Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Zhuhai

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhuhai: $787 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,900 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Zhuhai
Learn more

Zhuhai Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Zhuhai

🇨🇳 China

$787

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Zhuhai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $787 in Zhuhai.

Barcelona $2,443
Zhuhai $787

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,308 in Zhuhai.

Barcelona $3,519
Zhuhai $1,308

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $1,828 in Zhuhai.

Barcelona $4,595
Zhuhai $1,828

Living in Barcelona is roughly 210% more expensive than in Zhuhai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Zhuhai is 42% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.72

$2.74 ¥18.27

544.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.1

$30.04 ¥200

124.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.12

$5.23 ¥34.82

160.23%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.76

$3.19 ¥21.22

-2.82%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$0.50 ¥3.34

500.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$0.32 ¥2.16

503.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.42

$1.23 ¥8.16

212.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.88

$2.16 ¥14.38

101.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.58 ¥10.49

-20.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.31 ¥8.69

61.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.14 ¥7.60

72.81%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.24

$1.64 ¥10.89

190.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.20

$4.30 ¥28.61

296.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €7.97

$2.29 ¥15.22

291.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.39

$3.87 ¥25.76

433.59%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.81

$1.31 ¥8.69

141.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.58 ¥3.83

239.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.36

$0.44 ¥2.91

502.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.57

$1.47 ¥9.78

95.92%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$0.73 ¥4.88

182.19%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$0.47 ¥3.11

363.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$0.29 ¥1.91

427.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$0.44 ¥2.93

120.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.20

$2.95 ¥19.63

136.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.02

$3.72 ¥24.80

112.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

$0.58 ¥3.88

144.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.78 ¥11.86

51.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.95

$0.15 ¥0.98

2106.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.80

$9.11 ¥60.7

181.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.75

$1.47 ¥9.79

109.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.32

$0.38 ¥2.51

289.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.27

$7.24 ¥48.21

354.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.25 ¥8.32

49.60%

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

$33.0K €29.4K

$15.5K ¥103.2K

112.75%

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

$31.9K €28.4K

$13.6K ¥90.7K

134.40%

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

$183 €163

$57.0 ¥380

220.73%

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

$14.24 €12.68

$9.84 ¥65.5

44.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.78

$16.64 ¥111

107.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.79

$82.8 ¥551

-37.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.59

$32.05 ¥213

-48.89%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.85

$7.63 ¥50.8

44.95%

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

$944 €840

$525 ¥3,493

79.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.8K

$40.3K ¥268.3K

-44.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.1

$29.72 ¥198

195.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.52

$40.26 ¥268

-3.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.1

$73.5 ¥489

42.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$82.6 ¥550

42.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,511

$438 ¥2,917

287.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,190

$283 ¥1,881

373.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,397

$905 ¥6,024

197.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,849

$655 ¥4,358

217.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,371

$4,619 ¥30.8K

54.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,522

$2,911 ¥19.4K

74.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €1,996

$1,072 ¥7,135

109.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

3.36

-5.06%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Zhuhai: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Zhuhai

$283 35.9% 78.9% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Zhuhai

$118 15.1% 63.9% $209

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Zhuhai

$90 11.4% 66.4% $177

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Zhuhai

$83 10.6% 64% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Zhuhai

$102 12.9% 35.2% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Zhuhai

$98 12.5% 33.3% $25

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Zhuhai

$13 1.7% 73.5% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $438 in Zhuhai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.1 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 $30 in Zhuhai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $118 per month, with Zhuhai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇨🇳 Zhuhai

🕒 Local time

13:26 1:26 PM

20:26 8:26 PM

7 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

2,207,090

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Barcelona Zhuhai 10,020 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
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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 Zhuhai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $787 in Zhuhai, so Zhuhai is about 68% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Barcelona is about 2.1 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: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $438 in Zhuhai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $525 in Zhuhai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 177% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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 Zhuhai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 68% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.