Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Benxi and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Benxi: $692 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Benxi
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Benxi Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Benxi

🇨🇳 China

$692

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Benxi 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 Benxi and in Barcelona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $692 in Benxi versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Benxi $692
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $991 in Benxi versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Benxi $991
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,291 in Benxi versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Benxi $1,291
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Benxi costs roughly 72% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Benxi is 49% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.04 ¥20.19

$17.59 €15.76

-82.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.33 ¥148

$67.5 €60.5

-66.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.31 ¥35.25

$13.53 €12.12

-60.75%

Cappuccino

$2.40 ¥15.98

$3.19 €2.86

-24.76%

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

$0.51 ¥3.39

$2.91 €2.61

-82.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ¥1.89

$1.89 €1.70

-84.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.73 ¥4.84

$4.01 €3.59

-81.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 ¥11.69

$4.53 €4.06

-61.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.85 ¥12.28

$1.31 €1.17

41.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.22 ¥8.08

$2.02 €1.81

-39.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.84 ¥5.60

$1.85 €1.66

-54.59%

Eggs

$1.60 ¥10.65

$4.83 €4.33

-66.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.00 ¥66.4

$16.74 €15.00

-40.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.85 ¥18.92

$9.12 €8.17

-68.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.92 ¥59.3

$19.64 €17.60

-54.58%

Apples (1kg)

$1.62 ¥10.74

$2.98 €2.67

-45.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 ¥9.17

$2.02 €1.81

-31.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 ¥10.76

$2.70 €2.42

-40.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 ¥9.12

$2.80 €2.51

-51.07%

Potato (1kg)

$0.58 ¥3.88

$2.09 €1.87

-72.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.85 ¥12.26

$2.07 €1.85

-10.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.61 ¥4.09

$1.46 €1.31

-58.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 ¥4.57

$0.94 €0.84

-26.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.97 ¥19.75

$6.87 €6.16

-56.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.24 ¥54.7

$7.89 €7.07

4.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ¥3.85

$1.41 €1.26

-58.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 ¥8.30

$2.54 €2.27

-50.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.09

$3.14 €2.82

-90.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.21 ¥81.1

$25.45 €22.80

-52.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.88 ¥5.84

$2.99 €2.68

-70.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 ¥1.91

$1.49 €1.34

-80.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.98 ¥19.82

$33.37 €29.91

-91.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 ¥7.53

$1.80 €1.61

-37.22%

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

$19.8K ¥131.7K

$33.2K €29.7K

-40.31%

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

$18.0K ¥119.4K

$31.7K €28.4K

-43.31%

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

$54.4 ¥361

$180 €162

-69.87%

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

$6.70 ¥44.51

$13.84 €12.40

-51.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.41 ¥69.2

$33.70 €30.20

-69.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.3 ¥441

$51.5 €46.16

28.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.31 ¥55.2

$15.96 €14.30

-47.93%

Cinema Ticket

$6.03 ¥40.08

$10.99 €9.85

-45.13%

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

$449 ¥2,985

$917 €821

-50.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,894 ¥59.1K

$16.5K €14.8K

-46.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$29.74 ¥198

$87.0 €78.0

-65.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.77 ¥218

$38.51 €34.51

-14.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.2 ¥400

$106 €94.8

-43.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$52.4 ¥348

$120 €107

-56.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$137 ¥907

$1,699 €1,523

-91.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$189 ¥1,259

$1,355 €1,214

-86.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$258 ¥1,711

$2,603 €2,332

-90.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$153 ¥1,015

$2,062 €1,848

-92.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,371 ¥22.4K

$6,915 €6,196

-51.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,941 ¥12.9K

$5,128 €4,595

-62.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$447 ¥2,971

$2,211 €1,981

-79.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

21.95%

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

Last update for Benxi: October 25, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Benxi

$189 27.4%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 616% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Benxi

$179 25.9%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 79.7% $143

Eating Out

Benxi

$79 11.5%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 237% $188

Clothing & Footwear

Benxi

$79 11.4%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 101% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Benxi

$78 11.3%

Barcelona

$74 3% 6.2% $4.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Benxi

$71 10.3%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 219% $156

Getting Around

Benxi

$16 2.3%

Barcelona

$48 2% 207% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $137 in Benxi and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 4.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $22 in Benxi vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $179 vs $322 per month, with Benxi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Benxi

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

11:03 11:03 AM

04:03 4:03 AM

7 h behind Benxi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

809,655

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Benxi Barcelona 9,110 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Benxi
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

Benxi vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $692 in Benxi and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Benxi is about 72% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 80% lower in Benxi. 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: $137 in Benxi versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $449 in Benxi versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 80% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $692 in Benxi versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $800 budget is realistic in Benxi but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Benxi 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 Benxi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 72% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.