Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hefei and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Hefei: $768 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Hefei
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Hefei Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Hefei

🇨🇳 China

$768

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $768 in Hefei versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Hefei $768
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,225 in Hefei versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Hefei $1,225
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,681 in Hefei versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Hefei $1,681
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Hefei costs roughly 68% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Hefei is 43% below, Barcelona is 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.58 ¥17.28

$17.89 €15.92

-85.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.44 ¥150

$66.2 €58.9

-66.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.36 ¥29.18

$13.69 €12.18

-68.15%

Cappuccino

$2.75 ¥18.39

$3.06 €2.72

-10.13%

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

$0.49 ¥3.26

$3.07 €2.73

-84.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ¥1.80

$1.94 €1.73

-86.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.06 ¥7.09

$3.87 €3.44

-72.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 ¥13.35

$4.61 €4.10

-56.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 ¥10.84

$1.30 €1.16

24.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 ¥13.75

$2.10 €1.87

-1.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 ¥5.42

$1.83 €1.62

-55.74%

Eggs

$1.92 ¥12.84

$4.62 €4.11

-58.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.10 ¥94.3

$17.36 €15.44

-18.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.90 ¥32.76

$9.28 €8.25

-47.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.57 ¥77.3

$19.83 €17.64

-41.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.31 ¥15.45

$3.01 €2.68

-23.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 ¥11.52

$2.03 €1.81

-15.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.64 ¥10.95

$2.65 €2.36

-38.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ¥10.79

$2.87 €2.55

-43.90%

Potato (1kg)

$0.80 ¥5.37

$2.16 €1.92

-62.96%

Onion (1kg)

$0.94 ¥6.26

$2.15 €1.91

-56.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.79 ¥5.26

$1.47 €1.31

-46.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 ¥4.70

$0.88 €0.79

-20.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.08 ¥20.59

$6.93 €6.16

-55.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.16 ¥81.3

$7.83 €6.96

55.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 ¥6.21

$1.39 €1.24

-33.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 ¥13.28

$2.63 €2.34

-24.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.09

$2.91 €2.59

-89.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.22 ¥302

$25.46 €22.64

77.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.23 ¥8.21

$3.00 €2.66

-59.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.33 ¥2.20

$1.44 €1.28

-77.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.51 ¥23.48

$33.20 €29.53

-89.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ¥8.91

$1.86 €1.65

-28.49%

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

$19.0K ¥127.2K

$32.3K €28.8K

-41.17%

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

$16.9K ¥112.9K

$31.7K €28.2K

-46.72%

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

$48.54 ¥325

$183 €163

-73.44%

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

$9.54 ¥63.8

$13.61 €12.11

-29.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.08 ¥80.8

$32.93 €29.29

-63.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.66 ¥105

$54.7 €48.65

-71.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.31 ¥102

$16.52 €14.70

-7.32%

Cinema Ticket

$6.41 ¥42.85

$11.23 €9.99

-42.92%

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

$236 ¥1,581

$954 €849

-75.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,656 ¥57.9K

$16.6K €14.8K

-47.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.7 ¥600

$86.0 €76.5

4.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.76 ¥219

$39.11 €34.78

-16.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$62.7 ¥419

$104 €92.2

-39.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.9 ¥648

$119 €106

-18.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$241 ¥1,609

$1,695 €1,508

-85.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$179 ¥1,197

$1,276 €1,135

-85.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$532 ¥3,558

$2,576 €2,291

-79.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 ¥2,270

$1,922 €1,710

-82.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,573 ¥23.9K

$7,281 €6,477

-50.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,975 ¥13.2K

$5,010 €4,456

-60.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,011 ¥6,763

$2,227 €1,981

-54.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.15

3.28

-3.96%

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

Last update for Hefei: 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

Hefei

$235 30.6%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 38.6% $91

Accommodation & Living

Hefei

$179 23.3%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 613% $1.1K

Clothing & Footwear

Hefei

$127 16.5%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 23.2% $29

Eating Out

Hefei

$79 10.3%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 241% $190

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hefei

$70 9.1%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 227% $159

Getting Around

Hefei

$49 6.4%

Barcelona

$47 2% 4.1% $2

Sport & Entertainment

Hefei

$28 3.7%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 171% $49

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $241 in Hefei and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 120% 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: $22.00 in Hefei vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $325 per month, with Hefei cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Hefei

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

18:51 6:51 PM

12:51 12:51 PM

6 h behind Hefei

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,369,881

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 24, 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 24, 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

Hefei Barcelona 9,510 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Hefei
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

Hefei vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hefei and Barcelona differ by about 210% in total monthly costs ($768 vs $2,381 including rent). Hefei is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 120% 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: $241 in Hefei versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $236 in Hefei 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 39% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $768 in Hefei versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Hefei but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Hefei 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, Hefei 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 Hefei gentler on the wallet – expenses run 210% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.