Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Shaoxing

For one person, living is cheaper in Shaoxing: $751 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,600 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Shaoxing
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Shaoxing Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Shaoxing

🇨🇳 China

$751

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Shaoxing

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $751 in Shaoxing.

Barcelona $2,381
Shaoxing $751

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $1,204 in Shaoxing.

Barcelona $3,406
Shaoxing $1,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $1,657 in Shaoxing.

Barcelona $4,431
Shaoxing $1,657

Living in Barcelona is roughly 217% more expensive than in Shaoxing, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Shaoxing is 45% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.97

$3.72 ¥24.81

380.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €59.1

$22.22 ¥148

197.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.22

$5.31 ¥35.43

157.82%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.73

$2.58 ¥17.20

18.60%

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

$3.07 €2.74

$0.62 ¥4.15

395.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.36 ¥2.38

438.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.45

$1.15 ¥7.66

236.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.11

$2.19 ¥14.64

110.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.80 ¥11.97

-27.78%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.96 ¥13.05

7.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.63

$0.75 ¥4.99

144.00%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.13

$1.73 ¥11.55

167.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.49

$11.67 ¥77.8

48.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.28

$3.31 ¥22.05

180.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.70

$10.59 ¥70.6

87.25%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.69

$1.78 ¥11.90

69.10%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.72 ¥11.50

18.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$1.72 ¥11.46

54.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.56

$1.09 ¥7.28

163.30%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.83 ¥5.51

160.24%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.92

$0.91 ¥6.07

136.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$0.65 ¥4.36

126.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.58 ¥3.87

51.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.18

$3.44 ¥22.92

101.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.98

$10.61 ¥70.8

-26.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$0.77 ¥5.13

80.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.35

$1.62 ¥10.81

62.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.60

$0.23 ¥1.54

1165.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.72

$19.86 ¥133

28.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.67

$1.99 ¥13.25

50.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.29

$0.43 ¥2.87

234.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.63

$9.04 ¥60.3

267.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.34 ¥8.93

38.81%

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

$32.3K €28.9K

$19.5K ¥129.8K

66.21%

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

$31.7K €28.3K

$18.0K ¥120.4K

75.69%

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

$183 €163

$47.33 ¥316

286.14%

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

$13.61 €12.15

$7.90 ¥52.7

72.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.39

$9.14 ¥61.0

260.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.81

$15.57 ¥104

251.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.75

$6.79 ¥45.32

143.30%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €10.02

$6.82 ¥45.51

64.66%

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

$954 €852

$844 ¥5,630

13.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$24.9K ¥166.3K

-33.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.8

$40.55 ¥270

112.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.90

$31.99 ¥213

22.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.5

$76.9 ¥513

34.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$106 ¥708

11.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,513

$434 ¥2,898

290.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,139

$222 ¥1,484

473.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,299

$596 ¥3,977

332.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,716

$450 ¥3,000

327.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,499

$6,407 ¥42.7K

13.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,471

$3,558 ¥23.7K

40.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,987

$901 ¥6,009

147.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.36

-2.38%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Shaoxing: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Shaoxing

$222 29.6% 82.6% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Shaoxing

$205 27.2% 37.1% $121

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Shaoxing

$91 12.1% 66.4% $179

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Shaoxing

$64 8.6% 71.9% $165

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Shaoxing

$115 15.3% 26.4% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Shaoxing

$29 3.9% 62.1% $48

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Shaoxing

$25 3.3% 47.3% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $434 in Shaoxing. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.5 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: $66 in Barcelona vs $22 in Shaoxing for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $205 per month, with Shaoxing cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Shaoxing

🕒 Local time

18:16 6:16 PM

01:16 1:16 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

4,912,239

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Shaoxing 9,870 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Shaoxing: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Shaoxing differ by about 217% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $751 including rent). Shaoxing is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.5 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $434 in Shaoxing. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $844 in Shaoxing. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 59% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $751 in Shaoxing versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Shaoxing but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Shaoxing 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 Shaoxing gentler on the wallet – expenses run 68% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.