Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Ulaanbaatar

For one person, living is cheaper in Ulaanbaatar: $1,192 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,100 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Ulaanbaatar
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Ulaanbaatar Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Ulaanbaatar

🇲🇳 Mongolia

$1,192

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Ulaanbaatar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,192 in Ulaanbaatar.

Barcelona $2,453
Ulaanbaatar $1,192

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,911 in Ulaanbaatar.

Barcelona $3,509
Ulaanbaatar $1,911

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,630 in Ulaanbaatar.

Barcelona $4,564
Ulaanbaatar $2,630

Living in Barcelona is roughly 106% more expensive than in Ulaanbaatar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Ulaanbaatar is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$5.41 MNT 19.5K

225.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$31.92 MNT 114.7K

111.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$5.61 MNT 20.2K

141.18%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$2.36 MNT 8,485

35.17%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$0.87 MNT 3,143

234.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.58 MNT 2,073

225.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$2.32 MNT 8,321

72.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$3.40 MNT 12.2K

33.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.42 MNT 5,110

-7.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.99 MNT 3,541

104.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.16 MNT 7,760

-14.35%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$2.07 MNT 7,441

133.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$12.26 MNT 44.1K

36.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$4.75 MNT 17.1K

92.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$6.62 MNT 23.8K

196.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$3.03 MNT 10.9K

-1.65%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.35 MNT 8,428

-14.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$3.70 MNT 13.3K

-27.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$3.01 MNT 10.8K

-6.98%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.70 MNT 2,525

198.57%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.04 MNT 3,723

99.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.72 MNT 6,182

-15.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.79 MNT 2,836

18.99%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$1.63 MNT 5,867

321.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$10.41 MNT 37.4K

-24.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.45 MNT 5,200

-2.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$1.75 MNT 6,307

45.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.27 MNT 958

1062.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$16.65 MNT 59.8K

52.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$0.51 MNT 1,844

486.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.55 MNT 1,986

170.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$6.48 MNT 23.3K

414.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.16 MNT 4,182

55.17%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$27.0K MNT 97.1M

22.86%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$35.0K MNT 125.7M

-9.39%

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

$180 €162

$70.8 MNT 254.5K

154.78%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$7.62 MNT 27.4K

81.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$13.84 MNT 49.7K

143.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$68.7 MNT 246.9K

-25.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$18.21 MNT 65.4K

-12.36%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$4.24 MNT 15.2K

159.20%

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

$917 €823

$798 MNT 2.9M

14.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$8,425 MNT 30.3M

95.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$83.1 MNT 298.6K

4.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$44.52 MNT 160.0K

-13.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$102 MNT 366.6K

3.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$186 MNT 668.4K

-35.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$636 MNT 2.3M

167.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$469 MNT 1.7M

188.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$1,633 MNT 5.9M

59.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$985 MNT 3.5M

109.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$1,751 MNT 6.3M

294.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$1,016 MNT 3.7M

404.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$589 MNT 2.1M

275.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

10.32

-68.22%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Ulaanbaatar: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Ulaanbaatar

$469 39.4% 65.4% $886

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Ulaanbaatar

$233 19.5% 27.7% $89

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Ulaanbaatar

$113 9.5% 57.9% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Ulaanbaatar

$92 7.7% 59.5% $136

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Ulaanbaatar

$187 15.7% 18.4% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Ulaanbaatar

$77 6.5% 5% $3.7

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Ulaanbaatar

$21 1.8% 56.7% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $636 in Ulaanbaatar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 3.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $32 in Ulaanbaatar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $233 per month, with Ulaanbaatar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar

🕒 Local time

23:54 11:54 PM

06:54 6:54 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,401,200 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mongolian Tögrög MNT ₮

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

10,000 MNT = 2.78 USD

10,000 MNT = 2.5 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MNT, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Mongolian Tögrög exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,594 MNT (10,000 MNT = 2.78 USD). 1 EUR = 4,001 MNT (10,000 MNT = 2.5 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Barcelona Ulaanbaatar 7,640 km ≈ 10 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 Ulaanbaatar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,192 in Ulaanbaatar, so Ulaanbaatar is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 3.8 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 $636 in Ulaanbaatar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $798 in Ulaanbaatar. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 38% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Ulaanbaatar is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

Expats usually find Ulaanbaatar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.