Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Zawiya

For one person, living is cheaper in Zawiya: $441 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $24,100 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
21

Cost of Living Index in Zawiya
Learn more

Zawiya Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Zawiya

🇱🇾 Libya

$441

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Zawiya

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $441 in Zawiya.

Barcelona $2,453
Zawiya $441

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $686 in Zawiya.

Barcelona $3,509
Zawiya $686

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $930 in Zawiya.

Barcelona $4,564
Zawiya $930

Living in Barcelona is roughly 456% more expensive than in Zawiya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Zawiya is 68% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.76

$2.30 LYD 14.76

664.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$15.47 LYD 99.3

336.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$2.71 LYD 17.41

399.26%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.45 LYD 2.87

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 LYD 4.14

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$0.44 LYD 2.83

625.00%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.44 LYD 2.85

561.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.11 LYD 0.71

1618.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$0.91 LYD 5.83

43.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$0.20 LYD 1.28

910.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.01 LYD 6.51

83.17%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.35 LYD 8.67

257.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.00

$4.74 LYD 30.43

253.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$3.57 LYD 22.92

155.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.60

$8.86 LYD 56.9

121.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$2.02 LYD 12.94

47.52%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.47 LYD 9.45

37.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$0.70 LYD 4.50

285.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$0.51 LYD 3.27

449.02%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.58 LYD 3.73

260.34%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.26 LYD 1.65

696.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.30 LYD 1.91

386.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.16 LYD 1.05

487.50%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.79 LYD 5.08

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 LYD 4.60

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 LYD 4.83

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.16

$1.67 LYD 10.73

311.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.07

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.74 LYD 4.76

324.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

$39.22 LYD 252

-35.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$0.75 LYD 4.80

298.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.45 LYD 2.88

231.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

$2.31 LYD 14.83

1344.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$0.02 LYD 0.12

8900.00%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$15.5K LYD 99.5K

114.06%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$16.8K LYD 107.6K

89.08%

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

$180 €162

$94.4 LYD 606

91.15%

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

$13.84 €12.40

$5.57 LYD 35.75

148.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.20

$12.25 LYD 78.6

175.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

$17.31 LYD 111

197.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

$4.01 LYD 25.74

298.00%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$3.92 LYD 25.19

180.36%

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

$917 €821

$51.5 LYD 330

1680.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$897 LYD 5,758

1737.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.0

$20.81 LYD 134

318.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.51

$44.19 LYD 284

-12.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$30.99 LYD 199

241.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$31.62 LYD 203

278.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,523

$88.9 LYD 570

1812.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$58.4 LYD 375

2219.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

$164 LYD 1,050

1490.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

$121 LYD 774

1611.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

$347 LYD 2,230

1889.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

$98.1 LYD 630

5125.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,981

$251 LYD 1,611

780.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Zawiya: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Zawiya

$58 13.2% 95.7% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Zawiya

$109 24.7% 66.2% $213

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Zawiya

$34 7.7% 87.3% $234

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Zawiya

$112 25.4% 50.8% $116

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Zawiya

$57 13% 63.7% $101

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Zawiya

$25 5.7% 65.8% $48

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Zawiya

$45 10.2% 6.8% $3.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $89 in Zawiya. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 8.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $15 in Zawiya for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $109 per month, with Zawiya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇱🇾 Zawiya

🕒 Local time

08:32 8:32 AM

09:32 9:32 AM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

318,726

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.14 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Zawiya 1,340 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Zawiya

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 Zawiya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $441 in Zawiya, so Zawiya is about 82% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 8.8 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 $89 in Zawiya. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $51 in Zawiya. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 196% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $441 in Zawiya versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $800 budget is realistic in Zawiya but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Zawiya 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 – Zawiya wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.