Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Sapporo

For one person, living is cheaper in Sapporo: $1,422 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 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
68

Cost of Living Index in Sapporo
Learn more

Sapporo Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Sapporo

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,422

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Sapporo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,422 in Sapporo.

Barcelona $2,453
Sapporo $1,422

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,123 in Sapporo.

Barcelona $3,509
Sapporo $2,123

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,823 in Sapporo.

Barcelona $4,564
Sapporo $2,823

Living in Barcelona is roughly 72% more expensive than in Sapporo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 80% above, Sapporo 4% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$6.33 ¥997

177.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$28.34 ¥4,469

138.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.51 ¥869

145.55%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$4.92 ¥776

-35.16%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.74 ¥274

67.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.88 ¥138

114.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$4.37 ¥689

-8.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$5.70 ¥898

-20.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.54 ¥243

-14.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.36 ¥214

48.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.97 ¥626

-53.40%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.78 ¥281

171.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$9.44 ¥1,488

77.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$6.77 ¥1,068

34.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$25.65 ¥4,044

-23.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$3.25 ¥512

-8.31%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$3.03 ¥477

-33.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$3.15 ¥497

-14.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$4.35 ¥686

-35.63%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.14 ¥338

-2.34%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.66 ¥262

24.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.50 ¥236

-2.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.49 ¥77.2

91.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$3.96 ¥625

73.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$8.19 ¥1,292

-3.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.86 ¥293

-24.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$3.24 ¥511

-21.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.56 ¥246

101.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$48.41 ¥7,633

-47.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$4.12 ¥650

-27.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.63 ¥257

-8.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$16.09 ¥2,538

107.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.11 ¥175

62.16%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$21.9K ¥3.5M

51.36%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$14.4K ¥2.3M

120.23%

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

$180 €162

$344 ¥54.2K

-47.48%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$25.82 ¥4,071

-46.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$47.90 ¥7,553

-29.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$50.4 ¥7,954

2.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$3.20 ¥504

398.75%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$12.08 ¥1,904

-9.02%

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

$917 €821

$312 ¥49.2K

193.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$10.1K ¥1.6M

62.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$38.49 ¥6,069

126.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$25.24 ¥3,979

52.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$48.43 ¥7,636

118.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$119 ¥18.7K

0.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$463 ¥73.0K

267.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$276 ¥43.5K

390.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$831 ¥131.1K

213.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$644 ¥101.5K

220.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$2,259 ¥356.2K

206.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$1,608 ¥253.5K

218.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$2,281 ¥359.6K

-3.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

2.57

27.63%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sapporo: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Sapporo

$276 19.4% 79.6% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Sapporo

$314 22.1% 2.5% $8.2

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Sapporo

$170 11.9% 36.6% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Sapporo

$417 29.3% 83% $189

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Sapporo

$104 7.3% 34.3% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Sapporo

$75 5.3% 1.5% $1.1

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Sapporo

$67 4.7% 38.1% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $463 in Sapporo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sapporo pays 3% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $28 in Sapporo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $314 per month, with Sapporo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇯🇵 Sapporo

🕒 Local time

11:39 11:39 AM

19:39 7:39 PM

8 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,973,395

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Sapporo 9,770 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Sapporo

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 Sapporo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,422 in Sapporo, so Sapporo is about 42% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 3% lower in Barcelona. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $463 in Sapporo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $312 in Sapporo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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 Sapporo are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.