Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Tripoli

For one person, living is cheaper in Tripoli: $538 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $22,100 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
26

Cost of Living Index in Tripoli
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Tripoli Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Tripoli

🇱🇾 Libya

$538

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Tripoli

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $538 in Tripoli.

Barcelona $2,381
Tripoli $538

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $812 in Tripoli.

Barcelona $3,406
Tripoli $812

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $1,087 in Tripoli.

Barcelona $4,431
Tripoli $1,087

Living in Barcelona is roughly 343% more expensive than in Tripoli, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Tripoli is 60% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$3.82 LYD 24.48

368.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$15.79 LYD 101

319.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$2.60 LYD 16.69

426.54%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.63 LYD 4.04

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 LYD 4.41

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$0.44 LYD 2.83

595.45%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$0.42 LYD 2.68

630.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.10 LYD 0.63

1840.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$0.97 LYD 6.25

34.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$0.20 LYD 1.28

950.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$1.19 LYD 7.62

53.78%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$1.38 LYD 8.83

234.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$5.33 LYD 34.13

225.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$3.61 LYD 23.16

157.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$9.17 LYD 58.7

116.25%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$2.23 LYD 14.29

34.98%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.49 LYD 9.57

36.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$0.71 LYD 4.54

273.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$0.55 LYD 3.55

421.82%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.77 LYD 4.94

180.52%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$0.49 LYD 3.14

338.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$0.39 LYD 2.51

276.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.20 LYD 1.31

340.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.77 LYD 11.32

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 LYD 6.34

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.77 LYD 4.95

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$1.91 LYD 12.24

262.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$0.30 LYD 1.91

870.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$0.80 LYD 5.10

275.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.48 LYD 3.09

200.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.02 LYD 0.13

9200.00%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$23.6K LYD 151.3K

36.93%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$21.0K LYD 134.7K

50.82%

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

$183 €163

$93.1 LYD 597

96.33%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$6.05 LYD 38.75

124.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$27.35 LYD 175

20.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$24.58 LYD 158

122.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$2.36 LYD 15.14

600.00%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

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

$954 €849

$53.1 LYD 340

1697.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$1,534 LYD 9,830

982.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$22.65 LYD 145

279.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$17.61 LYD 113

122.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$63.3 LYD 406

63.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$67.1 LYD 430

76.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$351 LYD 2,251

382.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$143 LYD 917

792.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$619 LYD 3,968

315.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$258 LYD 1,655

644.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$257 LYD 1,646

767.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Tripoli: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Tripoli

$143 26.6% 88.8% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Tripoli

$117 21.7% 64.1% $209

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Tripoli

$46 8.5% 83% $224

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Tripoli

$126 23.5% 44.8% $103

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Tripoli

$77 14.3% 50.9% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Tripoli

$25 * 4.6% 68.1% $53

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Tripoli

$4.4 * 0.8% 90.7% $43

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 $1,695 in Barcelona and $351 in Tripoli. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 767% 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: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $16.00 in Tripoli for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $117 per month, with Tripoli cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇱🇾 Tripoli

🕒 Local time

18:56 6:56 PM

Same time as Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

2,127,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.139 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Tripoli 1,350 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Tripoli

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 Tripoli: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Tripoli differ by about 343% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $538 including rent). Tripoli is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 767% 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 $351 in Tripoli. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $53.1 in Tripoli. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tripoli – a meal for two runs $16.00 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $538 in Tripoli versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Tripoli but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Tripoli 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 Tripoli 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 Tripoli gentler on the wallet – expenses run 343% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.