Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Zihuatanejo

For one person, living is cheaper in Zihuatanejo: $1,196 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Zihuatanejo
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Zihuatanejo Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Zihuatanejo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,196

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Zihuatanejo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,443 in Barcelona versus $1,196 in Zihuatanejo.

Barcelona $2,443
Zihuatanejo $1,196

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,519 in Barcelona versus $1,861 in Zihuatanejo.

Barcelona $3,519
Zihuatanejo $1,861

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,595 in Barcelona versus $2,526 in Zihuatanejo.

Barcelona $4,595
Zihuatanejo $2,526

Living in Barcelona is roughly 104% more expensive than in Zihuatanejo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 81% above, Zihuatanejo is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 €15.79

$10.57 MX$197

67.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.5 €60.3

$43.12 MX$803

56.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.61 €12.17

$8.39 MX$156

62.22%

Cappuccino

$3.10 €2.77

$3.40 MX$63.2

-8.82%

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

$3.00 €2.68

$1.34 MX$24.94

123.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 €1.72

$1.00 MX$18.66

93.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.44

$2.38 MX$44.29

61.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.90

$3.92 MX$73.0

11.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.57 MX$29.24

-20.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.90

$2.63 MX$48.98

-19.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.69 MX$31.52

16.57%

Eggs

$4.76 €4.26

$2.50 MX$46.60

90.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.07 €15.26

$8.06 MX$150

111.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 €8.01

$8.24 MX$153

8.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.46

$11.39 MX$212

81.30%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 €2.83

$2.67 MX$49.74

18.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.47 MX$27.45

34.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 €2.37

$1.87 MX$34.74

41.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 €2.58

$1.84 MX$34.25

56.52%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.84

$2.06 MX$38.33

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 €1.95

$1.88 MX$35.04

15.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.38 MX$25.72

10.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.87

$1.07 MX$19.85

-9.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.97 €6.23

$4.25 MX$79.0

64.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.05

$10.27 MX$191

-23.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.27

$1.71 MX$31.83

-16.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.40

$3.07 MX$57.1

-12.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.31 €2.96

$0.66 MX$12.35

401.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.61 €22.90

$30.30 MX$564

-15.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 €2.76

$2.51 MX$46.64

22.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 €1.33

$1.88 MX$35.07

-21.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.87 €29.40

$10.56 MX$197

211.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 €1.67

$1.43 MX$26.53

30.77%

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

$33.0K €29.5K

$23.7K MX$441.1K

39.07%

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

$31.9K €28.6K

$23.8K MX$443.7K

33.99%

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

$183 €164

$58.1 MX$1,081

214.72%

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

$14.24 €12.73

$22.78 MX$424

-37.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.56 €30.91

$28.55 MX$531

21.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 €45.98

$32.62 MX$607

57.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.38 €14.65

$20.09 MX$374

-18.47%

Cinema Ticket

$11.06 €9.89

$5.10 MX$94.9

116.86%

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

$944 €844

$215 MX$4,001

338.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K €19.9K

$4,555 MX$84.8K

388.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 €78.4

$53.3 MX$991

64.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.77 €34.67

$40.57 MX$755

-4.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.5

$99.1 MX$1,845

5.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$87.4 MX$1,627

34.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 €1,517

$605 MX$11.3K

180.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 €1,195

$432 MX$8,043

209.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,692 €2,407

$1,014 MX$18.9K

165.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 €1,857

$739 MX$13.8K

180.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,155 €6,398

$1,928 MX$35.9K

271.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,079 €4,542

$1,131 MX$21.0K

349.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,241 €2,004

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.19

11.31

-71.79%

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

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Last update for Zihuatanejo: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7%

Zihuatanejo

$432 36.2% 67.7% $905

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$328 13.4%

Zihuatanejo

$261 21.8% 20.4% $67

Eating Out

Barcelona

$267 10.9%

Zihuatanejo

$180 15% 32.7% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$232 9.5%

Zihuatanejo

$109 9.2% 52.8% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$157 6.4%

Zihuatanejo

$126 10.6% 19.6% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$74 3%

Zihuatanejo

$43 3.6% 41.8% $31

Getting Around

Barcelona

$49 2%

Zihuatanejo

$45 3.8% 9% $4.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,697 in Barcelona and $605 in Zihuatanejo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67 in Barcelona vs $43 in Zihuatanejo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $328 vs $261 per month, with Zihuatanejo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇲🇽 Zihuatanejo

🕒 Local time

01:02 1:02 AM

18:02 6:02 PM

7 h behind Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

67,408

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.894 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Zihuatanejo 9,810 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Zihuatanejo

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 Zihuatanejo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,443 in Barcelona and $1,196 in Zihuatanejo, so Zihuatanejo is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,664 in Barcelona and $1,794 in Zihuatanejo to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,697 in Barcelona versus $605 in Zihuatanejo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $944 in Barcelona versus $215 in Zihuatanejo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,196 in Zihuatanejo versus $2,443 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Zihuatanejo but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Zihuatanejo 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 Zihuatanejo are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.