Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Douala and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Douala: $1,329 a month against $2,405 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $12,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Douala
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Douala Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Douala

🇨🇲 Cameroon

$1,329

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,405

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,329 in Douala versus $2,405 in Barcelona.

Douala $1,329
Barcelona $2,405

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,133 in Douala versus $3,477 in Barcelona.

Douala $2,133
Barcelona $3,477

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,937 in Douala versus $4,550 in Barcelona.

Douala $2,937
Barcelona $4,550

Living in Douala costs roughly 45% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Douala is 1% below, Barcelona is 79% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.41 FCFA 2,579

$17.98 €16.05

-75.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$121 FCFA 70.8K

$67.4 €60.2

79.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.92 FCFA 4,052

$13.37 €11.93

-48.24%

Cappuccino

$2.10 FCFA 1,228

$3.34 €2.98

-37.13%

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

$1.60 FCFA 937

$2.95 €2.64

-45.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 FCFA 458

$1.90 €1.69

-58.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.21 FCFA 710

$3.88 €3.46

-68.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 FCFA 1,469

$4.57 €4.08

-45.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.76 FCFA 1,618

$1.27 €1.13

117.32%

White Bread (500g)

$0.44 FCFA 258

$1.96 €1.75

-77.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.27 FCFA 1,330

$1.75 €1.56

29.71%

Eggs

$1.93 FCFA 1,128

$4.89 €4.36

-60.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.83 FCFA 12.8K

$17.47 €15.59

24.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.91 FCFA 4,629

$9.06 €8.09

-12.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.23 FCFA 3,643

$20.18 €18.01

-69.13%

Apples (1kg)

$4.78 FCFA 2,798

$3.08 €2.75

55.19%

Banana (1kg)

$2.11 FCFA 1,233

$2.03 €1.81

3.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.07 FCFA 1,210

$2.60 €2.32

-20.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 FCFA 804

$2.71 €2.42

-49.45%

Potato (1kg)

$3.33 FCFA 1,950

$2.15 €1.92

54.88%

Onion (1kg)

$2.19 FCFA 1,280

$2.21 €1.97

-0.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 FCFA 441

$1.54 €1.38

-51.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 FCFA 391

$0.93 €0.83

-27.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.61 FCFA 1,526

$7.09 €6.32

-63.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.77 FCFA 5,133

$7.63 €6.81

14.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 FCFA 858

$1.49 €1.33

-1.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 FCFA 1,058

$2.73 €2.43

-33.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 FCFA 358

$2.95 €2.63

-79.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.37 FCFA 10.2K

$25.91 €23.13

-32.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.58 FCFA 340

$3.13 €2.80

-81.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 FCFA 497

$1.45 €1.29

-41.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.14 FCFA 4,763

$34.17 €30.49

-76.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 FCFA 862

$1.79 €1.60

-17.88%

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

$30.5K FCFA 17.8M

$34.7K €31.0K

-12.06%

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

$15.2K FCFA 8.9M

$30.3K €27.0K

-49.82%

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

$163 FCFA 95.1K

$181 €161

-10.05%

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

$25.53 FCFA 14.9K

$13.56 €12.10

88.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$175 FCFA 102.6K

$35.12 €31.34

399.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.22 FCFA 24.1K

$53.2 €47.44

-22.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.05 €14.33

Cinema Ticket

$8.38 FCFA 4,904

$11.37 €10.14

-26.30%

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

$507 FCFA 296.9K

$939 €838

-45.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,426 FCFA 2.0M

$16.5K €14.7K

-79.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.6 FCFA 46.0K

$88.2 €78.7

-10.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$65.9 FCFA 38.5K

$39.77 €35.49

65.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 FCFA 80.6K

$103 €92.3

33.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$148 FCFA 86.4K

$119 €107

23.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$553 FCFA 323.5K

$1,695 €1,513

-67.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$318 FCFA 186.1K

$1,301 €1,161

-75.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,346 FCFA 787.5K

$2,576 €2,299

-47.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$548 FCFA 320.8K

$1,941 €1,732

-71.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,989 FCFA 1.2M

$7,470 €6,666

-73.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$971 FCFA 568.1K

$5,195 €4,636

-81.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$225 FCFA 131.5K

$2,299 €2,052

-90.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

19.04

3.28

480.49%

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

Last update for Douala: October 5, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Douala

$363 27.2%

Barcelona

$229 9.5% 36.9% $134

Accommodation & Living

Douala

$318 23.8%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54% 309% $982

Groceries & Markets

Douala

$278 20.8%

Barcelona

$325 13.5% 16.8% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Douala

$193 14.5%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 18.4% $36

Eating Out

Douala

$102 7.6%

Barcelona

$272 11.3% 167% $170

Sport & Entertainment

Douala

$58 4.3%

Barcelona

$76 3.2% 30.9% $18

Getting Around

Douala

$25 1.8%

Barcelona

$48 2% 95.1% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $553 in Douala and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 923% 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: $121 in Douala vs $67.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $278 vs $325, with Douala cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇲 Douala

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

05:59 5:59 AM

06:59 6:59 AM

1 h ahead of Douala

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,000,000

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Central African CFA Franc XAF Fr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 XAF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XAF = 1.52 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to XAF – Central African CFA Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 Central African CFA Franc (Fr)

Central African CFA Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 585 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.52 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to XAF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Douala Barcelona 4,220 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Douala
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

Douala vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Douala and Barcelona differ by about 81% in total monthly costs ($1,329 vs $2,405 including rent). Douala is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 923% 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: $553 in Douala versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $507 in Douala versus $939 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,329 in Douala versus $2,405 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Douala but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Douala 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, Douala 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 Douala gentler on the wallet – expenses run 81% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.