Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Surakarta

For one person, living is cheaper in Surakarta: $509 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $22,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Surakarta
Learn more

Surakarta Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Surakarta

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$509

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Surakarta

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $509 in Surakarta.

Barcelona $2,399
Surakarta $509

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $817 in Surakarta.

Barcelona $3,410
Surakarta $817

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $1,124 in Surakarta.

Barcelona $4,421
Surakarta $1,124

Living in Barcelona is roughly 372% more expensive than in Surakarta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Surakarta is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$1.63 Rp 29.4K

1000.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$11.59 Rp 208.7K

487.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$3.20 Rp 57.6K

315.00%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$1.55 Rp 27.9K

109.68%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$0.54 Rp 9,772

457.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.25 Rp 4,534

648.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$1.41 Rp 25.4K

173.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$2.76 Rp 49.6K

62.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$0.87 Rp 15.6K

48.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$0.73 Rp 13.2K

179.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$0.77 Rp 13.8K

123.38%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$0.96 Rp 17.3K

396.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$7.62 Rp 137.2K

120.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$1.71 Rp 30.7K

422.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$5.40 Rp 97.3K

268.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$2.01 Rp 36.3K

48.26%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.27 Rp 22.8K

59.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.81 Rp 32.5K

50.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$1.37 Rp 24.6K

95.62%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.37 Rp 24.6K

53.28%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.69 Rp 30.4K

23.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.58 Rp 10.5K

150.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.43 Rp 7,732

106.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$1.97 Rp 35.5K

252.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$8.44 Rp 151.9K

-7.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.69 Rp 30.4K

-14.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$2.90 Rp 52.3K

-11.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$0.40 Rp 7,244

647.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

$21.88 Rp 393.8K

15.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$0.50 Rp 9,071

524.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.43 Rp 7,709

234.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$2.69 Rp 48.3K

1145.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

135.53%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$24.5K Rp 440.7M

41.46%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$32.3K Rp 582.1M

-7.02%

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

$178 €158

$77.5 Rp 1.4M

129.40%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$2.10 Rp 37.8K

534.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$18.23 Rp 328.2K

91.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$15.74 Rp 283.3K

238.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$8.41 Rp 151.3K

90.37%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$1.93 Rp 34.7K

473.06%

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

$957 €851

$33.42 Rp 601.5K

2762.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$1,845 Rp 33.2M

797.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$59.1 Rp 1.1M

49.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$35.67 Rp 642.0K

10.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$70.2 Rp 1.3M

46.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$64.5 Rp 1.2M

88.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$168 Rp 3.0M

886.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$56.6 Rp 1.0M

2201.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$338 Rp 6.1M

657.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$192 Rp 3.5M

897.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$158 Rp 2.8M

1344.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

7.5

-56.27%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Surakarta: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Surakarta

$57 11.1% 95.7% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Surakarta

$148 29.2% 53.7% $172

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Surakarta

$57 11.2% 78.9% $213

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Surakarta

$98 19.2% 56.7% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Surakarta

$103 20.3% 34.8% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Surakarta

$20 3.9% 74% $56

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Surakarta

$26 5.1% 45% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,653 in Barcelona and $168 in Surakarta. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 1344% 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: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $12.00 in Surakarta for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $148 per month, with Surakarta cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇮🇩 Surakarta

🕒 Local time

01:46 1:46 AM

06:46 6:46 AM

5 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

503,421

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Surakarta 12,120 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Surakarta

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 Surakarta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Surakarta differ by about 372% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $509 including rent). Surakarta is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1344% 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: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $168 in Surakarta. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $33.42 in Surakarta. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 116% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $509 in Surakarta versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Surakarta but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Surakarta 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 Surakarta 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 Surakarta gentler on the wallet – expenses run 372% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.