Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between El Ejido and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in El Ejido: $1,634 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in El Ejido
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El Ejido Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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El Ejido

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,634

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,634 in El Ejido versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

El Ejido $1,634
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,449 in El Ejido versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

El Ejido $2,449
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,264 in El Ejido versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

El Ejido $3,264
Barcelona $4,431

Living in El Ejido costs roughly 31% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: El Ejido 21% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.73 €14.88

$17.89 €15.92

-6.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.6 €60.2

$66.2 €58.9

2.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 €9.87

$13.69 €12.18

-18.92%

Cappuccino

$2.17 €1.93

$3.06 €2.72

-29.08%

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

$2.31 €2.06

$3.07 €2.73

-24.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 €1.19

$1.94 €1.73

-30.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.29 €2.92

$3.87 €3.44

-14.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 €2.91

$4.61 €4.10

-29.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 €1.01

$1.30 €1.16

-13.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 €1.39

$2.10 €1.87

-25.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 €1.45

$1.83 €1.62

-10.93%

Eggs

$3.40 €3.02

$4.62 €4.11

-26.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.79 €14.93

$17.36 €15.44

-3.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.56 €8.51

$9.28 €8.25

3.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 €15.53

$19.83 €17.64

-11.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 €2.30

$3.01 €2.68

-14.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 €1.73

$2.03 €1.81

-3.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 €1.74

$2.65 €2.36

-26.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$2.87 €2.55

-6.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 €1.71

$2.16 €1.92

-10.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.92 €1.71

$2.15 €1.91

-10.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 €1.11

$1.47 €1.31

-15.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 €0.63

$0.88 €0.79

-19.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.92

$6.93 €6.16

-3.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.77 €5.13

$7.83 €6.96

-26.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 €1.08

$1.39 €1.24

-12.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 €1.88

$2.63 €2.34

-19.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.71 €1.52

$2.91 €2.59

-41.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.17 €32.17

$25.46 €22.64

42.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.06 €2.73

$3.00 €2.66

2.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.44 €1.28

-9.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.86 €15.00

$33.20 €29.53

-49.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

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

$31.3K €27.9K

$32.3K €28.8K

-3.17%

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

$31.3K €27.8K

$31.7K €28.2K

-1.25%

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

$142 €126

$183 €163

-22.29%

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

$18.78 €16.71

$13.61 €12.11

37.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.88 €26.58

$32.93 €29.29

-9.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.99 €37.35

$54.7 €48.65

-23.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.57 €14.74

$16.52 €14.70

0.30%

Cinema Ticket

$9.00 €8.01

$11.23 €9.99

-19.86%

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

$689 €613

$954 €849

-27.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,454 €8,410

$16.6K €14.8K

-43.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.4 €76.0

$86.0 €76.5

-0.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.45 €31.53

$39.11 €34.78

-9.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.2 €82.9

$104 €92.2

-10.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 €94.0

$119 €106

-10.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$902 €802

$1,695 €1,508

-46.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$668 €594

$1,276 €1,135

-47.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 €1,179

$2,576 €2,291

-48.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$994 €884

$1,922 €1,710

-48.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,015 €2,682

$7,281 €6,477

-58.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,239 €1,992

$5,010 €4,456

-55.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.99

3.28

-8.84%

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

Last update for El Ejido: October 18, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

El Ejido

$668 40.9%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 91.1% $608

Groceries & Markets

El Ejido

$288 17.7%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 12.7% $37

Eating Out

El Ejido

$231 14.1%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 16.8% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

El Ejido

$191 11.7%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 20.2% $39

Clothing & Footwear

El Ejido

$144 8.8%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 8.6% $12

Sport & Entertainment

El Ejido

$60 3.7%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 28.6% $17

Getting Around

El Ejido

$53 3.2%

Barcelona

$47 2% 10.1% $5.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $902 in El Ejido and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in El Ejido vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $288 vs $325, with El Ejido cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 El Ejido

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

14:14 2:14 PM

Same time as El Ejido

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

89,975

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

El Ejido Barcelona 670 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

El Ejido
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

El Ejido vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

El Ejido and Barcelona differ by about 46% in total monthly costs ($1,634 vs $2,381 including rent). El Ejido is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,451 in El Ejido and $3,571 in Barcelona to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $902 in El Ejido versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $689 in El Ejido 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 13% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,634 in El Ejido versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,500 budget is realistic in El Ejido but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes El Ejido 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, El Ejido 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 El Ejido gentler on the wallet – expenses run 46% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.