Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Shantou

For one person, living is cheaper in Shantou: $691 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,100 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
33

Cost of Living Index in Shantou
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Shantou Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Shantou

🇨🇳 China

$691

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Shantou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $691 in Shantou.

Barcelona $2,453
Shantou $691

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,107 in Shantou.

Barcelona $3,509
Shantou $1,107

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,524 in Shantou.

Barcelona $4,564
Shantou $1,524

Living in Barcelona is roughly 255% more expensive than in Shantou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Shantou is 49% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$2.28 ¥15.20

671.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$23.55 ¥157

186.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.27 ¥35.05

156.74%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.29 ¥21.89

-3.04%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.47 ¥3.14

519.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.31 ¥2.05

509.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$0.93 ¥6.21

331.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.22 ¥14.80

104.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.61 ¥10.70

-18.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.47 ¥9.79

37.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$0.78 ¥5.18

137.18%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.70 ¥11.33

184.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$13.70 ¥91.2

22.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$3.29 ¥21.89

177.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$12.93 ¥86.1

51.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.05 ¥13.64

45.37%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.57 ¥10.47

28.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.83 ¥12.17

47.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.38 ¥9.17

102.90%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.85 ¥5.68

145.88%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.01 ¥6.72

104.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.59 ¥3.95

147.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.43 ¥2.85

118.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$3.77 ¥25.10

82.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$11.80 ¥78.5

-33.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.84 ¥5.56

67.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.74 ¥11.58

45.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.38 ¥2.54

726.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$24.13 ¥161

5.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.46 ¥9.73

104.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.39 ¥2.58

282.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$7.39 ¥49.20

351.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.24 ¥8.28

45.16%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$19.7K ¥131.1K

68.53%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$18.2K ¥121.0K

74.33%

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

$180 €162

$58.3 ¥388

209.34%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$9.17 ¥61.0

50.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$13.84 ¥92.1

143.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$7.42 ¥49.36

48.11%

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

$917 €821

$527 ¥3,510

73.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$24.3K ¥162.0K

-32.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$55.2 ¥367

57.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$40.48 ¥269

-4.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$72.4 ¥482

46.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$92.9 ¥618

28.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$295 ¥1,966

475.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$148 ¥985

815.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$590 ¥3,929

340.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$301 ¥2,001

585.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$2,209 ¥14.7K

213.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$4,479 ¥29.8K

14.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$1,070 ¥7,120

106.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.35

-2.09%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Shantou: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Shantou

$148 21.4% 89.1% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Shantou

$214 31% 33.4% $108

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Shantou

$86 12.4% 68% $182

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Shantou

$81 11.8% 64.3% $147

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Shantou

$117 17% 25.6% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Shantou

$15 * 2.2% 79.8% $59

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Shantou

$29 4.2% 40% $19

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 $295 in Shantou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.1 times 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: $67 in Barcelona vs $24 in Shantou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $214 per month, with Shantou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Shantou

🕒 Local time

15:27 3:27 PM

22:27 10:27 PM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

5,389,328

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Shantou 10,160 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
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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 Shantou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $691 in Shantou, so Shantou is about 72% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.1 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 $295 in Shantou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $527 in Shantou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 50% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $691 in Shantou versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Shantou but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Shantou 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 Shantou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 72% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.