Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Wakayama

For one person, living is cheaper in Wakayama: $1,265 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,300 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
62

Cost of Living Index in Wakayama
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Wakayama Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Wakayama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,265

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Wakayama

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,265 in Wakayama.

Barcelona $2,453
Wakayama $1,265

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $2,078 in Wakayama.

Barcelona $3,509
Wakayama $2,078

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,890 in Wakayama.

Barcelona $4,564
Wakayama $2,890

Living in Barcelona is roughly 94% more expensive than in Wakayama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Wakayama is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$6.32 ¥995

178.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$32.23 ¥5,077

109.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.22 ¥822

159.20%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.61 ¥411

22.22%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$1.30 ¥205

123.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.95 ¥149

98.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$3.12 ¥492

28.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$1.89 ¥298

139.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.52 ¥240

-13.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.54 ¥242

31.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$4.06 ¥640

-54.43%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.21 ¥348

118.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$15.58 ¥2,454

7.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$6.93 ¥1,092

31.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$16.97 ¥2,674

15.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$8.61 ¥1,356

-65.39%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.99 ¥471

-32.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$5.15 ¥812

-47.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$7.67 ¥1,209

-63.49%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$3.91 ¥616

-46.55%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$4.57 ¥719

-54.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.18 ¥185

23.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.94 ¥147

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$3.87 ¥610

77.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$9.65 ¥1,520

-18.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.52 ¥397

-44.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.11 ¥332

20.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$1.61 ¥254

95.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$63.7 ¥10.0K

-60.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$3.22 ¥508

-7.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$2.93 ¥461

-49.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$15.82 ¥2,493

110.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.10 ¥174

63.64%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$22.2K ¥3.5M

49.74%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$15.0K ¥2.4M

111.07%

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

$180 €162

$118 ¥18.6K

52.77%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$23.84 ¥3,755

-41.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$31.84 ¥5,015

5.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$49.43 ¥7,786

4.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$12.61 ¥1,986

-12.85%

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

$917 €821

$685 ¥108.0K

33.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$15.0K ¥2.4M

9.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$50.3 ¥7,923

73.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$35.61 ¥5,609

8.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$60.8 ¥9,571

74.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$99.4 ¥15.7K

20.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$475 ¥74.8K

257.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$311 ¥49.0K

335.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$1,147 ¥180.6K

126.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$810 ¥127.5K

154.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$4,633 ¥729.8K

49.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$2,252 ¥354.7K

127.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$3,949 ¥622.0K

-44.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

1.67

96.41%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Wakayama: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Wakayama

$311 24.6% 77% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Wakayama

$381 30.1% 18.3% $59

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Wakayama

$126 10% 53% $142

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Wakayama

$174 13.7% 23.8% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Wakayama

$111 8.8% 29.9% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Wakayama

$75 5.9% 1.6% $1.1

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Wakayama

$88 7% 81.6% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $475 in Wakayama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wakayama pays 79% 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 $32 in Wakayama. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $381, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇯🇵 Wakayama

🕒 Local time

01:08 1:08 AM

09:08 9:08 AM

8 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

362,163

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Wakayama 10,330 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Wakayama

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 Wakayama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $1,265 in Wakayama, so Wakayama is about 48% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 44% 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $475 in Wakayama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $685 in Wakayama. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 15% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,265 in Wakayama versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Wakayama but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Wakayama 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.