Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Boroko and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Boroko: $868 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Boroko
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Boroko Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Boroko

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$868

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $868 in Boroko versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Boroko $868
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,259 in Boroko versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Boroko $1,259
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,649 in Boroko versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Boroko $1,649
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Boroko costs roughly 65% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Boroko is 36% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.29 PGK 31.69

$17.59 €15.76

-58.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.42 PGK 150

$67.5 €60.5

-49.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.35 PGK 23.27

$13.53 €12.12

-60.46%

Cappuccino

$2.48 PGK 10.76

$3.19 €2.86

-22.26%

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

$0.71 PGK 3.07

$2.91 €2.61

-75.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.64 PGK 2.78

$1.89 €1.70

-66.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 PGK 11.23

$4.01 €3.59

-35.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 PGK 14.86

$4.53 €4.06

-24.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 PGK 6.52

$1.31 €1.17

14.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.16 PGK 5.03

$2.02 €1.81

-42.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.16 PGK 5.03

$1.85 €1.66

-37.30%

Eggs

$3.55 PGK 15.41

$4.83 €4.33

-26.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.98 PGK 21.66

$16.74 €15.00

-70.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.79 PGK 20.80

$9.12 €8.17

-47.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.61 PGK 28.73

$19.64 €17.60

-66.34%

Apples (1kg)

$3.85 PGK 16.71

$2.98 €2.67

29.19%

Banana (1kg)

$3.08 PGK 13.38

$2.02 €1.81

52.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.72 PGK 11.80

$2.70 €2.42

0.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.70 PGK 11.75

$2.80 €2.51

-3.57%

Potato (1kg)

$2.82 PGK 12.25

$2.09 €1.87

34.93%

Onion (1kg)

$0.84 PGK 3.66

$2.07 €1.85

-59.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 PGK 4.86

$1.46 €1.31

-23.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.42 PGK 1.83

$0.94 €0.84

-55.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.42 PGK 23.54

$6.87 €6.16

-21.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.95 PGK 21.53

$7.89 €7.07

-37.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 PGK 4.67

$1.41 €1.26

-24.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 PGK 6.48

$2.54 €2.27

-41.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 PGK 1.83

$3.14 €2.82

-86.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.88 PGK 126

$25.45 €22.80

13.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 PGK 19.12

$2.99 €2.68

47.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.34 PGK 5.84

$1.49 €1.34

-10.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.97 PGK 47.68

$33.37 €29.91

-67.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 PGK 3.47

$1.80 €1.61

-55.56%

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

$35.7K PGK 155.1K

$33.2K €29.7K

7.53%

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

$17.6K PGK 76.5K

$31.7K €28.4K

-44.48%

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

$61.6 PGK 268

$180 €162

-65.86%

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

$20.71 PGK 90.0

$13.84 €12.40

49.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$82.1 PGK 357

$33.70 €30.20

143.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.86 PGK 182

$51.5 €46.16

-18.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.29 PGK 62.1

$15.96 €14.30

-10.46%

Cinema Ticket

$6.47 PGK 28.10

$10.99 €9.85

-41.13%

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

$333 PGK 1,445

$917 €821

-63.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,215 PGK 9,626

$16.5K €14.8K

-86.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$34.50 PGK 150

$87.0 €78.0

-60.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$12.91 PGK 56.1

$38.51 €34.51

-66.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$44.28 PGK 192

$106 €94.8

-58.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$26.31 PGK 114

$120 €107

-78.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,336 PGK 14.5K

$1,699 €1,523

96.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$221 PGK 959

$1,355 €1,214

-83.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,257 PGK 14.2K

$2,603 €2,332

25.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$218 PGK 948

$2,062 €1,848

-89.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$352 PGK 1,531

$2,211 €1,981

-84.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

235.37%

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

Last update for Boroko: 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

Boroko

$221 25.4%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 514% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Boroko

$204 23.5%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 57.7% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Boroko

$164 18.9%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 38.6% $64

Eating Out

Boroko

$129 14.9%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 107% $139

Sport & Entertainment

Boroko

$55 6.3%

Barcelona

$74 3% 34.1% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Boroko

$53 6.1%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 198% $105

Getting Around

Boroko

$42 4.8%

Barcelona

$48 2% 16.3% $6.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $3,336 in Boroko and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 6.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $34 in Boroko vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $204 vs $322 per month, with Boroko cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇬 Boroko

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

18:00 6:00 PM

09:00 9:00 AM

9 h behind Boroko

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 PGK = 0.23 USD

1 PGK = 0.206 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to PGK – Papua New Guinean Kina Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinean Kina (K)

Papua New Guinean Kina exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.35 PGK (1 PGK = 0.23 USD). 1 EUR = 4.85 PGK (1 PGK = 0.206 EUR).

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

USD to PGK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Boroko Barcelona 15,080 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Boroko
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

Boroko vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $868 in Boroko and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Boroko is about 65% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 84% lower in Boroko. 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: $3,336 in Boroko versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $333 in Boroko 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 58% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Boroko 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.

It comes down to priorities – Boroko wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.