Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dongguan and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Dongguan: $815 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Dongguan
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Dongguan Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Dongguan

🇨🇳 China

$815

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $815 in Dongguan versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Dongguan $815
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,295 in Dongguan versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Dongguan $1,295
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,775 in Dongguan versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Dongguan $1,775
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Dongguan costs roughly 66% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dongguan is 40% below, Barcelona is 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.64 ¥17.64

$17.89 €15.92

-85.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.83 ¥153

$66.2 €58.9

-65.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.20 ¥34.75

$13.69 €12.18

-62.02%

Cappuccino

$2.61 ¥17.44

$3.06 €2.72

-14.71%

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

$0.48 ¥3.18

$3.07 €2.73

-84.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ¥2.09

$1.94 €1.73

-84.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.88 ¥5.90

$3.87 €3.44

-77.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 ¥14.88

$4.61 €4.10

-51.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 ¥10.61

$1.30 €1.16

22.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.63 ¥10.93

$2.10 €1.87

-22.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.97 ¥6.50

$1.83 €1.62

-46.99%

Eggs

$1.59 ¥10.66

$4.62 €4.11

-65.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.14 ¥141

$17.36 €15.44

21.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.28 ¥21.96

$9.28 €8.25

-64.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.27 ¥95.4

$19.83 €17.64

-28.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.25 ¥15.03

$3.01 €2.68

-25.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 ¥10.45

$2.03 €1.81

-23.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 ¥12.39

$2.65 €2.36

-30.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 ¥9.98

$2.87 €2.55

-48.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 ¥6.95

$2.16 €1.92

-51.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 ¥8.30

$2.15 €1.91

-42.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.56 ¥3.75

$1.47 €1.31

-61.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ¥3.90

$0.88 €0.79

-34.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.45 ¥29.79

$6.93 €6.16

-35.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.18 ¥81.5

$7.83 €6.96

55.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 ¥6.17

$1.39 €1.24

-33.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 ¥11.74

$2.63 €2.34

-33.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 ¥2.37

$2.91 €2.59

-87.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.38 ¥150

$25.46 €22.64

-12.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ¥7.86

$3.00 €2.66

-60.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.41 ¥2.75

$1.44 €1.28

-71.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.44 ¥29.68

$33.20 €29.53

-86.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ¥8.77

$1.86 €1.65

-29.57%

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

$19.3K ¥129.0K

$32.3K €28.8K

-40.33%

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

$17.6K ¥117.9K

$31.7K €28.2K

-44.36%

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

$63.1 ¥422

$183 €163

-65.50%

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

$9.11 ¥60.9

$13.61 €12.11

-33.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.96 ¥86.7

$32.93 €29.29

-60.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 ¥345

$54.7 €48.65

-5.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.09 ¥108

$16.52 €14.70

-2.60%

Cinema Ticket

$7.53 ¥50.3

$11.23 €9.99

-32.95%

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

$531 ¥3,550

$954 €849

-44.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.3K ¥162.8K

$16.6K €14.8K

46.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.78 ¥313

$86.0 €76.5

-45.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.30 ¥269

$39.11 €34.78

3.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.5 ¥485

$104 €92.2

-30.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$39.04 ¥261

$119 €106

-67.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$380 ¥2,538

$1,695 €1,508

-77.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$219 ¥1,461

$1,276 €1,135

-82.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$662 ¥4,423

$2,576 €2,291

-74.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$431 ¥2,884

$1,922 €1,710

-77.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,650 ¥37.8K

$7,281 €6,477

-22.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,075 ¥20.6K

$5,010 €4,456

-38.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$856 ¥5,725

$2,227 €1,981

-61.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.35

3.28

2.13%

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

Last update for Dongguan: October 19, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dongguan

$248 30.4%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 31.1% $77

Accommodation & Living

Dongguan

$219 26.8%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 484% $1.1K

Clothing & Footwear

Dongguan

$89 11%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 74.9% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dongguan

$85 10.5%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 169% $144

Eating Out

Dongguan

$80 9.8%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 237% $190

Sport & Entertainment

Dongguan

$67 8.2%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 15.7% $10

Getting Around

Dongguan

$27 3.3%

Barcelona

$47 2% 75% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $380 in Dongguan and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 160% 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: $23.00 in Dongguan vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $248 vs $325 per month, with Dongguan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Dongguan

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

20:30 8:30 PM

14:30 2:30 PM

6 h behind Dongguan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,254,100

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 20, 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dongguan Barcelona 9,980 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Dongguan
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

Dongguan vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dongguan and Barcelona differ by about 192% in total monthly costs ($815 vs $2,381 including rent). Dongguan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 160% 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: $380 in Dongguan versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $531 in Dongguan versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $815 in Dongguan versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dongguan but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Dongguan 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, Dongguan 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 Dongguan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 192% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.