Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Tsukuba

For one person, living is cheaper in Tsukuba: $1,111 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,100 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Tsukuba
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Tsukuba Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Tsukuba

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,111

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Tsukuba

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,111 in Tsukuba.

Barcelona $2,453
Tsukuba $1,111

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,773 in Tsukuba.

Barcelona $3,509
Tsukuba $1,773

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,434 in Tsukuba.

Barcelona $4,564
Tsukuba $2,434

Living in Barcelona is roughly 121% more expensive than in Tsukuba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Tsukuba is 18% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$6.49 ¥1,024

171.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$33.75 ¥5,322

99.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.13 ¥809

163.74%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.63 ¥415

21.29%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.96 ¥151

203.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.80 ¥126

136.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$2.11 ¥333

90.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$3.13 ¥493

44.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.39 ¥219

-5.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.67 ¥264

20.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$3.25 ¥512

-43.08%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.09 ¥329

131.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$10.46 ¥1,649

60.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$6.03 ¥950

51.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$14.40 ¥2,271

36.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$5.63 ¥888

-47.07%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.75 ¥434

-26.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.83 ¥446

-4.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$4.23 ¥666

-33.81%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.52 ¥397

-17.06%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$2.67 ¥421

-22.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.82 ¥129

78.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.76 ¥119

23.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$3.71 ¥585

85.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

$6.52 ¥1,028

21.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.74 ¥274

-18.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.08 ¥328

22.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.43 ¥225

119.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$55.8 ¥8,797

-54.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$3.20 ¥504

-6.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.76 ¥436

-46.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$20.77 ¥3,275

60.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.11 ¥174

62.16%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$22.2K ¥3.5M

49.37%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$15.7K ¥2.5M

102.49%

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

$180 €162

$131 ¥20.7K

37.24%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$24.64 ¥3,885

-43.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$31.74 ¥5,006

6.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$56.0 ¥8,836

-8.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$13.27 ¥2,093

-17.18%

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

$917 €821

$96.3 ¥15.2K

851.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$15.1K ¥2.4M

9.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$47.58 ¥7,502

82.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$36.56 ¥5,765

5.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$38.69 ¥6,101

173.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$41.36 ¥6,522

189.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$465 ¥73.4K

265.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$280 ¥44.2K

383.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$1,086 ¥171.3K

139.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$645 ¥101.7K

219.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$4,791 ¥755.5K

44.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$2,181 ¥343.9K

135.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$1,458 ¥229.9K

51.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

64.00%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Tsukuba: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Tsukuba

$280 25.3% 79.3% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Tsukuba

$285 25.6% 11.5% $37

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Tsukuba

$123 11.1% 54.2% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Tsukuba

$188 16.9% 17.6% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Tsukuba

$74 6.7% 53.2% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Tsukuba

$83 7.4% 12.4% $9.1

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Tsukuba

$79 7.1% 62% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $465 in Tsukuba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 52% 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 in Barcelona vs $34 in Tsukuba for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $285 per month, with Tsukuba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇯🇵 Tsukuba

🕒 Local time

04:59 4:59 AM

12:59 12:59 PM

8 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

230,398

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Barcelona Tsukuba 10,390 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Tsukuba

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 Tsukuba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,111 in Tsukuba, so Tsukuba is about 55% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 52% 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $465 in Tsukuba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $96 in Tsukuba. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 13% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,111 in Tsukuba versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tsukuba but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Tsukuba 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 Tsukuba are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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