Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Yilan

For one person, living is cheaper in Yilan: $984 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,600 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
47

Cost of Living Index in Yilan
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Yilan Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Yilan

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$984

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Yilan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $984 in Yilan.

Barcelona $2,453
Yilan $984

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,699 in Yilan.

Barcelona $3,509
Yilan $1,699

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,413 in Yilan.

Barcelona $4,564
Yilan $2,413

Living in Barcelona is roughly 149% more expensive than in Yilan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Yilan is 28% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$3.43 NT$112

412.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$29.68 NT$968

127.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$4.84 NT$158

179.55%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.86 NT$93.2

11.54%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.99 NT$32.29

193.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.69 NT$22.42

173.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.47 NT$47.96

172.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.57 NT$83.7

76.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$3.07 NT$100

-57.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.74 NT$56.7

16.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$2.65 NT$86.4

-30.19%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$2.52 NT$82.0

91.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$28.23 NT$920

-40.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$7.94 NT$259

14.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$16.10 NT$525

21.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$4.31 NT$140

-30.86%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.83 NT$59.8

10.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.95 NT$96.2

-8.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$2.13 NT$69.5

31.46%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.20 NT$39.13

74.17%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.94 NT$63.4

6.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$2.35 NT$76.5

-37.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.88 NT$28.81

6.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$3.74 NT$122

83.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$15.68 NT$511

-49.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.36 NT$44.45

3.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.50 NT$81.7

1.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.76 NT$24.75

313.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$33.33 NT$1,087

-23.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$2.69 NT$87.6

11.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.95 NT$31.09

56.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$9.33 NT$304

257.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.95 NT$30.96

89.47%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$25.1K NT$817.2K

32.43%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$19.1K NT$621.9K

66.19%

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

$180 €162

$45.67 NT$1,489

295.03%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$14.60 NT$476

-5.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$20.72 NT$676

62.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$30.18 NT$984

70.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$7.76 NT$253

41.62%

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

$917 €821

$329 NT$10.7K

178.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$16.1K NT$525.0K

2.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$54.4 NT$1,773

60.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$30.53 NT$995

26.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$84.1 NT$2,742

25.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$61.7 NT$2,013

93.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$264 NT$8,607

543.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$247 NT$8,066

447.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$1,047 NT$34.1K

148.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$722 NT$23.5K

185.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$7,590 NT$247.5K

-8.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$4,807 NT$156.7K

6.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$1,016 NT$33.1K

117.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

2.27

44.49%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Yilan: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Yilan

$247 25.1% 81.7% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Yilan

$367 37.3% 14.1% $45

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Yilan

$95 9.7% 64.4% $172

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Yilan

$81 8.2% 64.5% $147

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Yilan

$104 10.6% 34.3% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Yilan

$46 4.6% 37.8% $28

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Yilan

$44 4.5% 9.6% $4.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $264 in Yilan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.2 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 $30 in Yilan. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $367, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇹🇼 Yilan

🕒 Local time

04:45 4:45 AM

11:45 11:45 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

95,907

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

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

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.41 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelona Yilan 10,390 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Yilan

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 Yilan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $984 in Yilan, so Yilan is about 60% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.2 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 $264 in Yilan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $329 in Yilan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 12% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

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 Yilan are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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