Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Ubon Ratchathani

For one person, living is cheaper in Ubon Ratchathani: $781 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,200 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Ubon Ratchathani
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Ubon Ratchathani Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Ubon Ratchathani

🇹🇭 Thailand

$781

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Ubon Ratchathani

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $781 in Ubon Ratchathani.

Barcelona $2,381
Ubon Ratchathani $781

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $1,444 in Ubon Ratchathani.

Barcelona $3,406
Ubon Ratchathani $1,444

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $2,106 in Ubon Ratchathani.

Barcelona $4,431
Ubon Ratchathani $2,106

Living in Barcelona is roughly 205% more expensive than in Ubon Ratchathani, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Ubon Ratchathani is 42% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$4.66 ฿156

283.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$20.60 ฿689

221.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$7.41 ฿248

84.75%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$1.81 ฿60.3

69.06%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$1.30 ฿43.60

136.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.54 ฿17.99

259.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$2.40 ฿80.2

61.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$3.62 ฿121

27.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.81 ฿60.6

-28.18%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.46 ฿48.84

43.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$1.38 ฿46.15

32.61%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$2.05 ฿68.6

125.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$17.08 ฿571

1.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$2.35 ฿78.6

294.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$11.02 ฿368

79.95%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$2.99 ฿99.9

0.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.01 ฿33.59

100.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$2.13 ฿71.2

24.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$2.06 ฿68.9

39.32%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.42 ฿47.54

52.11%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.06 ฿35.58

102.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.12 ฿37.44

31.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.49 ฿16.51

79.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$4.25 ฿142

63.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$13.55 ฿453

-42.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.66 ฿55.4

-16.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$2.85 ฿95.1

-7.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$0.85 ฿28.51

242.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$1.21 ฿40.40

147.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.04 ฿34.82

38.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$6.56 ฿219

406.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.22 ฿40.86

52.46%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$28.1K ฿939.2K

15.08%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$31.4K ฿1.1M

0.87%

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

$183 €163

$81.4 ฿2,719

124.66%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$12.16 ฿407

11.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$14.40 ฿481

128.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$47.95 ฿1,603

14.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$13.14 ฿439

25.72%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$6.70 ฿224

67.61%

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

$954 €849

$497 ฿16.6K

92.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$12.4K ฿413.4K

34.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$56.4 ฿1,885

52.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$28.54 ฿954

37.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$85.2 ฿2,847

21.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$75.8 ฿2,534

56.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$235 ฿7,843

622.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$143 ฿4,785

791.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$1,049 ฿35.1K

145.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$724 ฿24.2K

165.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$2,096 ฿70.0K

247.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$1,243 ฿41.5K

303.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$353 ฿11.8K

530.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.57

-41.11%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Ubon Ratchathani: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Ubon Ratchathani

$143 18.3% 88.8% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Ubon Ratchathani

$240 30.8% 26.1% $85

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Ubon Ratchathani

$108 13.8% 60% $162

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Ubon Ratchathani

$108 13.8% 52.9% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Ubon Ratchathani

$111 14.2% 29.2% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Ubon Ratchathani

$61 7.9% 20.5% $16

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Ubon Ratchathani

$9.8 * 1.3% 79.2% $37

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 $235 in Ubon Ratchathani. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 530% 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 $21.00 in Ubon Ratchathani for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $240 per month, with Ubon Ratchathani cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇹🇭 Ubon Ratchathani

🕒 Local time

02:53 2:53 AM

07:53 7:53 AM

5 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

74,977

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Ubon Ratchathani 9,910 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

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Ubon Ratchathani

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 Ubon Ratchathani: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Ubon Ratchathani differ by about 205% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $781 including rent). Ubon Ratchathani is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 530% 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 $235 in Ubon Ratchathani. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $497 in Ubon Ratchathani. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ubon Ratchathani – a meal for two runs $21.00 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $781 in Ubon Ratchathani versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ubon Ratchathani but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Ubon Ratchathani 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 Ubon Ratchathani 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 Ubon Ratchathani gentler on the wallet – expenses run 205% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.