Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Semarang

For one person, living is cheaper in Semarang: $593 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $22,300 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
29

Cost of Living Index in Semarang
Learn more

Semarang Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Semarang

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$593

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Semarang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $593 in Semarang.

Barcelona $2,453
Semarang $593

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $938 in Semarang.

Barcelona $3,509
Semarang $938

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,282 in Semarang.

Barcelona $4,564
Semarang $1,282

Living in Barcelona is roughly 314% more expensive than in Semarang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Semarang is 56% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$1.34 Rp 24.4K

1212.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$10.53 Rp 191.3K

540.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$3.04 Rp 55.3K

345.07%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$1.28 Rp 23.2K

149.22%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$0.43 Rp 7,808

576.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.16 Rp 2,847

1081.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$1.64 Rp 29.8K

144.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$3.25 Rp 59.1K

39.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.05 Rp 19.0K

24.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.92 Rp 16.7K

119.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$0.79 Rp 14.4K

134.18%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$1.18 Rp 21.4K

309.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$3.86 Rp 70.2K

333.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$2.33 Rp 42.4K

291.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$7.55 Rp 137.3K

160.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$1.96 Rp 35.7K

52.04%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.28 Rp 23.3K

57.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$1.80 Rp 32.8K

50.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$1.47 Rp 26.7K

90.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.28 Rp 23.3K

63.28%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.89 Rp 34.3K

9.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.93 Rp 17.0K

56.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.40 Rp 7,359

135.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$1.87 Rp 34.1K

267.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$25.05 Rp 455.2K

-68.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.64 Rp 29.8K

-14.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$1.95 Rp 35.4K

30.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.21 Rp 3,816

1395.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$13.93 Rp 253.1K

82.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$0.50 Rp 9,128

498.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.29 Rp 5,331

413.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$2.69 Rp 48.8K

1140.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.77 Rp 14.0K

133.77%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$24.5K Rp 446.0M

35.27%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$32.2K Rp 585.5M

-1.60%

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

$180 €162

$86.1 Rp 1.6M

109.46%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$2.67 Rp 48.4K

418.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$18.96 Rp 344.7K

77.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$20.30 Rp 368.9K

153.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$4.49 Rp 81.5K

255.46%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$2.25 Rp 40.9K

388.44%

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

$917 €823

$49.33 Rp 896.6K

1758.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$2,076 Rp 37.7M

693.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$34.61 Rp 629.1K

151.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$29.31 Rp 532.7K

31.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$56.4 Rp 1.0M

87.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$38.07 Rp 691.9K

214.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$226 Rp 4.1M

651.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$136 Rp 2.5M

893.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$477 Rp 8.7M

445.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$380 Rp 6.9M

443.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$1,223 Rp 22.2M

465.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$833 Rp 15.1M

515.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$186 Rp 3.4M

1090.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

8.82

-62.81%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Semarang: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Semarang

$136 23% 89.9% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Semarang

$184 31% 42.9% $138

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Semarang

$52 8.8% 80.5% $216

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Semarang

$108 18.2% 52.7% $120

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Semarang

$71 12% 54.9% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Semarang

$25 4.2% 66.3% $49

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Semarang

$17 2.8% 65.5% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $226 in Semarang. 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 $11 in Semarang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $184 per month, with Semarang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇮🇩 Semarang

🕒 Local time

23:15 11:15 PM

05:15 5:15 AM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,555,984

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18,175 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20,233 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Semarang 12,040 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Semarang

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 Semarang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $593 in Semarang, so Semarang is about 76% 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 $226 in Semarang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $49 in Semarang. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 75% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $593 in Semarang versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Semarang but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Semarang 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.

Expats usually find Semarang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 76% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.