Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Zhengzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhengzhou: $661 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,500 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
32

Cost of Living Index in Zhengzhou
Learn more

Zhengzhou Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Zhengzhou

🇨🇳 China

$661

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Zhengzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $661 in Zhengzhou.

Barcelona $2,453
Zhengzhou $661

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,056 in Zhengzhou.

Barcelona $3,509
Zhengzhou $1,056

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,451 in Zhengzhou.

Barcelona $4,564
Zhengzhou $1,451

Living in Barcelona is roughly 271% more expensive than in Zhengzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Zhengzhou is 51% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$2.22 ¥14.76

692.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$16.32 ¥109

313.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$4.43 ¥29.50

205.42%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$2.31 ¥15.38

38.10%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$0.52 ¥3.49

459.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.28 ¥1.87

575.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$0.91 ¥6.08

340.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$1.54 ¥10.24

194.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.55 ¥10.33

-15.48%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.68 ¥11.17

20.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.03 ¥6.89

79.61%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$0.97 ¥6.49

397.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$8.45 ¥56.2

98.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$3.19 ¥21.20

185.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$10.35 ¥68.9

89.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$1.47 ¥9.81

102.72%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.02 ¥6.79

98.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$1.07 ¥7.12

152.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$1.22 ¥8.09

129.51%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.63 ¥4.16

231.75%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$0.73 ¥4.83

183.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.67 ¥4.43

117.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.79 ¥5.24

18.99%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$3.42 ¥22.79

100.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$14.74 ¥98.1

-46.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.93 ¥6.16

51.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$2.08 ¥13.86

22.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.15 ¥1.00

1993.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

$14.80 ¥98.5

71.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$1.53 ¥10.17

95.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.31 ¥2.08

380.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$3.57 ¥23.77

834.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.27 ¥8.45

41.73%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$19.6K ¥130.3K

69.53%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$17.2K ¥114.7K

83.91%

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

$180 €162

$71.1 ¥473

153.71%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$7.05 ¥46.89

96.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$10.24 ¥68.2

229.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$41.26 ¥275

24.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

$13.72 ¥91.3

16.33%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$5.97 ¥39.76

84.09%

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

$917 €823

$388 ¥2,581

136.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$31.3K ¥208.3K

-47.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$43.63 ¥290

99.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$33.63 ¥224

14.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$72.8 ¥484

45.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$72.1 ¥480

66.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$201 ¥1,336

746.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$142 ¥942

857.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$574 ¥3,823

353.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$333 ¥2,217

519.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$2,830 ¥18.8K

144.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$1,505 ¥10.0K

240.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$920 ¥6,125

140.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.29

-0.30%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Zhengzhou: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Zhengzhou

$142 21.4% 89.6% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Zhengzhou

$190 28.8% 40.9% $132

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Zhengzhou

$70 10.5% 74% $198

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Zhengzhou

$88 13.4% 61.2% $140

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Zhengzhou

$100 15.1% 36.7% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Zhengzhou

$53 8% 27.6% $20

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Zhengzhou

$18 2.8% 61.9% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $201 in Zhengzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.4 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 $16 in Zhengzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $190 per month, with Zhengzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Zhengzhou

🕒 Local time

00:09 12:09 AM

07:09 7:09 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

12,600,574

💱 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

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Zhengzhou 9,040 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Zhengzhou

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 Zhengzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $661 in Zhengzhou, so Zhengzhou is about 73% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.4 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 $201 in Zhengzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $388 in Zhengzhou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 69% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $661 in Zhengzhou versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Zhengzhou but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Zhengzhou 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.

Expats usually find Zhengzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 73% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.