Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ismailia and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Ismailia: $330 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $24,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

16

Cost of Living Index in Ismailia
Learn more

Ismailia Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Ismailia

🇪🇬 Egypt

$330

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $330 in Ismailia versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Ismailia $330
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $561 in Ismailia versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Ismailia $561
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $792 in Ismailia versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Ismailia $792
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Ismailia costs roughly 86% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.30 E£176

$17.89 €15.92

-81.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.58 E£778

$66.2 €58.9

-77.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.76 E£201

$13.69 €12.18

-72.53%

Cappuccino

$1.04 E£55.5

$3.06 €2.72

-66.01%

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

$0.30 E£15.91

$3.07 €2.73

-90.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.13 E£6.85

$1.94 €1.73

-93.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.32 E£70.6

$3.87 €3.44

-65.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 E£96.0

$4.61 €4.10

-60.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.79 E£42.30

$1.30 €1.16

-39.23%

White Bread (500g)

$0.36 E£19.07

$2.10 €1.87

-82.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.60 E£32.12

$1.83 €1.62

-67.21%

Eggs

$1.15 E£61.5

$4.62 €4.11

-75.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.49 E£186

$17.36 €15.44

-79.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.98 E£213

$9.28 €8.25

-57.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.95 E£371

$19.83 €17.64

-64.95%

Apples (1kg)

$1.45 E£77.3

$3.01 €2.68

-51.83%

Banana (1kg)

$0.54 E£29.05

$2.03 €1.81

-73.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.41 E£22.01

$2.65 €2.36

-84.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.31 E£16.79

$2.87 €2.55

-89.20%

Potato (1kg)

$0.26 E£13.89

$2.16 €1.92

-87.96%

Onion (1kg)

$0.32 E£17.12

$2.15 €1.91

-85.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.23 E£12.31

$1.47 €1.31

-84.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.20 E£10.67

$0.88 €0.79

-77.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.86 E£99.5

$6.93 €6.16

-73.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.48 E£293

$7.83 €6.96

-30.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 E£55.4

$1.39 €1.24

-25.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 E£101

$2.63 €2.34

-28.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 E£12.26

$2.91 €2.59

-92.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$3.77 E£201

$25.46 €22.64

-85.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£20.60

$3.00 €2.66

-87.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.48 E£25.72

$1.44 €1.28

-66.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.13 E£60.2

$33.20 €29.53

-96.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.42 E£22.18

$1.86 €1.65

-77.42%

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

$27.6K E£1.5M

$32.3K €28.8K

-14.53%

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

$14.6K E£780.2K

$31.7K €28.2K

-53.92%

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

$13.94 E£744

$183 €163

-92.37%

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

$6.66 E£355

$13.61 €12.11

-51.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.33 E£391

$32.93 €29.29

-77.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$9.65 E£515

$54.7 €48.65

-82.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.42 E£984

$16.52 €14.70

11.50%

Cinema Ticket

$1.82 E£97.4

$11.23 €9.99

-83.79%

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

$65.6 E£3,502

$954 €849

-93.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,171 E£62.5K

$16.6K €14.8K

-92.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$12.92 E£690

$86.0 €76.5

-84.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$9.19 E£491

$39.11 €34.78

-76.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 E£6,764

$104 €92.2

22.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$27.53 E£1,470

$119 €106

-76.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$78.3 E£4,181

$1,695 €1,508

-95.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$31.44 E£1,679

$1,276 €1,135

-97.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$120 E£6,414

$2,576 €2,291

-95.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$75.2 E£4,017

$1,922 €1,710

-96.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$458 E£24.5K

$7,281 €6,477

-93.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$131 E£6,984

$5,010 €4,456

-97.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$101 E£5,387

$2,227 €1,981

-95.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

21.33

3.28

550.30%

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

Last update for Ismailia: 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

Ismailia

$108 32.8%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 201% $217

Clothing & Footwear

Ismailia

$79 24.1%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 97% $77

Eating Out

Ismailia

$62 18.8%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 335% $207

Accommodation & Living

Ismailia

$31 9.5%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 3959% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ismailia

$28 8.5%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 721% $201

Sport & Entertainment

Ismailia

$13 4%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 480% $64

Getting Around

Ismailia

$7.5 2.3%

Barcelona

$47 2% 533% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $78.3 in Ismailia and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 2107% 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: $15.00 in Ismailia vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $108 vs $325 per month, with Ismailia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Ismailia

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

17:02 5:02 PM

16:02 4:02 PM

1 h behind Ismailia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

352,000

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ismailia Barcelona 2,940 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Ismailia
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

Ismailia vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ismailia and Barcelona differ by about 622% in total monthly costs ($330 vs $2,381 including rent). Ismailia is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 2107% 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: $78.3 in Ismailia versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $65.6 in Ismailia 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 201% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $330 in Ismailia versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ismailia but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Ismailia 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, Ismailia 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 Ismailia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 622% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.