Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Vung Tau

For one person, living is cheaper in Vung Tau: $608 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,500 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Vung Tau
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Vung Tau Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Vung Tau

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Vung Tau

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,399 in Barcelona versus $608 in Vung Tau.

Barcelona $2,399
Vung Tau $608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,410 in Barcelona versus $1,015 in Vung Tau.

Barcelona $3,410
Vung Tau $1,015

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,421 in Barcelona versus $1,423 in Vung Tau.

Barcelona $4,421
Vung Tau $1,423

Living in Barcelona is roughly 295% more expensive than in Vung Tau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 78% above, Vung Tau is 55% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.94 €15.96

$1.95 ₫50.5K

820.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.1 €60.5

$15.66 ₫405.5K

334.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.28 €11.81

$3.75 ₫97.0K

254.13%

Cappuccino

$3.25 €2.89

$1.84 ₫47.6K

76.63%

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

$3.01 €2.67

$0.41 ₫10.6K

634.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.33 ₫8,662

466.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

$0.78 ₫20.2K

393.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$1.01 ₫26.3K

343.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.40 ₫36.3K

-7.86%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.11 ₫28.7K

83.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$0.89 ₫23.1K

93.26%

Eggs

$4.77 €4.24

$1.65 ₫42.8K

189.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.77 €14.91

$4.79 ₫124.0K

250.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.93 €7.94

$3.60 ₫93.1K

148.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.88 €17.68

$9.44 ₫244.4K

110.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.65

$3.06 ₫79.3K

-2.61%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.24 ₫32.1K

63.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$0.63 ₫16.3K

333.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.68 €2.38

$1.29 ₫33.5K

107.75%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.15 ₫29.8K

82.61%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.19 ₫30.8K

74.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.60 ₫15.7K

141.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.43 ₫11.0K

106.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.94 €6.17

$1.20 ₫31.1K

478.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$12.74 ₫329.7K

-38.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.81 ₫21.1K

79.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.01 ₫26.2K

154.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.99 €2.66

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 €2.77

$0.70 ₫18.1K

345.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.59 ₫15.3K

144.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

$1.15 ₫29.7K

2813.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$0.80 ₫20.7K

123.75%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$30.2K ₫782.2M

14.63%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$31.4K ₫811.9M

-4.12%

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

$178 €158

$46.69 ₫1.2M

280.92%

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

$13.32 €11.85

$5.90 ₫152.7K

125.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.88 €31.02

$7.99 ₫206.9K

336.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 €47.36

$17.04 ₫441.1K

212.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

$9.41 ₫243.6K

70.14%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.84

$3.54 ₫91.6K

212.43%

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

$957 €851

$117 ₫3.0M

719.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.7K

$9,586 ₫248.2M

72.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.4

$21.13 ₫547.1K

317.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.49 €35.12

$18.89 ₫489.1K

109.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.4

$92.2 ₫2.4M

11.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$67.9 ₫1.8M

79.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 €1,470

$304 ₫7.9M

443.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,302 €1,158

$199 ₫5.2M

554.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,557 €2,275

$752 ₫19.5M

239.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,915 €1,703

$504 ₫13.0M

279.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,286 €6,480

$7,301 ₫189.0M

-0.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,080 €4,518

$4,367 ₫113.1M

16.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 €2,028

$572 ₫14.8M

299.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

8.64

-62.04%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Last update for Vung Tau: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3%

Vung Tau

$199 32.7% 84.7% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$320 13.3%

Vung Tau

$173 28.4% 46.1% $148

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Vung Tau

$58 9.5% 78.6% $212

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$226 9.4%

Vung Tau

$61 10% 73.2% $165

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Vung Tau

$90 14.8% 43.1% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$75 3.1%

Vung Tau

$24 4% 68% $51

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Vung Tau

$3.7 * 0.6% 92.3% $44

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 $304 in Vung Tau. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 299% 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: $68.0 in Barcelona vs $16.00 in Vung Tau for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $173 per month, with Vung Tau cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇻🇳 Vung Tau

🕒 Local time

14:52 2:52 PM

19:52 7:52 PM

5 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

380,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,108 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Vung Tau 10,460 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Vung Tau

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 Vung Tau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Vung Tau differ by about 295% in total monthly costs ($2,399 vs $608 including rent). Vung Tau is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 299% 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: $1,653 in Barcelona versus $304 in Vung Tau. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $957 in Barcelona versus $117 in Vung Tau. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Vung Tau – a meal for two runs $16.00 versus $68.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $608 in Vung Tau versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Vung Tau but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Vung Tau 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 Vung Tau 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 Vung Tau gentler on the wallet – expenses run 295% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.