Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Zhongshan

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhongshan: $695 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Zhongshan
Learn more

Zhongshan Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Zhongshan

🇨🇳 China

$695

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Zhongshan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,381 in Barcelona versus $695 in Zhongshan.

Barcelona $2,381
Zhongshan $695

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,406 in Barcelona versus $1,110 in Zhongshan.

Barcelona $3,406
Zhongshan $1,110

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,431 in Barcelona versus $1,525 in Zhongshan.

Barcelona $4,431
Zhongshan $1,525

Living in Barcelona is roughly 243% more expensive than in Zhongshan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 76% above, Zhongshan is 49% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

$3.01 ¥20.14

494.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €58.9

$24.23 ¥162

173.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 €12.18

$4.45 ¥29.76

207.64%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.83 ¥18.91

8.13%

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

$3.07 €2.73

$0.47 ¥3.11

553.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.29 ¥1.91

568.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

$0.77 ¥5.13

402.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

$1.80 ¥12.05

156.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.53 ¥10.26

-15.03%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.64 ¥10.99

28.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 €1.62

$0.68 ¥4.56

169.12%

Eggs

$4.62 €4.11

$1.24 ¥8.29

272.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.36 €15.44

$20.87 ¥140

-16.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 €8.25

$2.80 ¥18.72

231.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.83 €17.64

$13.54 ¥90.5

46.45%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 €2.68

$2.14 ¥14.34

40.65%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.08 ¥7.20

87.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$0.68 ¥4.56

289.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$1.46 ¥9.76

96.58%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.58 ¥3.89

272.41%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$0.72 ¥4.84

198.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$0.43 ¥2.86

241.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.53 ¥3.56

66.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.16

$2.93 ¥19.58

136.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

$11.80 ¥78.9

-33.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$0.69 ¥4.62

101.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$1.81 ¥12.12

45.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.91 €2.59

$0.29 ¥1.91

903.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

$15.11 ¥101

68.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.00 €2.66

$1.45 ¥9.68

106.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.41 ¥2.75

251.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

$7.01 ¥46.88

373.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.30 ¥8.70

43.08%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

$19.6K ¥131.2K

64.76%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$18.2K ¥121.6K

74.27%

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

$183 €163

$40.99 ¥274

345.86%

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

$13.61 €12.11

$10.15 ¥67.9

34.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 €29.29

$12.59 ¥84.2

161.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

$67.0 ¥448

-18.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

$7.62 ¥50.9

116.80%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 €9.99

$5.81 ¥38.88

93.29%

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

$954 €849

$317 ¥2,117

201.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K €14.8K

$13.4K ¥89.4K

24.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.0 €76.5

$48.42 ¥324

77.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.11 €34.78

$39.64 ¥265

-1.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.2

$59.9 ¥401

73.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €106

$75.5 ¥505

57.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,508

$210 ¥1,407

705.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 €1,135

$125 ¥834

923.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,291

$376 ¥2,517

584.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,922 €1,710

$217 ¥1,453

784.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

$2,531 ¥16.9K

187.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

$1,509 ¥10.1K

231.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

$956 ¥6,391

132.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.35

-2.09%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Last update for Zhongshan: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6%

Zhongshan

$125 17.9% 90.2% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.7%

Zhongshan

$226 32.5% 30.5% $99

Eating Out

Barcelona

$270 11.3%

Zhongshan

$82 11.8% 69.6% $188

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.6%

Zhongshan

$64 9.2% 72.2% $166

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$156 6.6%

Zhongshan

$101 14.5% 35.7% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$77 3.2%

Zhongshan

$79 11.3% 2% $1.5

Getting Around

Barcelona

$47 2%

Zhongshan

$20 2.8% 58.2% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $210 in Zhongshan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 133% 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: $66.0 in Barcelona vs $24.00 in Zhongshan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $226 per month, with Zhongshan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Zhongshan

🕒 Local time

04:30 4:30 AM

10:30 10:30 AM

6 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

3,209,600

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Zhongshan 9,990 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Zhongshan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Zhongshan differ by about 243% in total monthly costs ($2,381 vs $695 including rent). Zhongshan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 133% higher in Barcelona, 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: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $210 in Zhongshan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $954 in Barcelona versus $317 in Zhongshan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 44% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $695 in Zhongshan versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Zhongshan but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Zhongshan 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.

Safety-wise, Barcelona and Zhongshan are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Zhongshan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 243% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.