Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Unaizah

For one person, living is cheaper in Unaizah: $1,221 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Barcelona, Spain
Unaizah, Saudi Arabia
Barcelona
🇪🇸 Spain
$2,443
/mo nomad
Unaizah
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
$1,221
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Unaizah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $1,221 in Unaizah.

  • Barcelona $2,443
  • Unaizah $1,221

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,813 in Unaizah.

  • Barcelona $3,519
  • Unaizah $1,813

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $2,405 in Unaizah.

  • Barcelona $4,595
  • Unaizah $2,405

Living in Barcelona is roughly 100% more expensive than in Unaizah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Unaizah is 10% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Barcelona
Unaizah
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$17.66 €15.72
$6.68 SAR 25.07
164.37%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$67.5 €60.1
$40.07 SAR 150
68.38%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$13.61 €12.12
$7.05 SAR 26.48
93.05%
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$1.91 SAR 7.19
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$1.83 SAR 6.88
-
Cappuccino
$3.10 €2.76
$4.40 SAR 16.52
-29.55%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.00 €2.67
$0.73 SAR 2.73
310.96%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.93 €1.72
$0.28 SAR 1.06
589.29%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.84 €3.42
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.36 €3.88
-
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Barcelona
Unaizah
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.25 €1.11
$1.64 SAR 6.17
-23.78%
White Bread (500g)
$2.12 €1.89
$0.44 SAR 1.67
381.82%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.97 €1.76
$2.27 SAR 8.51
-13.22%
Eggs
$4.76 €4.24
$4.76 SAR 17.87
-
Local Cheese (1kg)
$17.07 €15.20
$4.55 SAR 17.09
275.16%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.96 €7.97
$4.66 SAR 17.50
92.27%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$20.65 €18.39
$12.69 SAR 47.64
62.73%
Apples (1kg)
$3.16 €2.81
$1.82 SAR 6.83
73.63%
Banana (1kg)
$1.97 €1.75
$1.98 SAR 7.44
-0.51%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.65 €2.36
$1.82 SAR 6.85
45.60%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.88 €2.57
$2.00 SAR 7.51
44.00%
Potato (1kg)
$2.06 €1.83
$2.11 SAR 7.92
-2.37%
Onion (1kg)
$2.18 €1.94
$2.60 SAR 9.76
-16.15%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.53 €1.37
$1.28 SAR 4.81
19.53%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.97 €0.86
$0.64 SAR 2.40
51.56%
Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)
-
$2.82 SAR 10.60
-
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
-
$2.01 SAR 7.53
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$2.16 SAR 8.09
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.97 €6.20
$6.74 SAR 25.29
3.41%
Wine (Bottle)
$7.89 €7.02
-
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.42 €1.26
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.69 €2.39
-
-
🚌 Getting Around
Barcelona
Unaizah
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.31 €2.95
$0.95 SAR 3.56
248.42%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$25.61 €22.80
$40.56 SAR 152
-36.86%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.08 €2.75
$2.60 SAR 9.76
18.46%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.48 €1.32
$1.57 SAR 5.88
-5.73%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$32.87 €29.27
$16.03 SAR 60.2
105.05%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.87 €1.66
$0.55 SAR 2.08
240.00%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$33.0K €29.4K
$27.6K SAR 103.5K
19.50%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.9K €28.4K
$21.7K SAR 81.6K
46.90%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Barcelona
Unaizah
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$183 €163
$103 SAR 386
77.92%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$14.24 €12.68
$32.41 SAR 122
-56.06%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$34.56 €30.78
$67.2 SAR 252
-48.54%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Barcelona
Unaizah
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$51.4 €45.79
$54.1 SAR 203
-4.87%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$16.38 €14.59
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$11.06 €9.85
$13.23 SAR 49.64
-16.40%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Barcelona
Unaizah
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$944 €840
$471 SAR 1,767
100.44%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$22.3K €19.8K
$9,262 SAR 34.8K
140.43%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Barcelona
Unaizah
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$87.7 €78.1
$45.34 SAR 170
93.38%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$38.77 €34.52
$53.0 SAR 199
-26.81%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$105 €93.1
$100 SAR 377
4.23%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$118 €105
$80.4 SAR 302
46.39%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Barcelona
Unaizah
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,697 €1,511
$588 SAR 2,207
188.59%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,337 €1,190
$440 SAR 1,651
203.80%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,692 €2,397
$760 SAR 2,853
254.18%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,077 €1,849
$684 SAR 2,567
203.64%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$7,155 €6,371
$2,056 SAR 7,716
248.00%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$5,079 €4,522
$1,255 SAR 4,711
304.64%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Barcelona
Unaizah
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$2,241 €1,996
$2,550 SAR 9,570
-12.10%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.19
5.54
-42.42%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Unaizah: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Barcelona
$1.3K
Unaizah
$440 67.1% $897
Groceries & Markets
Barcelona
$328
Unaizah
$187 43% $141
Eating Out
Barcelona
$267
Unaizah
$131 50.8% $136
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Barcelona
$232
Unaizah
$202 12.7% $29
Clothing & Footwear
Barcelona
$157
Unaizah
$126 20% $31
Sport & Entertainment
Barcelona
$74
Unaizah
$81 9.4% $7
Getting Around
Barcelona
$49
Unaizah
$55 11.1% $5.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $588 in Unaizah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Unaizah pays 14% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $40 in Unaizah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $187 per month, with Unaizah cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇪🇸 Barcelona
🇸🇦 Unaizah
🕒 Local time
13:26 1:26 PM
15:26 3:26 PM
2 h ahead of Barcelona
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
1,660,122
163,729
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س
Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Barcelona Unaizah 4,170 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Barcelona
  • Unaizah

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 Unaizah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Barcelona and in Unaizah?
Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $1,221 in Unaizah, so Unaizah is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city has better-paying jobs?
On paper, salaries run 12% lower in Barcelona. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
How do apartment prices compare in Barcelona and in Unaizah?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $588 in Unaizah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Barcelona and Unaizah?
Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $471 in Unaizah. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Supermarket bills run roughly 76% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city is more doable on $2,000 per month?
At $1,221 in Unaizah versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Unaizah but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Unaizah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Barcelona and Unaizah?
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.
Is Barcelona or Unaizah safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Barcelona and Unaizah are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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