Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Sharjah

For one person, living is cheaper in Sharjah: $1,841 a month against $2,405 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 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
89

Cost of Living Index in Sharjah
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Sharjah Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,405

/mo nomad

Sharjah

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$1,841

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Sharjah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,405 in Barcelona versus $1,841 in Sharjah.

Barcelona $2,405
Sharjah $1,841

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,477 in Barcelona versus $2,576 in Sharjah.

Barcelona $3,477
Sharjah $2,576

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,550 in Barcelona versus $3,312 in Sharjah.

Barcelona $4,550
Sharjah $3,312

Living in Barcelona is roughly 31% more expensive than in Sharjah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Barcelona 79% above, Sharjah 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.98 €16.05

$5.97 AED 21.92

201.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 €60.2

$32.91 AED 121

104.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.37 €11.93

$8.29 AED 30.45

61.28%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.54 AED 35.05

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.35 AED 34.35

Cappuccino

$3.34 €2.98

$3.82 AED 14.02

-12.57%

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

$2.95 €2.64

$0.80 AED 2.93

268.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.69

$0.29 AED 1.05

555.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.88 €3.46

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 €4.08

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 €1.13

$1.54 AED 5.64

-17.53%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 €1.75

$1.19 AED 4.38

64.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$1.83 AED 6.71

-4.37%

Eggs

$4.89 €4.36

$3.21 AED 11.80

52.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.47 €15.59

$8.64 AED 31.73

102.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.06 €8.09

$6.63 AED 24.36

36.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.18 €18.01

$11.46 AED 42.09

76.09%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 €2.75

$2.27 AED 8.33

35.68%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.67 AED 6.12

21.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.60 €2.32

$1.30 AED 4.78

100.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 €2.42

$1.28 AED 4.72

111.72%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 €1.92

$1.03 AED 3.79

108.74%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.12 AED 4.12

97.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.38

$1.43 AED 5.26

7.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 €0.83

$0.61 AED 2.23

52.46%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$15.53 AED 57.0

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 AED 8.88

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 AED 9.50

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.09 €6.32

$6.31 AED 23.19

12.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.63 €6.81

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 €1.33

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 €2.43

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.95 €2.63

$2.16 AED 7.92

36.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.91 €23.13

$27.07 AED 99.4

-4.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.13 €2.80

$3.65 AED 13.42

-14.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.52 AED 1.91

178.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.17 €30.49

$12.07 AED 44.33

183.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.60

$0.94 AED 3.46

90.43%

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

$34.7K €31.0K

$45.2K AED 166.0K

-23.25%

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

$30.3K €27.0K

$22.0K AED 80.9K

37.56%

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

$181 €161

$208 AED 766

-13.34%

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

$13.56 €12.10

$49.40 AED 181

-72.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.12 €31.34

$96.1 AED 353

-63.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.2 €47.44

$53.5 AED 196

-0.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.05 €14.33

$22.29 AED 81.9

-27.99%

Cinema Ticket

$11.37 €10.14

$13.54 AED 49.72

-16.03%

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

$939 €838

$325 AED 1,194

188.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$8,433 AED 31.0K

95.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.7

$57.6 AED 212

53.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.77 €35.49

$78.0 AED 286

-49.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.3

$109 AED 401

-5.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €107

$96.1 AED 353

24.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,513

$823 AED 3,024

105.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,301 €1,161

$906 AED 3,329

43.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,299

$1,797 AED 6,598

43.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,941 €1,732

$1,402 AED 5,148

38.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,470 €6,666

$8,241 AED 30.3K

-9.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,195 €4,636

$2,748 AED 10.1K

89.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,299 €2,052

$2,191 AED 8,045

4.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.5

-27.11%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 4, 2026

Last update for Sharjah: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54%

Sharjah

$906 49% 30.3% $394

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.5%

Sharjah

$192 10.4% 40.8% $133

Eating Out

Barcelona

$272 11.3%

Sharjah

$123 6.6% 54.9% $149

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.5%

Sharjah

$354 19.1% 54.3% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Sharjah

$153 8.3% 2.8% $4.5

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$76 3.2%

Sharjah

$81 4.4% 6.2% $4.7

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Sharjah

$42 2.3% 12.8% $6.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $823 in Sharjah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 5% 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: $67.0 in Barcelona vs $33.00 in Sharjah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $192 per month, with Sharjah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇦🇪 Sharjah

🕒 Local time

12:33 12:33 PM

14:33 2:33 PM

2 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,400,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Sharjah 5,170 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Sharjah

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 Sharjah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Sharjah differ by about 31% in total monthly costs ($2,405 vs $1,841 including rent). Sharjah is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 5% 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 $823 in Sharjah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $939 in Barcelona versus $325 in Sharjah. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 69% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,841 in Sharjah versus $2,405 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Sharjah but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Sharjah 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 Sharjah 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 Sharjah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.