Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Suzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Suzhou: $876 a month against $2,405 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,300 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 Suzhou
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Suzhou Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,405

/mo nomad

Suzhou

🇨🇳 China

$876

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Suzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,405 in Barcelona versus $876 in Suzhou.

Barcelona $2,405
Suzhou $876

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,477 in Barcelona versus $1,504 in Suzhou.

Barcelona $3,477
Suzhou $1,504

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,550 in Barcelona versus $2,132 in Suzhou.

Barcelona $4,550
Suzhou $2,132

Living in Barcelona is roughly 175% more expensive than in Suzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 79% above, Suzhou is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.98 €16.05

$4.26 ¥28.48

322.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 €60.2

$29.42 ¥197

129.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.37 €11.93

$5.29 ¥35.36

152.74%

Cappuccino

$3.34 €2.98

$3.38 ¥22.58

-1.18%

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

$2.95 €2.64

$0.73 ¥4.86

304.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.69

$0.39 ¥2.59

387.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.88 €3.46

$2.25 ¥15.05

72.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 €4.08

$4.60 ¥30.71

-0.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 €1.13

$1.89 ¥12.61

-32.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 €1.75

$2.04 ¥13.63

-3.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$1.29 ¥8.63

35.66%

Eggs

$4.89 €4.36

$1.82 ¥12.19

168.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.47 €15.59

$17.80 ¥119

-1.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.06 €8.09

$3.50 ¥23.36

158.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.18 €18.01

$8.57 ¥57.3

135.47%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 €2.75

$2.03 ¥13.58

51.72%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.28 ¥8.54

58.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.60 €2.32

$1.39 ¥9.27

87.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 €2.42

$1.50 ¥10.03

80.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 €1.92

$0.63 ¥4.21

241.27%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.17 ¥7.79

88.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.38

$0.83 ¥5.56

85.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 €0.83

$0.55 ¥3.69

69.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.09 €6.32

$4.56 ¥30.50

55.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.63 €6.81

$9.01 ¥60.2

-15.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 €1.33

$1.06 ¥7.11

40.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 €2.43

$2.06 ¥13.77

32.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.95 €2.63

$0.39 ¥2.59

656.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.91 €23.13

$43.93 ¥294

-41.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.13 €2.80

$1.73 ¥11.59

80.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.36 ¥2.38

302.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.17 €30.49

$10.20 ¥68.2

235.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.60

$1.28 ¥8.58

39.84%

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

$34.7K €31.0K

$19.6K ¥131.3K

76.53%

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

$30.3K €27.0K

$17.7K ¥118.6K

70.70%

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

$181 €161

$99.4 ¥664

81.77%

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

$13.56 €12.10

$12.81 ¥85.6

5.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.12 €31.34

$11.12 ¥74.4

215.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.2 €47.44

$33.16 ¥222

60.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.05 €14.33

$18.47 ¥123

-13.10%

Cinema Ticket

$11.37 €10.14

$5.85 ¥39.09

94.36%

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

$939 €838

$1,213 ¥8,105

-22.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$21.4K ¥143.0K

-22.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.7

$52.4 ¥350

68.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.77 €35.49

$41.14 ¥275

-3.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.3

$83.3 ¥557

24.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €107

$86.6 ¥578

38.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,513

$457 ¥3,057

270.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,301 €1,161

$193 ¥1,292

572.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,299

$1,033 ¥6,902

149.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,941 €1,732

$594 ¥3,971

226.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,470 €6,666

$5,329 ¥35.6K

40.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,195 €4,636

$2,773 ¥18.5K

87.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,299 €2,052

$1,381 ¥9,231

66.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.53

-7.08%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 4, 2026

Last update for Suzhou: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54%

Suzhou

$193 22.3% 85.1% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.5%

Suzhou

$221 25.5% 32% $104

Eating Out

Barcelona

$272 11.3%

Suzhou

$115 13.3% 57.6% $157

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.5%

Suzhou

$123 14.3% 46.2% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Suzhou

$119 13.7% 24.9% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$76 3.2%

Suzhou

$45 5.2% 40.9% $31

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Suzhou

$49 5.7% 1.9% $0.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $457 in Suzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 66% 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: $67.0 in Barcelona vs $29.00 in Suzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $221 per month, with Suzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Suzhou

🕒 Local time

09:21 9:21 AM

15:21 3:21 PM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

12,748,262

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Suzhou 9,760 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
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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 Suzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Suzhou differ by about 175% in total monthly costs ($2,405 vs $876 including rent). Suzhou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 66% 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $457 in Suzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $939 in Barcelona versus $1,213 in Suzhou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 47% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $876 in Suzhou versus $2,405 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Suzhou but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Suzhou 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 Suzhou 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 Suzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 175% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.