Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Beijing (Pekin) and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Beijing (Pekin): $1,185 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Beijing (Pekin)
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Beijing (Pekin) Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Beijing (Pekin)

🇨🇳 China

$1,185

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Beijing (Pekin) and in Barcelona

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Beijing (Pekin) and in Barcelona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,185 in Beijing (Pekin) versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Beijing (Pekin) $1,185
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,917 in Beijing (Pekin) versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Beijing (Pekin) $1,917
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,648 in Beijing (Pekin) versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Beijing (Pekin) $2,648
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Beijing (Pekin) costs roughly 50% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Beijing (Pekin) is 13% below, Barcelona is 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.53 ¥30.31

$17.89 €15.92

-74.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.16 ¥202

$66.2 €58.9

-54.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.36 ¥35.83

$13.69 €12.18

-60.85%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ¥23.84

$3.06 €2.72

16.67%

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

$0.51 ¥3.39

$3.07 €2.73

-83.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 ¥1.89

$1.94 €1.73

-85.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.19 ¥7.94

$3.87 €3.44

-69.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 ¥11.43

$4.61 €4.10

-62.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ¥11.66

$1.30 €1.16

33.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.77 ¥11.82

$2.10 €1.87

-15.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 ¥8.61

$1.83 €1.62

-29.51%

Eggs

$1.95 ¥13.01

$4.62 €4.11

-57.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.29 ¥95.5

$17.36 €15.44

-17.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.31 ¥22.13

$9.28 €8.25

-64.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.11 ¥74.3

$19.83 €17.64

-43.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.12 ¥14.18

$3.01 €2.68

-29.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 ¥11.56

$2.03 €1.81

-14.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.09 ¥13.98

$2.65 €2.36

-21.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ¥10.30

$2.87 €2.55

-46.34%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 ¥4.64

$2.16 €1.92

-68.06%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 ¥6.09

$2.15 €1.91

-57.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 ¥5.04

$1.47 €1.31

-48.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 ¥4.06

$0.88 €0.79

-30.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 ¥28.52

$6.93 €6.16

-38.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.90 ¥93.0

$7.83 €6.96

77.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 ¥6.80

$1.39 €1.24

-26.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 ¥12.09

$2.63 €2.34

-31.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 ¥4.65

$2.91 €2.59

-76.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.82 ¥233

$25.46 €22.64

36.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.90 ¥12.73

$3.00 €2.66

-36.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 ¥2.36

$1.44 €1.28

-75.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.28 ¥48.68

$33.20 €29.53

-78.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ¥8.87

$1.86 €1.65

-28.49%

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

$19.6K ¥131.3K

$32.3K €28.8K

-39.29%

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

$18.0K ¥120.6K

$31.7K €28.2K

-43.11%

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

$59.1 ¥395

$183 €163

-67.68%

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

$8.77 ¥58.7

$13.61 €12.11

-35.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.22 ¥95.1

$32.93 €29.29

-56.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.06 ¥275

$54.7 €48.65

-24.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.89 ¥166

$16.52 €14.70

50.67%

Cinema Ticket

$7.44 ¥49.74

$11.23 €9.99

-33.75%

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

$654 ¥4,375

$954 €849

-31.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.0K ¥160.5K

$16.6K €14.8K

44.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.2 ¥476

$86.0 €76.5

-17.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.02 ¥268

$39.11 €34.78

2.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.2 ¥590

$104 €92.2

-14.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$127 ¥846

$119 €106

6.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$945 ¥6,317

$1,695 €1,508

-44.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$523 ¥3,499

$1,276 €1,135

-58.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,362 ¥15.8K

$2,576 €2,291

-8.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,122 ¥7,500

$1,922 €1,710

-41.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$12.3K ¥82.0K

$7,281 €6,477

68.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,446 ¥43.1K

$5,010 €4,456

28.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,715 ¥11.5K

$2,227 €1,981

-22.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.12

3.28

-4.88%

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

Last update for Beijing (Pekin): October 17, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Beijing (Pekin)

$523 44.2%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 144% $753

Groceries & Markets

Beijing (Pekin)

$229 19.3%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 42.2% $97

Clothing & Footwear

Beijing (Pekin)

$147 12.4%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 6.6% $9.7

Eating Out

Beijing (Pekin)

$108 9.1%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 150% $162

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Beijing (Pekin)

$82 6.9%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 179% $147

Sport & Entertainment

Beijing (Pekin)

$56 4.7%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 37.9% $21

Getting Around

Beijing (Pekin)

$41 3.5%

Barcelona

$47 2% 14.6% $6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $945 in Beijing (Pekin) and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 30% 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: $30.00 in Beijing (Pekin) vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $229 vs $325 per month, with Beijing (Pekin) cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Beijing (Pekin)

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

09:32 9:32 AM

03:32 3:32 AM

6 h behind Beijing (Pekin)

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,893,095 Capital

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Beijing (Pekin) Barcelona 8,800 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Beijing (Pekin)
Barcelona

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

Beijing (Pekin) vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Beijing (Pekin) and Barcelona differ by about 101% in total monthly costs ($1,185 vs $2,381 including rent). Beijing (Pekin) is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 30% 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: $945 in Beijing (Pekin) versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $654 in Beijing (Pekin) versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,185 in Beijing (Pekin) versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Beijing (Pekin) but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Beijing (Pekin) 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, Beijing (Pekin) and Barcelona 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 Beijing (Pekin) gentler on the wallet – expenses run 101% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.