Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Yantai

For one person, living is cheaper in Yantai: $631 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,900 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Yantai
Learn more

Yantai Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Yantai

🇨🇳 China

$631

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Yantai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $631 in Yantai.

Barcelona $2,453
Yantai $631

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $932 in Yantai.

Barcelona $3,509
Yantai $932

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,233 in Yantai.

Barcelona $4,564
Yantai $1,233

Living in Barcelona is roughly 289% more expensive than in Yantai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Yantai is 54% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$2.97 ¥19.76

492.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$17.80 ¥118

279.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$4.55 ¥30.29

197.36%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$2.78 ¥18.50

14.75%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$0.53 ¥3.53

449.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.30 ¥1.98

530.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$1.11 ¥7.39

261.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$2.50 ¥16.64

81.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.02 ¥13.43

-35.15%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.40 ¥9.35

44.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$0.90 ¥6.02

105.56%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$1.30 ¥8.63

271.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$16.61 ¥111

0.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$3.35 ¥22.27

172.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$6.82 ¥45.38

187.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$1.36 ¥9.07

119.12%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.85 ¥5.65

137.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$1.02 ¥6.81

164.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$0.74 ¥4.90

278.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.72 ¥4.78

190.28%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$0.72 ¥4.77

187.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.59 ¥3.90

147.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.58 ¥3.87

62.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$3.85 ¥25.59

78.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$11.66 ¥77.6

-32.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.73 ¥4.87

93.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$1.02 ¥6.81

149.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.21 ¥1.39

1395.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$1.37 ¥9.13

118.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.31 ¥2.07

380.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$6.60 ¥43.91

405.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.24 ¥8.28

45.16%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$19.3K ¥128.5K

71.87%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$17.6K ¥117.0K

80.35%

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

$180 €162

$44.96 ¥299

301.27%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$6.71 ¥44.62

106.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$6.04 ¥40.22

457.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$30.04 ¥200

71.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$7.63 ¥50.8

109.17%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$5.58 ¥37.15

96.95%

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

$917 €823

$361 ¥2,402

154.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$16.7K ¥110.8K

-1.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$17.89 ¥119

386.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$22.58 ¥150

70.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$95.3 ¥634

10.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$91.2 ¥607

31.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$227 ¥1,513

647.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$150 ¥995

806.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$359 ¥2,390

624.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$152 ¥1,014

1254.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$3,023 ¥20.1K

128.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$5,152 ¥34.3K

-0.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$1,062 ¥7,069

108.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.37

-2.67%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Yantai: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Yantai

$150 23.7% 89% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Yantai

$192 30.4% 40.4% $130

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Yantai

$85 13.4% 68.4% $183

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Yantai

$58 9.2% 74.7% $170

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Yantai

$102 16.2% 35.3% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Yantai

$41 6.5% 43.9% $32

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Yantai

$3.8 * 0.6% 92.2% $45

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 $227 in Yantai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.1 times 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 $18 in Yantai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $192 per month, with Yantai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Yantai

🕒 Local time

01:13 1:13 AM

08:13 8:13 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,871,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Yantai 9,300 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Yantai

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 Yantai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $631 in Yantai, so Yantai is about 74% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.1 times higher, 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 $227 in Yantai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $361 in Yantai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Yantai – a meal for two runs $18 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $631 in Yantai versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $800 budget is realistic in Yantai but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Yantai 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.

It comes down to priorities – Yantai wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.