Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiayi and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiayi: $1,041 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Chiayi
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Chiayi Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Chiayi

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,041

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,041 in Chiayi versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Chiayi $1,041
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,471 in Chiayi versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Chiayi $1,471
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,901 in Chiayi versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Chiayi $1,901
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Chiayi costs roughly 58% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chiayi is 24% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.59 NT$150

$17.59 €15.76

-73.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.34 NT$1,511

$67.5 €60.5

-31.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.65 NT$184

$13.53 €12.12

-58.24%

Cappuccino

$3.29 NT$107

$3.19 €2.86

3.13%

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

$0.85 NT$27.72

$2.91 €2.61

-70.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 NT$21.81

$1.89 €1.70

-64.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.98 NT$97.2

$4.01 €3.59

-25.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.58 NT$117

$4.53 €4.06

-20.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.95 NT$96.2

$1.31 €1.17

125.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.95 NT$63.5

$2.02 €1.81

-3.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.05 NT$99.5

$1.85 €1.66

64.86%

Eggs

$2.63 NT$85.8

$4.83 €4.33

-45.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.97 NT$619

$16.74 €15.00

13.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.89 NT$322

$9.12 €8.17

8.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.28 NT$694

$19.64 €17.60

8.35%

Apples (1kg)

$4.72 NT$154

$2.98 €2.67

58.39%

Banana (1kg)

$3.28 NT$107

$2.02 €1.81

62.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 NT$93.5

$2.70 €2.42

6.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.23 NT$138

$2.80 €2.51

51.07%

Potato (1kg)

$2.65 NT$86.2

$2.09 €1.87

26.79%

Onion (1kg)

$2.20 NT$71.6

$2.07 €1.85

6.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.72 NT$56.1

$1.46 €1.31

17.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 NT$36.48

$0.94 €0.84

19.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.75 NT$122

$6.87 €6.16

-45.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.48 NT$146

$7.89 €7.07

-43.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 NT$51.4

$1.41 €1.26

12.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 NT$69.5

$2.54 €2.27

-16.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.12 NT$395

$25.45 €22.80

-52.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.54 NT$82.8

$2.99 €2.68

-15.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.45 NT$14.70

$1.49 €1.34

-69.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 NT$292

$33.37 €29.91

-73.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 NT$32.62

$1.80 €1.61

-44.44%

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

$34.1K NT$1.1M

$33.2K €29.7K

2.64%

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

$23.5K NT$765.9K

$31.7K €28.4K

-25.90%

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

$64.7 NT$2,108

$180 €162

-64.16%

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

$17.55 NT$572

$13.84 €12.40

26.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.76 NT$872

$33.70 €30.20

-20.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.55 NT$996

$51.5 €46.16

-40.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$9.62 NT$314

$10.99 €9.85

-12.47%

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

$712 NT$23.2K

$917 €821

-22.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.1K NT$525.9K

$16.5K €14.8K

-2.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.2 NT$2,027

$87.0 €78.0

-28.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.01 NT$1,272

$38.51 €34.51

1.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 NT$2,698

$106 €94.8

-21.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 NT$3,317

$120 €107

-15.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$374 NT$12.2K

$1,699 €1,523

-77.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$244 NT$7,940

$1,355 €1,214

-82.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,070 NT$100.1K

$6,915 €6,196

-55.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,843 NT$60.1K

$5,128 €4,595

-64.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,038 NT$66.4K

$2,211 €1,981

-7.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.4

3.28

-26.83%

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

Last update for Chiayi: October 25, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Chiayi

$372 35.7%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 13.4% $50

Accommodation & Living

Chiayi

$244 23.4%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 457% $1.1K

Clothing & Footwear

Chiayi

$129 12.4%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 22.9% $29

Eating Out

Chiayi

$121 11.7%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 121% $147

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiayi

$109 10.5%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 109% $119

Sport & Entertainment

Chiayi

$50 4.8%

Barcelona

$74 3% 47.6% $24

Getting Around

Chiayi

$17 * 1.6%

Barcelona

$48 2% 187% $32

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $374 in Chiayi and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 8% 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: $46 in Chiayi vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $372 vs $322, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Chiayi

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

16:06 4:06 PM

09:06 9:06 AM

7 h behind Chiayi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

269,874

1,660,122

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.39 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

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

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chiayi Barcelona 10,410 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiayi
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

Chiayi vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,041 in Chiayi and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Chiayi is about 58% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 8% lower in Chiayi. 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: $374 in Chiayi versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $712 in Chiayi versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 13% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Chiayi 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.

Safety-wise, Chiayi and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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