Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Sarawak

For one person, living is cheaper in Sarawak: $933 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,400 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
45

Cost of Living Index in Sarawak
Learn more

Sarawak Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Sarawak

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$933

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Sarawak

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $933 in Sarawak.

Barcelona $2,381
Sarawak $933

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $1,391 in Sarawak.

Barcelona $3,406
Sarawak $1,391

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $1,849 in Sarawak.

Barcelona $4,431
Sarawak $1,849

Living in Barcelona is roughly 155% more expensive than in Sarawak, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Sarawak is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$3.65 MYR 14.88

390.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$19.77 MYR 80.6

234.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$4.75 MYR 19.38

188.21%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.88 MYR 11.74

6.25%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$0.81 MYR 3.29

279.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.39 MYR 1.61

397.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$3.60 MYR 14.68

7.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$4.61 MYR 18.81

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.86 MYR 7.58

-30.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.04 MYR 4.24

101.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$1.48 MYR 6.04

23.65%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$2.04 MYR 8.32

126.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$13.84 MYR 56.5

25.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$4.30 MYR 17.54

115.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$9.43 MYR 38.47

110.29%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$3.14 MYR 12.83

-4.14%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.71 MYR 6.97

18.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.51 MYR 10.22

5.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$1.61 MYR 6.55

78.26%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.27 MYR 5.18

70.08%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.15 MYR 4.68

86.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.17 MYR 4.79

25.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.53 MYR 2.18

66.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$4.54 MYR 18.52

52.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$19.12 MYR 78.0

-59.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$2.94 MYR 12.01

-52.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$4.51 MYR 18.38

-41.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$0.71 MYR 2.89

309.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$12.15 MYR 49.57

109.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$1.25 MYR 5.10

140.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.51 MYR 2.07

182.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$7.21 MYR 29.41

360.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.82 MYR 3.34

126.83%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$42.2K MYR 172.1K

-23.35%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$34.8K MYR 141.8K

-8.81%

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

$183 €163

$48.56 MYR 198

276.36%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$9.65 MYR 39.38

41.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$27.71 MYR 113

18.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$40.76 MYR 166

34.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$7.10 MYR 28.98

132.68%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$4.92 MYR 20.05

128.25%

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

$954 €849

$190 MYR 775

402.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$7,067 MYR 28.8K

134.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$56.8 MYR 232

51.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$34.52 MYR 141

13.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$79.8 MYR 325

29.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$75.9 MYR 310

56.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$410 MYR 1,674

313.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$299 MYR 1,219

327.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$672 MYR 2,742

283.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$477 MYR 1,946

303.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$2,042 MYR 8,329

256.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$1,074 MYR 4,381

366.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$339 MYR 1,381

557.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.06

-19.21%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Sarawak: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Sarawak

$299 32% 76.6% $978

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Sarawak

$258 27.6% 20.8% $68

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Sarawak

$110 11.8% 59.2% $160

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Sarawak

$86 9.2% 62.5% $143

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Sarawak

$111 11.9% 28.9% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Sarawak

$51 5.4% 34.4% $27

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Sarawak

$19 2% 60.3% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $410 in Sarawak. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 558% 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 $20.00 in Sarawak for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $258 per month, with Sarawak cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇾 Sarawak

🕒 Local time

19:00 7:00 PM

01:00 1:00 AM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, 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).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Sarawak 11,380 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Sarawak

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 Sarawak: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Sarawak differ by about 155% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $933 including rent). Sarawak is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 558% 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 $410 in Sarawak. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $190 in Sarawak. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $933 in Sarawak versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sarawak but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Sarawak 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 Sarawak 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 Sarawak gentler on the wallet – expenses run 155% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.