Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Zhubei City

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhubei City: $1,029 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,100 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Zhubei City
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Zhubei City Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Zhubei City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,029

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Zhubei City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,453 in Barcelona versus $1,029 in Zhubei City.

Barcelona $2,453
Zhubei City $1,029

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,509 in Barcelona versus $1,814 in Zhubei City.

Barcelona $3,509
Zhubei City $1,814

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,564 in Barcelona versus $2,599 in Zhubei City.

Barcelona $4,564
Zhubei City $2,599

Living in Barcelona is roughly 138% more expensive than in Zhubei City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 80% above, Zhubei City is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 €15.80

$4.73 NT$153

271.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.6

$27.28 NT$884

147.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.53 €12.15

$5.11 NT$166

164.77%

Cappuccino

$3.19 €2.87

$2.79 NT$90.2

14.34%

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

$2.91 €2.62

$0.91 NT$29.33

219.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.70

$0.57 NT$18.50

231.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.60

$1.86 NT$60.3

115.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.07

$2.20 NT$71.4

105.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.76 NT$89.5

-52.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.77 NT$57.4

14.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$4.50 NT$146

-58.89%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.34

$2.74 NT$88.7

76.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.74 €15.03

$24.58 NT$796

-31.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 €8.19

$8.13 NT$263

12.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.64 €17.64

$24.77 NT$802

-20.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.68

$4.08 NT$132

-26.96%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$2.44 NT$79.0

-17.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 €2.43

$2.73 NT$88.3

-1.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 €2.52

$3.31 NT$107

-15.41%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$3.05 NT$98.8

-31.48%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$2.02 NT$65.3

2.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.97 NT$63.9

-25.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.84

$1.32 NT$42.73

-28.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.87 €6.17

$3.94 NT$128

74.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.08

$9.10 NT$295

-13.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.41 NT$45.59

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.28

$2.25 NT$73.0

12.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

$0.59 NT$19.06

432.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.99 €2.69

$3.08 NT$99.9

-2.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

$0.59 NT$18.98

152.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.98

$9.28 NT$301

259.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.02 NT$33.12

76.47%

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

$33.2K €29.8K

$33.2K NT$1.1M

-0.17%

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

$31.7K €28.5K

$24.0K NT$778.3K

31.96%

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

$180 €162

$98.5 NT$3,191

83.18%

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

$13.84 €12.43

$18.80 NT$609

-26.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.70 €30.27

$22.96 NT$744

46.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.27

$31.27 NT$1,013

64.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.34

Cinema Ticket

$10.99 €9.88

$9.95 NT$323

10.45%

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

$917 €823

$642 NT$20.8K

42.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$16.5K NT$533.7K

0.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.0 €78.2

$56.1 NT$1,819

55.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.51 €34.59

$30.46 NT$987

26.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 €95.1

$89.7 NT$2,907

17.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 €108

$98.4 NT$3,187

21.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,699 €1,527

$495 NT$16.0K

243.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,355 €1,217

$208 NT$6,730

552.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,338

$1,060 NT$34.3K

145.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,853

$776 NT$25.1K

165.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,211

$15.8K NT$511.5K

-56.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,606

$9,406 NT$304.7K

-45.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

$2,393 NT$77.5K

-7.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

2.4

36.67%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Last update for Zhubei City: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3%

Zhubei City

$208 20.2% 84.7% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$322 13.1%

Zhubei City

$392 38.1% 21.8% $70

Eating Out

Barcelona

$268 10.9%

Zhubei City

$106 10.3% 60.3% $162

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$228 9.3%

Zhubei City

$140 13.6% 38.5% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.4%

Zhubei City

$124 12% 21.8% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Zhubei City

$51 5% 30.4% $22

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Zhubei City

$8.4 * 0.8% 82.7% $40

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 $495 in Zhubei City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zhubei City pays 8% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $27 in Zhubei City. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $392, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇹🇼 Zhubei City

🕒 Local time

17:09 5:09 PM

00:09 12:09 AM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

211,746

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 TWD = 3.09 USD

100 TWD = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 32.4 TWD (100 TWD = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 36.06 TWD (100 TWD = 2.77 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Barcelona Zhubei City 10,330 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Zhubei City

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 Zhubei City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Zhubei City differ by about 138% in total monthly costs ($2,453 vs $1,029 including rent). Zhubei City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 8% lower in Barcelona. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,699 in Barcelona versus $495 in Zhubei City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $917 in Barcelona versus $642 in Zhubei City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Zhubei City – a meal for two runs $27 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Zhubei City is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Zhubei City are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.