Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Suwon

For one person, living is cheaper in Suwon: $1,372 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $13,000 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
66

Cost of Living Index in Suwon
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Suwon Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Suwon

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,372

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Suwon

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,372 in Suwon.

Barcelona $2,453
Suwon $1,372

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,163 in Suwon.

Barcelona $3,509
Suwon $2,163

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,954 in Suwon.

Barcelona $4,564
Suwon $2,954

Living in Barcelona is roughly 79% more expensive than in Suwon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$6.06 ₩8,118

190.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$29.93 ₩40.1K

125.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$7.65 ₩10.3K

76.86%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.41 ₩4,572

-6.45%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.57 ₩2,100

85.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.59 ₩790

220.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$3.83 ₩5,136

4.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$4.77 ₩6,390

-5.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.60 ₩3,491

-49.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.60 ₩3,482

-22.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.36 ₩4,510

-44.94%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$3.17 ₩4,249

52.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$11.15 ₩14.9K

50.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$11.64 ₩15.6K

-21.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$11.39 ₩15.3K

72.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$6.22 ₩8,338

-52.09%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.93 ₩3,925

-31.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$5.30 ₩7,100

-49.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$4.40 ₩5,904

-36.36%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$3.47 ₩4,646

-39.77%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$2.74 ₩3,669

-24.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$4.94 ₩6,619

-70.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.36 ₩1,821

-30.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$3.73 ₩5,000

84.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$13.45 ₩18.0K

-41.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.53 ₩3,393

-44.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$3.86 ₩5,169

-34.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.24 ₩1,658

153.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$48.67 ₩65.2K

-47.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$2.88 ₩3,861

3.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.63 ₩842

136.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$8.98 ₩12.0K

271.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.32 ₩1,771

36.36%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$28.7K ₩38.5M

15.62%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$25.2K ₩33.8M

25.69%

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

$180 €162

$186 ₩248.9K

-2.84%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$18.20 ₩24.4K

-23.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$17.99 ₩24.1K

87.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$43.73 ₩58.6K

17.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$11.82 ₩15.8K

35.03%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$11.19 ₩15.0K

-1.79%

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

$917 €821

$691 ₩926.5K

32.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$18.3K ₩24.5M

-9.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$37.03 ₩49.6K

135.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$109 ₩146.5K

-64.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$76.5 ₩102.5K

38.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$60.0 ₩80.4K

99.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$438 ₩587.3K

287.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$352 ₩471.8K

285.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$1,185 ₩1.6M

119.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$819 ₩1.1M

151.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$12.6K ₩16.9M

-45.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$7,074 ₩9.5M

-27.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$2,638 ₩3.5M

-16.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

6.5

-49.54%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Suwon: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Suwon

$352 25.7% 74% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Suwon

$395 28.8% 22.8% $73

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Suwon

$150 10.9% 44.1% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Suwon

$222 16.2% 2.7% $6.1

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Suwon

$127 9.3% 19.5% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Suwon

$66 4.8% 10.1% $7.4

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Suwon

$60 4.4% 23% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $438 in Suwon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Suwon pays 19% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $30 in Suwon. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $395, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇰🇷 Suwon

🕒 Local time

15:10 3:10 PM

23:10 11:10 PM

8 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,203,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1,340 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 1,496 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Suwon 9,630 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Suwon

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 Suwon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,372 in Suwon, so Suwon is about 44% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 16% lower in Barcelona. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $438 in Suwon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $691 in Suwon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 19% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,372 in Suwon versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Suwon but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Suwon 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 Suwon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.