Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Taraz

For one person, living is cheaper in Taraz: $626 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,900 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Taraz
Learn more

Taraz Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Taraz

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$626

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Taraz

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $626 in Taraz.

Barcelona $2,453
Taraz $626

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,001 in Taraz.

Barcelona $3,509
Taraz $1,001

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,375 in Taraz.

Barcelona $4,564
Taraz $1,375

Living in Barcelona is roughly 292% more expensive than in Taraz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Taraz is 54% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$8.83 ₸4,023

99.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$22.00 ₸10.0K

206.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$6.68 ₸3,043

102.54%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$1.56 ₸713

104.49%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$0.92 ₸420

216.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.42 ₸192

350.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$1.13 ₸516

254.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$1.80 ₸820

151.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.08 ₸493

21.30%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.44 ₸199

359.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.35 ₸615

37.04%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$1.69 ₸772

185.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$10.17 ₸4,634

64.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$5.16 ₸2,349

76.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$8.26 ₸3,761

137.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$1.21 ₸549

146.28%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.17 ₸989

-6.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$2.59 ₸1,179

4.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$1.37 ₸624

104.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.51 ₸233

309.80%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$0.44 ₸199

370.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.88 ₸403

65.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.80 ₸365

17.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$2.39 ₸1,090

187.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$4.38 ₸1,993

80.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.08 ₸490

30.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$1.53 ₸696

66.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.21 ₸96.4

1395.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$0.88 ₸399

239.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.37 ₸170

302.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$4.07 ₸1,852

719.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.65 ₸298

176.92%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$27.6K ₸12.6M

20.13%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$27.5K ₸12.5M

15.23%

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

$180 €162

$47.53 ₸21.7K

279.57%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$8.64 ₸3,936

60.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$8.98 ₸4,089

275.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$36.00 ₸16.4K

43.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$4.54 ₸2,069

142.07%

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

$917 €823

$58.8 ₸26.8K

1459.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$26.93 ₸12.3K

223.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$34.47 ₸15.7K

11.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$111 ₸50.4K

-4.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$53.0 ₸24.2K

125.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$263 ₸120.0K

544.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$109 ₸49.8K

1140.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$435 ₸198.0K

498.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$200 ₸91.1K

931.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$858 ₸391.0K

705.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$600 ₸273.2K

754.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$282 ₸128.2K

685.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

17.83

-81.60%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Taraz: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Taraz

$109 17.5% 91.9% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Taraz

$177 28.4% 44.9% $144

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Taraz

$124 19.8% 53.7% $144

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Taraz

$65 10.4% 71.4% $163

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Taraz

$101 16.2% 35.9% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Taraz

$45 7.2% 38.7% $28

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Taraz

$3.6 * 0.6% 92.6% $45

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $263 in Taraz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 7.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $22 in Taraz for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $177 per month, with Taraz cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇰🇿 Taraz

🕒 Local time

05:02 5:02 AM

09:02 9:02 AM

4 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

431,160

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1,000 KZT = 2.2 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KZT, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 455 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.2 USD). 1 EUR = 507 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Taraz 5,540 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Taraz

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 Taraz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $626 in Taraz, so Taraz is about 74% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 7.9 times higher, 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $263 in Taraz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $59 in Taraz. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Taraz – a meal for two runs $22 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $626 in Taraz versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $800 budget is realistic in Taraz but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Taraz 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 Taraz are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Taraz wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.