Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Zhoushan

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhoushan: $623 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $22,000 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Zhoushan
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Zhoushan Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Zhoushan

🇨🇳 China

$623

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Zhoushan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $623 in Zhoushan.

Barcelona $2,453
Zhoushan $623

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,008 in Zhoushan.

Barcelona $3,509
Zhoushan $1,008

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $1,394 in Zhoushan.

Barcelona $4,564
Zhoushan $1,394

Living in Barcelona is roughly 294% more expensive than in Zhoushan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Zhoushan is 54% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.75

$3.32 ¥22.12

429.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.5

$18.60 ¥124

262.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.12

$4.09 ¥27.24

230.81%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.86

$2.96 ¥19.67

7.77%

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

$2.91 €2.61

$0.47 ¥3.10

519.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.27 ¥1.81

600.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

$0.77 ¥5.13

420.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

$1.93 ¥12.81

134.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.80 ¥12.01

-27.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.19 ¥14.57

-7.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$0.87 ¥5.81

112.64%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.33

$1.06 ¥7.02

355.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €14.99

$13.59 ¥90.5

23.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.17

$3.48 ¥23.16

162.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.59

$11.07 ¥73.7

77.42%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.67

$1.53 ¥10.15

94.77%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.23 ¥8.15

64.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.42

$1.53 ¥10.17

76.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.51

$1.22 ¥8.10

129.51%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$0.57 ¥3.82

266.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.88 ¥5.86

135.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.60 ¥3.98

143.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$0.55 ¥3.69

70.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.15

$5.36 ¥35.65

28.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

$12.10 ¥80.5

-34.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.91 ¥6.08

54.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

$2.16 ¥14.37

17.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.29 ¥1.92

982.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

$15.22 ¥101

67.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.68

$1.48 ¥9.86

102.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.42 ¥2.83

254.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

$9.04 ¥60.1

269.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.17 ¥7.81

53.85%

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

$33.2K €29.7K

$19.8K ¥131.5K

67.96%

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

$31.7K €28.4K

$16.0K ¥106.2K

98.65%

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

$180 €162

$36.52 ¥243

394.00%

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

$13.84 €12.39

$11.44 ¥76.1

20.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.18

$27.66 ¥184

21.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.13

$25.05 ¥167

105.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

$7.59 ¥50.5

110.28%

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.85

$6.16 ¥41.00

78.41%

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

$917 €821

$447 ¥2,971

105.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$16.5K ¥109.5K

0.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €77.9

$34.73 ¥231

150.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.49

$21.39 ¥142

80.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €94.8

$64.7 ¥430

63.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €107

$45.75 ¥304

161.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,522

$333 ¥2,214

410.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,214

$118 ¥786

1047.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,331

$762 ¥5,068

241.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,847

$271 ¥1,803

661.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

$3,030 ¥20.2K

128.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

$1,988 ¥13.2K

157.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,980

$588 ¥3,914

275.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

3.13

4.79%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Zhoushan: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Zhoushan

$118 19% 91.3% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Zhoushan

$212 34% 34.2% $110

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Zhoushan

$85 13.7% 68.3% $183

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Zhoushan

$76 12.1% 66.8% $152

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Zhoushan

$75 12% 52.6% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Zhoushan

$37 6% 49.2% $36

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Zhoushan

$20 3.2% 58.8% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,699 in Barcelona and $333 in Zhoushan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 3.8 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 $19 in Zhoushan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $212 per month, with Zhoushan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Zhoushan

🕒 Local time

20:18 8:18 PM

03:18 3:18 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

1,157,817

💱 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 Zhoushan 9,970 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 Zhoushan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,453 in Barcelona and $623 in Zhoushan, so Zhoushan is about 75% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 3.8 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 $333 in Zhoushan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $447 in Zhoushan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 52% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $623 in Zhoushan versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Zhoushan but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Zhoushan 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 Zhoushan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 75% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.