Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Changsha and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Changsha: $783 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Changsha
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Changsha Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Changsha

🇨🇳 China

$783

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $783 in Changsha versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Changsha $783
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,282 in Changsha versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Changsha $1,282
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,780 in Changsha versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Changsha $1,780
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Changsha costs roughly 68% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Changsha is 42% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.96 ¥19.69

$17.59 €15.80

-83.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.41 ¥149

$67.5 €60.6

-66.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.90 ¥32.60

$13.53 €12.15

-63.78%

Cappuccino

$3.34 ¥22.23

$3.19 €2.87

4.70%

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

$0.51 ¥3.38

$2.91 €2.62

-82.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ¥1.82

$1.89 €1.70

-85.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.24 ¥8.24

$4.01 €3.60

-69.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 ¥12.61

$4.53 €4.07

-58.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 ¥13.09

$1.31 €1.17

50.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 ¥15.77

$2.02 €1.81

17.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.94 ¥6.28

$1.85 €1.66

-49.19%

Eggs

$1.72 ¥11.45

$4.83 €4.34

-64.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.99 ¥86.4

$16.74 €15.03

-22.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.10 ¥27.31

$9.12 €8.19

-55.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.65 ¥77.5

$19.64 €17.64

-40.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.84 ¥18.91

$2.98 €2.68

-4.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ¥9.27

$2.02 €1.81

-31.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 ¥12.83

$2.70 €2.43

-28.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.02 ¥13.46

$2.80 €2.52

-27.86%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 ¥6.39

$2.09 €1.87

-54.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.66 ¥11.04

$2.07 €1.86

-19.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.65 ¥4.33

$1.46 €1.31

-55.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ¥3.27

$0.94 €0.84

-47.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.92 ¥19.41

$6.87 €6.17

-57.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.72 ¥84.7

$7.89 €7.08

61.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 ¥6.86

$1.41 €1.26

-26.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.54 ¥10.27

$2.54 €2.28

-39.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 ¥2.35

$3.14 €2.82

-88.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.75 ¥98.2

$25.45 €22.86

-42.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.48 ¥9.83

$2.99 €2.69

-50.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 ¥2.10

$1.49 €1.34

-79.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.56 ¥30.32

$33.37 €29.98

-86.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 ¥8.40

$1.80 €1.61

-30.00%

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

$19.9K ¥132.1K

$33.2K €29.8K

-40.17%

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

$17.8K ¥118.6K

$31.7K €28.5K

-43.78%

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

$56.1 ¥373

$180 €162

-68.90%

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

$9.08 ¥60.4

$13.84 €12.43

-34.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.61 ¥90.6

$33.70 €30.27

-59.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.8 ¥365

$51.5 €46.27

6.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.80 ¥165

$15.96 €14.34

55.39%

Cinema Ticket

$6.54 ¥43.55

$10.99 €9.88

-40.49%

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

$326 ¥2,172

$917 €823

-64.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.2K ¥114.3K

$16.5K €14.8K

4.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.4 ¥562

$87.0 €78.2

-3.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.62 ¥230

$38.51 €34.59

-10.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.0 ¥599

$106 €95.1

-14.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$61.2 ¥407

$120 €108

-48.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$266 ¥1,772

$1,699 €1,527

-84.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$167 ¥1,111

$1,355 €1,217

-87.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$559 ¥3,721

$2,603 €2,338

-78.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 ¥2,536

$2,062 €1,853

-81.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,482 ¥16.5K

$6,915 €6,211

-64.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,414 ¥9,413

$5,128 €4,606

-72.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,104 ¥7,348

$2,211 €1,986

-50.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

3.28

5.49%

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

Last update for Changsha: October 24, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Changsha

$237 30.3%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 35.7% $85

Accommodation & Living

Changsha

$167 21.3%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 712% $1.2K

Clothing & Footwear

Changsha

$122 15.5%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 29.9% $36

Eating Out

Changsha

$92 11.7%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 193% $176

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Changsha

$79 10.1%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 189% $149

Sport & Entertainment

Changsha

$68 8.7%

Barcelona

$74 3% 8.3% $5.6

Getting Around

Changsha

$19 2.5%

Barcelona

$48 2% 152% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $266 in Changsha and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2 times 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: $22 in Changsha vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $322 per month, with Changsha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Changsha

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

01:42 1:42 AM

18:42 6:42 PM

7 h behind Changsha

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,289,000

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Changsha Barcelona 9,510 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Changsha
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

Changsha vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Changsha and Barcelona differ by about 213% in total monthly costs ($783 vs $2,453 including rent). Changsha is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 50% lower in Changsha. 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: $266 in Changsha versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $326 in Changsha 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 36% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $783 in Changsha versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Changsha but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Changsha 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 Changsha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 68% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.