Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Xiamen

For one person, living is cheaper in Xiamen: $832 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,500 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Xiamen
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Xiamen Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Xiamen

🇨🇳 China

$832

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Xiamen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $832 in Xiamen.

Barcelona $2,453
Xiamen $832

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,337 in Xiamen.

Barcelona $3,509
Xiamen $1,337

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,842 in Xiamen.

Barcelona $4,564
Xiamen $1,842

Living in Barcelona is roughly 195% more expensive than in Xiamen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Xiamen is 39% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.71

$2.93 ¥19.49

500.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.3

$23.60 ¥157

185.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.08

$5.20 ¥34.52

160.19%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.85

$2.57 ¥17.06

24.12%

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

$2.91 €2.60

$0.47 ¥3.10

519.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.69

$0.35 ¥2.35

440.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.58

$1.51 ¥10.06

165.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.04

$2.95 ¥19.57

53.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.47 ¥9.76

-10.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.80

$2.28 ¥15.14

-11.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.65

$0.95 ¥6.30

94.74%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.32

$1.64 ¥10.87

194.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.95

$12.02 ¥79.8

39.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.14

$2.45 ¥16.24

272.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.53

$11.76 ¥78.1

67.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.66

$2.58 ¥17.16

15.50%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.48 ¥9.80

36.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.41

$1.67 ¥11.10

61.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.50

$1.99 ¥13.23

40.70%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.86

$0.97 ¥6.47

115.46%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.81 ¥12.04

14.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.93 ¥6.15

56.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.54 ¥3.61

74.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.14

$2.92 ¥19.36

135.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.04

$11.38 ¥75.6

-30.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.79 ¥5.28

78.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.26

$1.74 ¥11.55

45.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.81

$0.16 ¥1.08

1862.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.72

$11.93 ¥79.2

113.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.67

$1.46 ¥9.67

104.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.33

$0.29 ¥1.91

413.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.80

$7.39 ¥49.07

351.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.33 ¥8.84

35.34%

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

$33.2K €29.6K

$19.7K ¥131.1K

68.12%

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

$31.7K €28.3K

$17.6K ¥116.7K

80.44%

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

$180 €161

$43.23 ¥287

317.33%

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

$13.84 €12.36

$8.70 ¥57.8

59.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.09

$10.38 ¥68.9

224.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.00

$47.30 ¥314

8.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.25

$10.31 ¥68.5

54.80%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.82

$10.24 ¥68.0

7.32%

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

$917 €819

$496 ¥3,297

84.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$24.8K ¥164.7K

-33.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.7

$39.20 ¥260

122.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.39

$29.55 ¥196

30.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.5

$107 ¥710

-1.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$84.5 ¥561

41.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,518

$352 ¥2,341

382.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,210

$266 ¥1,766

409.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,324

$841 ¥5,587

209.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,842

$544 ¥3,610

279.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,175

$8,588 ¥57.0K

-19.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,579

$4,847 ¥32.2K

5.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,974

$1,179 ¥7,833

87.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.46

-5.20%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Xiamen: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Xiamen

$266 32% 80.4% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Xiamen

$217 26.1% 32.6% $105

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Xiamen

$87 10.4% 67.7% $181

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Xiamen

$62 7.5% 72.7% $166

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Xiamen

$117 14.1% 25.9% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Xiamen

$68 8.2% 7.8% $5.7

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Xiamen

$15 1.9% 68.1% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $352 in Xiamen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 87% 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: $67 in Barcelona vs $24 in Xiamen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $217 per month, with Xiamen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Xiamen

🕒 Local time

04:19 4:19 AM

11:19 11:19 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

3,531,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.151 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Xiamen 10,160 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Xiamen

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 Xiamen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $832 in Xiamen, so Xiamen is about 66% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 87% 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: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $352 in Xiamen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $496 in Xiamen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 48% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $832 in Xiamen versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Xiamen but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Xiamen 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.

Expats usually find Xiamen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.