Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Surat Thani

For one person, living is cheaper in Surat Thani: $775 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,300 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Surat Thani
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Surat Thani Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Surat Thani

🇹🇭 Thailand

$775

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Surat Thani

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $775 in Surat Thani.

Barcelona $2,381
Surat Thani $775

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $1,414 in Surat Thani.

Barcelona $3,406
Surat Thani $1,414

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $2,053 in Surat Thani.

Barcelona $4,431
Surat Thani $2,053

Living in Barcelona is roughly 207% more expensive than in Surat Thani, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Surat Thani is 43% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$1.89 ฿63.0

846.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$17.87 ฿597

270.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$4.51 ฿151

203.55%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$1.50 ฿50.2

104.00%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$0.50 ฿16.68

514.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.29 ฿9.66

568.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$2.56 ฿85.4

51.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$3.69 ฿123

24.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.66 ฿55.4

-21.69%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.19 ฿39.89

76.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$1.17 ฿39.13

56.41%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$1.87 ฿62.4

147.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$19.18 ฿641

-9.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$3.33 ฿111

178.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$7.44 ฿249

166.53%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$2.91 ฿97.2

3.44%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.68 ฿56.3

20.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$1.76 ฿58.7

50.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$2.05 ฿68.4

40.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.30 ฿43.57

66.15%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.37 ฿45.90

56.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.11 ฿37.24

32.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.41 ฿13.66

114.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$3.07 ฿103

125.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$18.86 ฿630

-58.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.54 ฿51.6

-9.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$1.82 ฿60.7

44.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$1.02 ฿34.00

185.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$20.95 ฿700

21.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$1.18 ฿39.50

154.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.63 ฿21.05

128.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$3.49 ฿117

851.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.16 ฿38.93

60.34%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$26.6K ฿890.1K

21.43%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$27.3K ฿911.7K

16.22%

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

$183 €163

$72.9 ฿2,437

150.63%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$11.12 ฿372

22.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$17.32 ฿579

90.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$48.24 ฿1,612

13.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$11.52 ฿385

43.40%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$4.53 ฿151

147.90%

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

$954 €849

$549 ฿18.3K

73.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$11.6K ฿386.5K

43.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$61.9 ฿2,070

38.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$29.16 ฿974

34.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$97.3 ฿3,252

6.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$86.5 ฿2,892

37.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$237 ฿7,910

616.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$149 ฿4,985

755.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$1,150 ฿38.4K

123.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$709 ฿23.7K

171.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$2,226 ฿74.4K

227.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$1,404 ฿46.9K

256.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.57

-41.11%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Surat Thani: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Surat Thani

$149 19.3% 88.3% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Surat Thani

$244 31.5% 24.9% $81

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Surat Thani

$70 9% 74.1% $200

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Surat Thani

$101 13.1% 55.8% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Surat Thani

$124 16% 20.9% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Surat Thani

$57 7.4% 25.8% $20

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Surat Thani

$29 3.8% 38% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $237 in Surat Thani. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $18.00 in Surat Thani for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $244 per month, with Surat Thani cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇹🇭 Surat Thani

🕒 Local time

20:36 8:36 PM

01:36 1:36 AM

5 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

132,040

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Surat Thani 9,930 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Surat Thani

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 Surat Thani: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Surat Thani differ by about 207% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $775 including rent). Surat Thani 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 $1,163 in Surat Thani 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 $237 in Surat Thani. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $549 in Surat Thani. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 33% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $775 in Surat Thani versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Surat Thani but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Surat Thani 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 Surat Thani 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 Surat Thani gentler on the wallet – expenses run 207% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.