Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Icheon and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Icheon: $1,599 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

77

Cost of Living Index in Icheon
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Icheon Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Icheon

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,599

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,599 in Icheon versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Icheon $1,599
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,052 in Icheon versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Icheon $2,052
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,506 in Icheon versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Icheon $2,506
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Icheon costs roughly 35% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Icheon 17% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.24 ₩8,370

$17.59 €15.76

-64.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.61 ₩66.5K

$67.5 €60.5

-26.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.65 ₩8,909

$13.53 €12.12

-50.85%

Cappuccino

$3.67 ₩4,913

$3.19 €2.86

15.05%

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

$1.33 ₩1,785

$2.91 €2.61

-54.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.18 ₩1,578

$1.89 €1.70

-37.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.86 ₩5,171

$4.01 €3.59

-3.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.24 ₩5,677

$4.53 €4.06

-6.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.29 ₩3,074

$1.31 €1.17

74.81%

White Bread (500g)

$3.19 ₩4,276

$2.02 €1.81

57.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.12 ₩4,178

$1.85 €1.66

68.65%

Eggs

$2.65 ₩3,557

$4.83 €4.33

-45.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.29 ₩15.1K

$16.74 €15.00

-32.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.73 ₩14.4K

$9.12 €8.17

17.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.00 ₩33.5K

$19.64 €17.60

27.29%

Apples (1kg)

$11.46 ₩15.4K

$2.98 €2.67

284.56%

Banana (1kg)

$3.59 ₩4,818

$2.02 €1.81

77.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.97 ₩10.7K

$2.70 €2.42

195.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.08 ₩8,153

$2.80 €2.51

117.14%

Potato (1kg)

$5.89 ₩7,896

$2.09 €1.87

181.82%

Onion (1kg)

$3.31 ₩4,430

$2.07 €1.85

59.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.84 ₩3,808

$1.46 €1.31

94.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 ₩1,801

$0.94 €0.84

42.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.42 ₩4,587

$6.87 €6.16

-50.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.77 ₩25.2K

$7.89 €7.07

137.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.43 ₩3,255

$1.41 €1.26

72.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 ₩4,623

$2.54 €2.27

35.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.10 ₩1,480

$3.14 €2.82

-64.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.52 ₩4,717

$2.99 €2.68

17.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 ₩988

$1.49 €1.34

-50.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 ₩23.0K

$33.37 €29.91

-48.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ₩1,905

$1.80 €1.61

-21.11%

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

$40.4K ₩54.1M

$33.2K €29.7K

21.64%

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

$33.6K ₩45.1M

$31.7K €28.4K

6.04%

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

$205 ₩275.4K

$180 €162

13.90%

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

$36.50 ₩48.9K

$13.84 €12.40

163.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.50 ₩36.9K

$33.70 €30.20

-18.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.67 ₩30.4K

$51.5 €46.16

-55.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$11.46 ₩15.4K

$10.99 €9.85

4.28%

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

$631 ₩845.3K

$917 €821

-31.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K ₩29.9M

$16.5K €14.8K

35.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$107 ₩142.8K

$87.0 €78.0

22.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$64.9 ₩86.9K

$38.51 €34.51

68.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.2 ₩126.2K

$106 €94.8

-10.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$127 ₩170.0K

$120 €107

5.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ₩1.0M

$1,699 €1,523

-55.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$454 ₩608.4K

$1,355 €1,214

-66.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,603 €2,332

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,062 €1,848

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,196

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,595

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,314 ₩3.1M

$2,211 €1,981

4.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.9

3.28

18.90%

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

Last update for Icheon: October 25, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Icheon

$490 30.6%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 34.3% $168

Accommodation & Living

Icheon

$454 28.4%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 199% $901

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Icheon

$269 16.9%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 15.4% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Icheon

$177 11%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 10.5% $19

Eating Out

Icheon

$152 9.5%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 76.6% $116

Sport & Entertainment

Icheon

$46 2.9%

Barcelona

$74 3% 61.2% $28

Getting Around

Icheon

$12 * 0.7%

Barcelona

$48 2% 317% $37

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $763 in Icheon and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Icheon pays 5% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $50 in Icheon vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $490 vs $322, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Icheon

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

14:26 2:26 PM

06:26 6:26 AM

8 h behind Icheon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

213,059

1,660,122

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.7 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to KRW – South Korean Won Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇷 South Korean Won (₩)

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1,340 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 1,492 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.7 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to KRW in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Icheon Barcelona 9,650 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Icheon
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

Icheon vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,599 in Icheon and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Icheon is about 35% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 5% higher in Icheon, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $763 in Icheon versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $631 in Icheon versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Icheon – a meal for two runs $50 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,500. Icheon is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Icheon and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.