Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Sibu

For one person, living is cheaper in Sibu: $905 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,600 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Sibu
Learn more

Sibu Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Sibu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$905

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Sibu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $905 in Sibu.

Barcelona $2,453
Sibu $905

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,406 in Sibu.

Barcelona $3,509
Sibu $1,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,906 in Sibu.

Barcelona $4,564
Sibu $1,906

Living in Barcelona is roughly 171% more expensive than in Sibu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Sibu is 34% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$2.26 MYR 9.14

678.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$19.22 MYR 77.9

251.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$4.23 MYR 17.14

219.86%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.30 MYR 9.31

38.70%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.61 MYR 2.48

377.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.23 MYR 0.93

721.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$2.86 MYR 11.60

40.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$4.46 MYR 18.08

1.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.76 MYR 7.14

-25.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.87 MYR 3.54

132.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.33 MYR 5.37

39.10%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.18 MYR 8.82

121.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$13.35 MYR 54.1

25.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$4.90 MYR 19.88

86.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$9.92 MYR 40.23

97.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.86 MYR 11.60

4.20%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.81 MYR 7.35

11.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.36 MYR 9.58

14.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.69 MYR 6.86

65.68%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.38 MYR 5.59

51.45%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.33 MYR 5.40

55.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.06 MYR 4.28

37.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.56 MYR 2.28

67.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$4.48 MYR 18.18

53.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$19.27 MYR 78.1

-59.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$3.02 MYR 12.23

-53.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$4.61 MYR 18.71

-44.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.79 MYR 3.21

297.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$11.49 MYR 46.59

121.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.04 MYR 4.24

187.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.61 MYR 2.48

144.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$7.27 MYR 29.47

359.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.87 MYR 3.51

106.90%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$45.5K MYR 184.6K

-27.09%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$36.2K MYR 146.6K

-12.31%

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

$180 €162

$48.91 MYR 198

268.86%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$7.37 MYR 29.86

87.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$26.21 MYR 106

28.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$27.13 MYR 110

89.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$6.38 MYR 25.88

150.16%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$3.72 MYR 15.10

195.43%

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

$917 €821

$243 MYR 984

277.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$6,876 MYR 27.9K

139.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$56.1 MYR 228

55.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$36.43 MYR 148

5.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$69.2 MYR 281

52.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$78.2 MYR 317

53.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$390 MYR 1,579

336.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$318 MYR 1,288

326.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$698 MYR 2,828

273.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$630 MYR 2,552

227.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$2,136 MYR 8,660

223.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$1,165 MYR 4,723

340.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$487 MYR 1,974

354.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.06

-19.21%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sibu: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Sibu

$318 35.1% 76.6% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Sibu

$258 28.6% 19.7% $63

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Sibu

$85 9.4% 68.3% $183

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Sibu

$82 9.1% 63.8% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Sibu

$108 11.9% 31.6% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Sibu

$35 3.8% 53% $39

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Sibu

$19 2.1% 61.3% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $390 in Sibu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 4.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $19 in Sibu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $258 per month, with Sibu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇾 Sibu

🕒 Local time

10:19 10:19 AM

17:19 5:19 PM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

198,239

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 MYR = 0.247 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.05 MYR (1 MYR = 0.247 USD). 1 EUR = 4.52 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Barcelona Sibu 11,460 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Sibu

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 Sibu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $905 in Sibu, so Sibu is about 63% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 4.5 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $390 in Sibu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $243 in Sibu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 25% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Sibu is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Sibu are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Sibu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 63% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.