Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Shiso

For one person, living is cheaper in Shiso: $1,048 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,000 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
51

Cost of Living Index in Shiso
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Shiso Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Shiso

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,048

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Shiso

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $1,048 in Shiso.

Barcelona $2,381
Shiso $1,048

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $1,913 in Shiso.

Barcelona $3,406
Shiso $1,913

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $2,777 in Shiso.

Barcelona $4,431
Shiso $2,777

Living in Barcelona is roughly 127% more expensive than in Shiso, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Shiso is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$7.87 ¥1,244

127.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$68.0 ¥10.7K

-2.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$6.29 ¥993

117.65%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.69 ¥584

-17.07%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$0.83 ¥132

269.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.72 ¥114

169.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$2.58 ¥407

50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$3.15 ¥497

46.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.52 ¥240

-14.47%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$3.00 ¥474

-30.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$4.87 ¥769

-62.42%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$2.19 ¥346

110.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$10.19 ¥1,609

70.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$6.48 ¥1,023

43.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$27.01 ¥4,267

-26.58%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$5.33 ¥842

-43.53%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$2.59 ¥409

-21.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$4.06 ¥641

-34.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$5.97 ¥943

-51.93%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$4.29 ¥678

-49.65%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$2.60 ¥411

-17.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.38 ¥218

6.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.83 ¥130

6.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$4.11 ¥650

68.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$7.66 ¥1,211

2.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.92 ¥303

-27.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$2.22 ¥351

18.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$1.36 ¥216

113.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$33.90 ¥5,356

-24.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$3.57 ¥564

-15.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.88 ¥455

-50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$20.87 ¥3,297

59.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.28 ¥202

45.31%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$22.9K ¥3.6M

41.25%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$17.0K ¥2.7M

86.71%

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

$183 €163

$144 ¥22.8K

26.58%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$23.93 ¥3,781

-43.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$13.58 ¥2,146

142.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$36.74 ¥5,805

48.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$13.71 ¥2,167

20.50%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$4.59 ¥726

144.66%

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

$954 €849

$283 ¥44.8K

236.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$13.6K ¥2.1M

22.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$10.06 ¥1,589

755.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$29.87 ¥4,720

30.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$33.76 ¥5,334

207.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$99.7 ¥15.7K

19.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$470 ¥74.3K

260.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$165 ¥26.0K

674.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$862 ¥136.1K

198.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$659 ¥104.2K

191.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$4,229 ¥668.1K

72.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$1,769 ¥279.5K

183.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

1.78

84.27%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Shiso: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Shiso

$165 15.7% 87.1% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Shiso

$368 35.2% 13.3% $43

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Shiso

$152 14.5% 43.8% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Shiso

$182 17.4% 20.7% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Shiso

$78 7.4% 50.1% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Shiso

$46 4.4% 40.5% $31

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Shiso

$57 5.5% 21.2% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $470 in Shiso. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $68.0 in Shiso for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $368 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇯🇵 Shiso

🕒 Local time

05:51 5:51 AM

12:51 12:51 PM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

36,610

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Shiso 10,230 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Shiso

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 Shiso: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Shiso differ by about 127% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $1,048 including rent). Shiso is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,571 in Barcelona and $1,572 in Shiso 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $470 in Shiso. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $283 in Shiso. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 13% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,048 in Shiso versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Shiso but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Shiso 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 Shiso 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 Shiso gentler on the wallet – expenses run 127% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.