Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and South Africa

Name: South Africa
Address: ZA

For one person, living is cheaper in South Africa: $1,197 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 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
57

Cost of Living Index in South Africa
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South Africa Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,197

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Barcelona is 37% more expensive than South Africa without rent, and 104.1% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Barcelona is 43.1% more expensive than South Africa without rent, and 79.4% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.80

$10.89 R 180

62.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.4

$42.93 R 710

57.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.18

$5.62 R 92.9

142.17%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.77

$2.34 R 38.74

32.48%

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

$3.00 €2.69

$1.10 R 18.21

172.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$0.84 R 13.82

129.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.44

$2.43 R 40.16

58.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.90

$2.96 R 48.85

47.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.12

$1.19 R 19.61

5.04%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.90

$1.12 R 18.55

89.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.83 R 30.29

7.65%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.26

$2.51 R 41.45

89.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.27

$8.25 R 136

106.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €8.01

$5.32 R 87.9

68.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.48

$7.64 R 126

170.29%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.83

$1.81 R 29.86

74.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.68 R 27.85

17.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$1.78 R 29.49

48.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.58

$1.76 R 29.15

63.64%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.84

$1.50 R 24.73

37.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.95

$1.46 R 24.10

49.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.29 R 21.37

18.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.87

$1.13 R 18.74

-14.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.23

$3.38 R 55.9

106.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$5.08 R 84.0

55.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.27

$1.48 R 24.50

-4.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.40

$1.96 R 32.37

37.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.96

$1.53 R 25.27

116.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.91

$60.2 R 996

-57.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.76

$0.94 R 15.59

227.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.33

$0.92 R 15.22

60.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.42

$7.73 R 128

325.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.67

$1.44 R 23.78

29.86%

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

$33.0K €29.5K

$35.6K R 588.1K

-7.35%

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

$31.9K €28.6K

$32.4K R 536.2K

-1.52%

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

$183 €164

$134 R 2,218

36.27%

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

$14.24 €12.74

$34.27 R 566

-58.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.93

$40.66 R 672

-15.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €46.01

$32.99 R 545

55.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.66

$11.61 R 192

41.09%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.90

$7.24 R 120

52.76%

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

$944 €844

$223 R 3,694

322.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.9K

$7,429 R 122.8K

199.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.5

$54.0 R 893

62.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.70

$32.83 R 543

18.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.6

$101 R 1,677

3.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$87.2 R 1,442

34.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,518

$485 R 8,024

249.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,196

$389 R 6,426

243.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,409

$941 R 15.5K

186.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,858

$795 R 13.1K

161.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,402

$1,071 R 17.7K

568.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,545

$768 R 12.7K

560.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €2,006

$1,475 R 24.4K

51.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

11.23

-71.59%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for South Africa: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

South Africa

$389 32.5% 70.9% $948

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

South Africa

$197 16.5% 39.8% $130

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

South Africa

$158 13.2% 40.8% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

South Africa

$209 17.5% 9.7% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

South Africa

$124 10.4% 21% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

South Africa

$47 4% 35.5% $26

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

South Africa

$72 6% 45.7% $23

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇿🇦 South Africa

🕒 Local time

00:47 12:47 AM

01:47 1:47 AM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

62,027,503

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.895 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.53 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.47 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona South Africa 8,220 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
South Africa

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

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