Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chang-hua and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Chang-hua: $864 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Chang-hua
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Chang-hua Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Chang-hua

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$864

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $864 in Chang-hua versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Chang-hua $864
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,343 in Chang-hua versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Chang-hua $1,343
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,822 in Chang-hua versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Chang-hua $1,822
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Chang-hua costs roughly 64% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chang-hua is 36% below, Barcelona is 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.83 NT$124

$17.94 €15.96

-78.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.76 NT$1,062

$68.1 €60.5

-51.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 NT$179

$13.28 €11.81

-58.36%

Cappuccino

$1.63 NT$52.7

$3.25 €2.89

-49.85%

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

$0.96 NT$30.99

$3.01 €2.67

-68.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 NT$18.01

$1.87 €1.66

-70.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.36 NT$44.21

$3.85 €3.42

-64.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 NT$70.3

$4.48 €3.98

-51.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.38 NT$77.1

$1.29 €1.15

84.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 NT$67.2

$2.04 €1.81

1.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.94 NT$95.5

$1.72 €1.53

70.93%

Eggs

$2.76 NT$89.5

$4.77 €4.24

-42.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.19 NT$525

$16.77 €14.92

-3.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.51 NT$308

$8.93 €7.94

6.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.23 NT$688

$19.88 €17.68

6.79%

Apples (1kg)

$4.82 NT$156

$2.98 €2.65

61.74%

Banana (1kg)

$3.38 NT$110

$2.03 €1.80

66.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.93 NT$95.1

$2.73 €2.43

7.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.17 NT$103

$2.68 €2.38

18.28%

Potato (1kg)

$2.77 NT$89.8

$2.10 €1.87

31.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.11 NT$68.4

$2.08 €1.85

1.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.69 NT$54.9

$1.45 €1.29

16.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 NT$24.97

$0.89 €0.79

-13.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 NT$128

$6.94 €6.17

-42.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.43 NT$306

$7.78 €6.92

21.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 NT$44.70

$1.45 €1.29

-4.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 NT$74.4

$2.57 €2.29

-10.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 NT$50.4

$2.99 €2.66

-48.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.80 NT$1,129

$25.20 €22.41

38.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.65 NT$85.9

$3.12 €2.77

-15.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 NT$24.71

$1.44 €1.28

-47.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.29 NT$301

$33.50 €29.80

-72.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.06 NT$34.39

$1.79 €1.59

-40.78%

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

$33.1K NT$1.1M

$34.6K €30.8K

-4.31%

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

$24.3K NT$787.5K

$30.1K €26.7K

-19.24%

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

$31.62 NT$1,025

$178 €158

-82.22%

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

$16.99 NT$551

$13.32 €11.85

27.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.71 NT$607

$34.88 €31.03

-46.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.75 NT$1,029

$53.3 €47.37

-40.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

Cinema Ticket

$9.38 NT$304

$11.06 €9.84

-15.19%

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

$636 NT$20.6K

$957 €851

-33.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,946 NT$257.7K

$16.6K €14.7K

-52.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.35 NT$1,600

$88.2 €78.4

-44.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.47 NT$502

$39.49 €35.12

-60.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.1 NT$2,534

$103 €91.5

-24.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$49.57 NT$1,607

$121 €108

-59.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$252 NT$8,160

$1,653 €1,470

-84.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$170 NT$5,528

$1,302 €1,158

-86.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$509 NT$16.5K

$2,557 €2,275

-80.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$169 NT$5,480

$1,915 €1,703

-91.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,959 NT$96.0K

$7,286 €6,481

-59.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,631 NT$52.9K

$5,080 €4,519

-67.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,011 NT$65.2K

$2,281 €2,029

-11.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.2

3.28

-32.93%

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

Last update for Chang-hua: October 12, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Chang-hua

$358 41.4%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 10.6% $38

Accommodation & Living

Chang-hua

$170 19.7%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 664% $1.1K

Clothing & Footwear

Chang-hua

$87 10%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 82.8% $72

Eating Out

Chang-hua

$84 9.7%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 222% $186

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chang-hua

$67 7.8%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 236% $159

Sport & Entertainment

Chang-hua

$51 5.8%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 49.2% $25

Getting Around

Chang-hua

$47 5.5%

Barcelona

$47 2% 0% $0

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $252 in Chang-hua and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 13% 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: $33.00 in Chang-hua vs $68.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $358 vs $320, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Chang-hua

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

08:16 8:16 AM

02:16 2:16 AM

6 h behind Chang-hua

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

226,564

1,660,122

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chang-hua Barcelona 10,360 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Chang-hua
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

Chang-hua vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chang-hua and Barcelona differ by about 178% in total monthly costs ($864 vs $2,399 including rent). Chang-hua is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 13% 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: $252 in Chang-hua versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $636 in Chang-hua versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 12% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $864 in Chang-hua versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chang-hua but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Chang-hua 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, Chang-hua 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 Chang-hua gentler on the wallet – expenses run 178% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.