Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Seongnam

For one person, living is cheaper in Seongnam: $1,418 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 Seongnam
Learn more

Seongnam Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Seongnam

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,418

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Seongnam

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,418 in Seongnam.

Barcelona $2,453
Seongnam $1,418

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,361 in Seongnam.

Barcelona $3,509
Seongnam $2,361

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $3,305 in Seongnam.

Barcelona $4,564
Seongnam $3,305

Living in Barcelona is roughly 73% more expensive than in Seongnam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$6.95 ₩9,225

153.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$41.62 ₩55.2K

62.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$6.83 ₩9,067

98.10%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$4.03 ₩5,345

-20.84%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$1.56 ₩2,066

86.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.76 ₩1,003

148.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$3.53 ₩4,686

13.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$3.81 ₩5,054

18.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.31 ₩3,066

-43.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$3.18 ₩4,222

-36.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.71 ₩4,920

-50.13%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$3.67 ₩4,865

31.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.04

$9.13 ₩12.1K

83.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$8.04 ₩10.7K

13.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$20.41 ₩27.1K

-3.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$7.56 ₩10.0K

-60.58%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$3.56 ₩4,723

-43.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$5.65 ₩7,494

-52.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$6.81 ₩9,042

-58.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$3.76 ₩4,983

-44.41%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$2.62 ₩3,481

-20.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$2.93 ₩3,892

-50.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.35 ₩1,786

-30.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$3.48 ₩4,615

97.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.09

$18.94 ₩25.1K

-58.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.10 ₩2,784

-32.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$1.93 ₩2,558

31.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.09 ₩1,444

188.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$3.65 ₩4,840

-18.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.67 ₩888

122.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.99

$8.76 ₩11.6K

280.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.62

$1.39 ₩1,845

29.50%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$30.0K ₩39.8M

10.72%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$28.1K ₩37.2M

12.97%

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

$180 €162

$215 ₩285.2K

-16.05%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$36.76 ₩48.8K

-62.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.28

$21.23 ₩28.2K

58.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.28

$55.1 ₩73.1K

-6.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$14.12 ₩18.7K

13.03%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$11.38 ₩15.1K

-3.43%

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

$917 €824

$379 ₩503.1K

141.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$18.1K ₩24.0M

-8.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$57.7 ₩76.5K

50.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.60

$32.54 ₩43.2K

18.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$71.4 ₩94.7K

48.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$84.4 ₩112.0K

41.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$488 ₩647.2K

248.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,218

$360 ₩478.0K

276.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,339

$1,158 ₩1.5M

124.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$1,046 ₩1.4M

97.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,213

$7,247 ₩9.6M

-4.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,607

$5,589 ₩7.4M

-8.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.08

-19.61%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Seongnam: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Seongnam

$360 25.4% 73.4% $995

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Seongnam

$426 30% 32.3% $104

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Seongnam

$159 11.2% 40.7% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Seongnam

$273 19.3% 19.7% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Seongnam

$111 7.8% 29.9% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Seongnam

$78 5.5% 5.9% $4.3

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Seongnam

$11 * 0.8% 76.6% $37

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 $1,699 in Barcelona and $488 in Seongnam. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $42 in Seongnam. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $426, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇰🇷 Seongnam

🕒 Local time

13:10 1:10 PM

21:10 9:10 PM

8 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

967,510

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

10,000 KRW = 7.54 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, 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).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,327 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.54 USD). 1 EUR = 1,477 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.77 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Seongnam 9,620 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Seongnam

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 Seongnam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Seongnam differ by about 73% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $1,418 including rent). Seongnam is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,679 in Barcelona and $2,127 in Seongnam to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $488 in Seongnam. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $379 in Seongnam. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Seongnam – a meal for two runs $42 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,418 in Seongnam versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Seongnam but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Seongnam 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 Seongnam are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.