Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Ulsan

For one person, living is cheaper in Ulsan: $1,339 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $12,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Ulsan
Learn more

Ulsan Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Ulsan

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,339

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Ulsan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $1,339 in Ulsan.

Barcelona $2,399
Ulsan $1,339

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $2,185 in Ulsan.

Barcelona $3,410
Ulsan $2,185

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $3,030 in Ulsan.

Barcelona $4,421
Ulsan $3,030

Living in Barcelona is roughly 79% more expensive than in Ulsan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Ulsan is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$7.62 ₩10.1K

135.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$44.63 ₩59.3K

52.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$5.93 ₩7,882

123.95%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$3.32 ₩4,410

-2.11%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$0.88 ₩1,175

242.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.47 ₩619

297.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$3.01 ₩4,006

27.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$4.38 ₩5,826

2.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$2.36 ₩3,139

-45.34%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$3.25 ₩4,315

-37.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$3.16 ₩4,207

-45.57%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$2.73 ₩3,634

74.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.92

$10.88 ₩14.5K

54.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$10.63 ₩14.1K

-15.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$24.54 ₩32.6K

-18.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$11.39 ₩15.1K

-73.84%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$3.74 ₩4,975

-45.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$8.09 ₩10.8K

-66.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$6.05 ₩8,048

-55.70%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$6.01 ₩7,992

-65.06%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$3.26 ₩4,328

-36.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$2.89 ₩3,844

-49.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$1.28 ₩1,707

-30.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$3.12 ₩4,154

122.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$18.52 ₩24.6K

-57.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$2.45 ₩3,264

-40.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$3.44 ₩4,577

-25.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

$1.14 ₩1,511

162.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$2.89 ₩3,849

7.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.78 ₩1,040

84.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$16.96 ₩22.6K

97.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.43 ₩1,899

25.17%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$30.0K ₩39.9M

15.38%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$34.1K ₩45.4M

-11.91%

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

$178 €158

$197 ₩261.8K

-9.67%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$37.06 ₩49.3K

-64.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.03

$27.21 ₩36.2K

28.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.37

$60.4 ₩80.3K

-11.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$10.30 ₩13.7K

7.38%

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

$957 €851

$263 ₩349.3K

264.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$22.0K ₩29.3M

-24.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$51.5 ₩68.5K

71.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$45.56 ₩60.6K

-13.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.5

$61.0 ₩81.2K

68.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$75.0 ₩99.7K

61.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$373 ₩495.3K

343.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$244 ₩324.7K

433.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$761 ₩1.0M

236.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$648 ₩861.8K

195.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,481

$4,483 ₩6.0M

62.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,519

$2,479 ₩3.3M

104.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,029

$2,331 ₩3.1M

-2.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

4.22

-22.27%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Ulsan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Ulsan

$244 18.2% 81.2% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Ulsan

$489 36.5% 52.7% $169

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Ulsan

$148 11% 45.3% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Ulsan

$261 19.5% 15.5% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Ulsan

$105 7.8% 33.8% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Ulsan

$81 6.1% 7.5% $5.7

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Ulsan

$11 * 0.9% 76.1% $36

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 $1,653 in Barcelona and $373 in Ulsan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ulsan pays 2% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $45.00 in Ulsan. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $489, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇰🇷 Ulsan

🕒 Local time

22:59 10:59 PM

05:59 5:59 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,129,827

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Ulsan 9,910 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Ulsan

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 Ulsan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Ulsan differ by about 79% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $1,339 including rent). Ulsan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 2% lower in Ulsan. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $373 in Ulsan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $263 in Ulsan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ulsan – a meal for two runs $45.00 versus $68.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,339 in Ulsan versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ulsan but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Ulsan 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 Ulsan 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 Ulsan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 79% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.