Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dalian and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Dalian: $910 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $17,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Dalian
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Dalian Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Dalian

🇨🇳 China

$910

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $910 in Dalian versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Dalian $910
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,436 in Dalian versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Dalian $1,436
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,961 in Dalian versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Dalian $1,961
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Dalian costs roughly 62% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dalian is 33% below, Barcelona is 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.49 ¥23.37

$17.94 €15.96

-80.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.97 ¥167

$68.1 €60.5

-63.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.13 ¥34.27

$13.28 €11.81

-61.37%

Cappuccino

$3.30 ¥22.08

$3.25 €2.89

1.54%

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

$0.47 ¥3.15

$3.01 €2.67

-84.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 ¥1.53

$1.87 €1.66

-87.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.92 ¥6.18

$3.85 €3.42

-76.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.45 ¥9.69

$4.48 €3.98

-67.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 ¥10.88

$1.29 €1.15

26.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ¥9.84

$2.04 €1.81

-27.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.94 ¥6.32

$1.72 €1.53

-45.35%

Eggs

$1.56 ¥10.46

$4.77 €4.24

-67.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$20.01 ¥134

$16.77 €14.92

19.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.36 ¥22.43

$8.93 €7.94

-62.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.72 ¥85.1

$19.88 €17.68

-36.02%

Apples (1kg)

$1.30 ¥8.70

$2.98 €2.65

-56.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.10 ¥7.34

$2.03 €1.80

-45.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 ¥13.02

$2.73 €2.43

-28.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.94

$2.68 €2.38

-66.79%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 ¥5.91

$2.10 €1.87

-58.10%

Onion (1kg)

$0.72 ¥4.82

$2.08 €1.85

-65.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 ¥9.06

$1.45 €1.29

-6.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 ¥4.43

$0.89 €0.79

-25.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.83 ¥25.59

$6.94 €6.17

-44.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.50 ¥96.9

$7.78 €6.92

86.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 ¥7.02

$1.45 €1.29

-27.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 ¥12.94

$2.57 €2.29

-24.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$2.99 €2.66

-89.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.43 ¥197

$25.20 €22.41

16.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.45 ¥9.70

$3.12 €2.77

-53.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 ¥2.87

$1.44 €1.28

-70.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.17 ¥27.89

$33.50 €29.80

-87.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 ¥8.43

$1.79 €1.59

-29.61%

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

$19.1K ¥127.8K

$34.6K €30.8K

-44.83%

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

$17.9K ¥120.0K

$30.1K €26.7K

-40.32%

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

$64.6 ¥432

$178 €158

-63.69%

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

$8.99 ¥60.1

$13.32 €11.85

-32.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.47 ¥90.1

$34.88 €31.03

-61.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.84 ¥280

$53.3 €47.37

-21.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.00 ¥241

$16.01 €14.24

124.86%

Cinema Ticket

$6.78 ¥45.36

$11.06 €9.84

-38.70%

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

$407 ¥2,724

$957 €851

-57.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.3K ¥135.4K

$16.6K €14.7K

22.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.0 ¥501

$88.2 €78.4

-14.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.2 ¥369

$39.49 €35.12

39.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ¥762

$103 €91.5

10.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 ¥802

$121 €108

-1.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$412 ¥2,753

$1,653 €1,470

-75.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$240 ¥1,602

$1,302 €1,158

-81.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$706 ¥4,719

$2,557 €2,275

-72.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$437 ¥2,923

$1,915 €1,703

-77.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,650 ¥17.7K

$7,286 €6,481

-63.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,597 ¥10.7K

$5,080 €4,519

-68.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,095 ¥7,320

$2,281 €2,029

-52.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.89

3.28

18.60%

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

Last update for Dalian: October 12, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dalian

$240 26.3%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 443% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Dalian

$237 26%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 35.1% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Dalian

$164 18%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 3.3% $5.5

Eating Out

Dalian

$93 10.3%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 190% $177

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dalian

$87 9.6%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 160% $139

Sport & Entertainment

Dalian

$55 6.1%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 36% $20

Getting Around

Dalian

$34 3.8%

Barcelona

$47 2% 38.5% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $412 in Dalian and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 108% 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: $25.00 in Dalian vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $320 per month, with Dalian cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Dalian

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

02:11 2:11 AM

20:11 8:11 PM

6 h behind Dalian

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,450,785

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 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 October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dalian Barcelona 9,190 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Dalian
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

Dalian vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dalian and Barcelona differ by about 164% in total monthly costs ($910 vs $2,399 including rent). Dalian is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 108% 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: $412 in Dalian versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $407 in Dalian versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $910 in Dalian versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Dalian but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Dalian 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, Dalian 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 Dalian gentler on the wallet – expenses run 164% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.