Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Sanaa

For one person, living is cheaper in Sanaa: $1,023 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,200 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Sanaa
Learn more

Sanaa Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Sanaa

🇾🇪 Yemen

$1,023

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Sanaa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,023 in Sanaa.

Barcelona $2,453
Sanaa $1,023

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,619 in Sanaa.

Barcelona $3,509
Sanaa $1,619

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,216 in Sanaa.

Barcelona $4,564
Sanaa $2,216

Living in Barcelona is roughly 140% more expensive than in Sanaa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Sanaa is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$6.45 YER 1,520

172.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$25.52 YER 6,020

164.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$9.76 YER 2,301

38.63%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.95 YER 460

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 YER 616

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.79 YER 895

-15.83%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.18 YER 278

146.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.59 YER 140

220.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.06 YER 487

-36.41%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.64 YER 386

23.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.01 YER 475

-7.96%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.76 YER 886

28.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$17.06 YER 4,023

-1.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$8.44 YER 1,990

8.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$19.00 YER 4,482

3.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$3.27 YER 771

-8.87%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.01 YER 238

100.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.16 YER 509

25.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.73 YER 408

61.85%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.51 YER 357

38.41%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.33 YER 314

55.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.20 YER 284

21.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.64 YER 152

46.87%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.55 YER 602

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 YER 425

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 YER 615

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$5.54 YER 1,306

24.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.41 YER 95.6

665.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$84.8 YER 20.0K

-70.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$4.21 YER 992

-28.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.16 YER 510

-31.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$7.21 YER 1,701

362.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$2.12 YER 500

-15.09%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$16.7K YER 3.9M

99.07%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$34.4K YER 8.1M

-7.96%

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

$180 €162

$109 YER 25.6K

66.11%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$23.21 YER 5,475

-40.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$100 YER 23.7K

-66.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$66.2 YER 15.6K

-22.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$16.55 YER 3,904

-3.56%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$6.02 YER 1,420

82.56%

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

$917 €821

$117 YER 27.5K

686.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$2,184 YER 515.0K

654.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$41.59 YER 9,810

109.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$123 YER 28.9K

-68.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$48.01 YER 11.3K

120.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$41.10 YER 9,694

191.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$219 YER 51.7K

674.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$93.7 YER 22.1K

1346.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$413 YER 97.3K

530.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$274 YER 64.6K

653.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$4,087 YER 963.9K

69.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$795 YER 187.5K

545.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$190 YER 44.8K

1065.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

11.25

-70.84%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sanaa: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Sanaa

$94 9.2% 93.1% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Sanaa

$270 26.4% 16.2% $52

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Sanaa

$133 13.1% 50.2% $134

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Sanaa

$232 22.7% 1.9% $4.3

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Sanaa

$114 11.1% 27.9% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Sanaa

$78 7.7% 6.4% $4.7

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Sanaa

$101 9.9% 109% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $219 in Sanaa. 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 $26 in Sanaa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $270 per month, with Sanaa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇾🇪 Sanaa

🕒 Local time

06:35 6:35 AM

08:35 8:35 AM

2 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,527,861 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Sanaa 4,960 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Sanaa

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 Sanaa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,023 in Sanaa, so Sanaa is about 58% 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 $219 in Sanaa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $117 in Sanaa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Sanaa is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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