Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Yiwu

For one person, living is cheaper in Yiwu: $550 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $22,800 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
27

Cost of Living Index in Yiwu
Learn more

Yiwu Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Yiwu

🇨🇳 China

$550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Yiwu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $550 in Yiwu.

Barcelona $2,453
Yiwu $550

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,299 in Yiwu.

Barcelona $3,509
Yiwu $1,299

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,048 in Yiwu.

Barcelona $4,564
Yiwu $2,048

Living in Barcelona is roughly 346% more expensive than in Yiwu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Yiwu is 60% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$2.88 ¥19.15

510.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$29.56 ¥197

128.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$5.27 ¥35.06

156.74%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$3.41 ¥22.70

-6.45%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.58 ¥3.84

401.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.38 ¥2.53

397.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$1.23 ¥8.19

226.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$2.30 ¥15.28

96.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.78 ¥11.81

-26.40%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.94 ¥12.91

4.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.03 ¥6.87

79.61%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.69 ¥11.27

185.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$16.96 ¥113

-1.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$3.31 ¥22.04

175.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$12.92 ¥86.0

52.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.15 ¥14.33

38.60%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.73 ¥11.48

16.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$2.03 ¥13.49

33.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.69 ¥11.27

65.68%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.82 ¥5.44

154.88%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.92 ¥6.09

125.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.64 ¥4.26

128.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.59 ¥3.91

59.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$3.84 ¥25.52

78.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$10.77 ¥71.7

-26.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.88 ¥5.89

60.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.55 ¥10.32

63.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.46 ¥3.06

582.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.39 ¥9.23

115.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.47 ¥3.10

217.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$8.98 ¥59.7

271.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.27 ¥8.47

41.73%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$19.8K ¥132.1K

67.24%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$18.3K ¥121.5K

73.67%

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

$180 €162

$57.7 ¥384

212.78%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$7.89 ¥52.5

75.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$10.44 ¥69.5

222.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$15.16 ¥101

239.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$11.35 ¥75.5

40.62%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$7.09 ¥47.19

55.01%

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

$917 €821

$1,606 ¥10.7K

-42.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$28.1K ¥186.9K

-41.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$55.7 ¥371

56.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$37.90 ¥252

1.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$76.5 ¥509

38.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$74.5 ¥496

60.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$456 ¥3,034

272.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$1,055 ¥7,023

146.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$759 ¥5,050

171.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$11.9K ¥79.1K

-41.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$2,935 ¥19.5K

74.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$757 ¥5,035

192.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.36

-2.38%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Yiwu: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Yiwu

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Yiwu

$235 42.7% 27% $87

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Yiwu

$94 17.2% 64.8% $174

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Yiwu

$76 13.8% 66.7% $152

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Yiwu

$110 20% 30.3% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Yiwu

$29 5.3% 60.1% $44

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Yiwu

$5.6 * 1% 88.5% $43

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 $456 in Yiwu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.9 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 Yiwu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $235 per month, with Yiwu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Yiwu

🕒 Local time

20:01 8:01 PM

03:01 3:01 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,234,015

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Yiwu 9,900 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
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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 Yiwu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $550 in Yiwu, so Yiwu is about 78% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.9 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 $456 in Yiwu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $1,606 in Yiwu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Yiwu – a meal for two runs $30 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $550 in Yiwu versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $800 budget is realistic in Yiwu but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Yiwu 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 – Yiwu wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.