

$1.80 ฿60.6

75.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.72 ฿24.29

173.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$1.31 ฿44.31

102.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$1.21 ฿40.83

138.02%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.84

$1.52 ฿51.4

35.53%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.95

$0.76 ฿25.73

186.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$0.77 ฿25.98

98.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.87

$0.42 ฿14.08

130.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.21

$4.48 ฿151

55.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$8.84 ฿298

-10.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.06 ฿35.61

33.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.40

$1.86 ฿62.9

44.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.95

$0.51 ฿17.07

549.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.84

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.75

$1.22 ฿41.10

152.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$1.52 ฿51.2

-2.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.32

$4.76 ฿161

590.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.11 ฿37.28

68.47%

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

$33.0K €29.4K

$11.7K ฿393.5K

182.58%

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

$31.9K €28.5K

$23.3K ฿786.9K

36.93%

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

$183 €163

$81.8 ฿2,757

123.67%

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

$14.24 €12.70

$9.13 ฿308

55.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.83

$16.25 ฿548

112.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.87

$50.5 ฿1,703

1.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.62

$13.11 ฿442

24.94%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.87

$6.66 ฿225

66.07%

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

$944 €842

$148 ฿5,008

535.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.9K

$5,974 ฿201.5K

272.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.2

$14.92 ฿503

487.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.59

$35.14 ฿1,185

10.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$71.2 ฿2,402

46.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$75.7 ฿2,552

55.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,514

$478 ฿16.1K

254.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,192

$322 ฿10.9K

315.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,401

$1,242 ฿41.9K

116.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,853

$692 ฿23.4K

200.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,382

$1,890 ฿63.8K

278.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,530

$1,612 ฿54.4K

215.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,999

$674 ฿22.7K

232.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

6.33%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Samut Prakan: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Samut Prakan

$322 37.5% 75.9% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Samut Prakan

$181 21.1% 44.7% $147

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Samut Prakan

$84 9.8% 68.5% $183

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Samut Prakan

$107 12.5% 53.8% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Samut Prakan

$89 10.3% 43.5% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Samut Prakan

$64 7.4% 13.2% $9.7

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Samut Prakan

$11 * 1.3% 78.1% $39

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 $1,697 in Barcelona and $478 in Samut Prakan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 3.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $15 in Samut Prakan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $181 per month, with Samut Prakan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇹🇭 Samut Prakan

🕒 Local time

02:51 2:51 AM

08:51 8:51 AM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

50,843

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Samut Prakan 9,700 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Samut Prakan

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 Samut Prakan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $858 in Samut Prakan, so Samut Prakan is about 65% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 3.3 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 $478 in Samut Prakan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $148 in Samut Prakan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Samut Prakan – a meal for two runs $15 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $858 in Samut Prakan versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Samut Prakan but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Samut Prakan 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 Samut Prakan are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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