Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Yala

For one person, living is cheaper in Yala: $912 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,500 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Yala
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Yala Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Yala

🇹🇭 Thailand

$912

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Yala

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $912 in Yala.

Barcelona $2,453
Yala $912

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,463 in Yala.

Barcelona $3,509
Yala $1,463

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,014 in Yala.

Barcelona $4,564
Yala $2,014

Living in Barcelona is roughly 169% more expensive than in Yala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Yala is 33% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$1.46 ฿49.33

1104.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$24.71 ฿834

173.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$7.49 ฿253

80.64%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$1.96 ฿66.0

62.76%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$0.53 ฿17.92

449.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.17 ฿5.89

1011.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$2.11 ฿71.3

90.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$2.93 ฿99.0

54.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.72 ฿58.1

-23.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.40 ฿47.13

44.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.31 ฿44.25

41.22%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$1.99 ฿67.1

142.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.04

$16.83 ฿568

-0.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$2.68 ฿90.5

240.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$10.31 ฿348

90.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$2.88 ฿97.3

3.47%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.05 ฿35.53

92.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$2.21 ฿74.7

22.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$1.94 ฿65.6

44.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.52 ฿51.3

37.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.11 ฿37.60

86.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.06 ฿35.89

37.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.49 ฿16.61

91.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$4.30 ฿145

59.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.09

$17.83 ฿602

-55.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.68 ฿56.9

-16.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$2.86 ฿96.6

-11.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.58 ฿19.61

441.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$1.16 ฿39.13

157.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$1.17 ฿39.60

27.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.99

$5.91 ฿200

464.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.62

$1.41 ฿47.48

27.66%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$26.9K ฿909.4K

23.26%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$26.8K ฿904.6K

18.33%

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

$180 €162

$84.3 ฿2,847

113.96%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$12.13 ฿410

14.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.28

$18.84 ฿636

78.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.28

$47.71 ฿1,611

7.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$13.35 ฿451

19.55%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$6.61 ฿223

66.26%

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

$917 €824

$581 ฿19.6K

57.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$10.9K ฿366.8K

51.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$49.99 ฿1,688

74.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.60

$29.59 ฿999

30.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$76.8 ฿2,594

37.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$75.3 ฿2,541

59.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$437 ฿14.8K

288.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,218

$301 ฿10.1K

350.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,339

$1,131 ฿38.2K

130.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$683 ฿23.1K

202.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,213

$1,907 ฿64.4K

262.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,607

$1,461 ฿49.3K

251.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

5.57

-41.11%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Yala: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Yala

$301 32.9% 77.8% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Yala

$245 26.9% 23.8% $77

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Yala

$77 8.4% 71.3% $191

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Yala

$115 12.6% 49.4% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Yala

$104 11.4% 34% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Yala

$61 6.7% 17.1% $13

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Yala

$9.4 * 1% 80.7% $39

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 $1,699 in Barcelona and $437 in Yala. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $25 in Yala for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $245 per month, with Yala cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇹🇭 Yala

🕒 Local time

17:22 5:22 PM

23:22 11:22 PM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

60,617

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Yala 10,280 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Yala

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 Yala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Yala differ by about 169% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $912 including rent). Yala is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,679 in Barcelona and $1,369 in Yala to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $437 in Yala. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $581 in Yala. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Yala – a meal for two runs $25 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Yala is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Yala are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.