Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Koh Lipe and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Koh Lipe: $2,098 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in Koh Lipe
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Koh Lipe Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Koh Lipe

🇹🇭 Thailand

$2,098

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,098 in Koh Lipe versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Koh Lipe $2,098
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,592 in Koh Lipe versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Koh Lipe $3,592
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,086 in Koh Lipe versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Koh Lipe $5,086
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Koh Lipe costs roughly 12% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Koh Lipe 55% above, Barcelona 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.97 ฿233

$17.89 €15.92

-61.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.3 ฿1,748

$66.2 €58.9

-20.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.86 ฿463

$13.69 €12.18

1.24%

Cappuccino

$4.54 ฿152

$3.06 €2.72

48.37%

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

$1.51 ฿50.5

$3.07 €2.73

-50.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 ฿24.70

$1.94 €1.73

-61.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.97 ฿133

$3.87 €3.44

2.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.11 ฿204

$4.61 €4.10

32.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.14 ฿71.6

$1.30 €1.16

64.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.77 ฿59.3

$2.10 €1.87

-15.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.88 ฿63.0

$1.83 €1.62

2.73%

Eggs

$2.73 ฿91.4

$4.62 €4.11

-40.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.27 ฿811

$17.36 €15.44

39.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.17 ฿139

$9.28 €8.25

-55.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.98 ฿467

$19.83 €17.64

-29.50%

Apples (1kg)

$3.74 ฿125

$3.01 €2.68

24.25%

Banana (1kg)

$2.10 ฿70.1

$2.03 €1.81

3.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.79 ฿93.3

$2.65 €2.36

5.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.62 ฿87.5

$2.87 €2.55

-8.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 ฿61.1

$2.16 €1.92

-15.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 ฿55.9

$2.15 €1.91

-22.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 ฿46.28

$1.47 €1.31

-6.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 ฿22.89

$0.88 €0.79

-22.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.52 ฿185

$6.93 €6.16

-20.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.90 ฿765

$7.83 €6.96

192.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.19 ฿73.3

$1.39 €1.24

57.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 ฿120

$2.63 €2.34

36.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.44 ฿115

$2.91 €2.59

18.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ฿149

$3.00 €2.66

48.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.59 ฿53.1

$1.44 €1.28

10.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.83 ฿195

$33.20 €29.53

-82.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 ฿74.0

$1.86 €1.65

18.82%

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

$40.4K ฿1.3M

$32.3K €28.8K

24.78%

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

$40.0K ฿1.3M

$31.7K €28.2K

26.29%

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

$113 ฿3,773

$183 €163

-38.23%

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

$12.73 ฿425

$13.61 €12.11

-6.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.03 ฿669

$32.93 €29.29

-39.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.6 ฿2,225

$54.7 €48.65

21.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.60 ฿454

$16.52 €14.70

-17.68%

Cinema Ticket

$9.45 ฿316

$11.23 €9.99

-15.85%

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

$696 ฿23.3K

$954 €849

-27.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.5K ฿483.5K

$16.6K €14.8K

-12.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.4 ฿2,253

$86.0 €76.5

-21.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.63 ฿990

$39.11 €34.78

-24.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 ฿3,424

$104 €92.2

-1.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.5 ฿3,090

$119 €106

-22.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,835 ฿61.3K

$1,695 €1,508

8.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,181 ฿39.5K

$1,276 €1,135

-7.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,300 ฿177.1K

$2,576 €2,291

105.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,000 ฿100.3K

$1,922 €1,710

56.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,628 ฿288.3K

$7,281 €6,477

18.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,214 ฿207.7K

$5,010 €4,456

24.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

3.28

69.82%

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

Last update for Koh Lipe: October 19, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Koh Lipe

$1.2K 56.3%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 8% $95

Groceries & Markets

Koh Lipe

$335 16%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 3.1% $10

Eating Out

Koh Lipe

$193 9.2%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 39.7% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Koh Lipe

$146 6.9%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 57.4% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Koh Lipe

$131 6.3%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 19% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Koh Lipe

$85 4.1%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 9.7% $8.3

Getting Around

Koh Lipe

$26 * 1.3%

Barcelona

$47 2% 80.7% $21

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 $1,835 in Koh Lipe and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52.0 in Koh Lipe vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $335 vs $325, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Koh Lipe

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

00:45 12:45 AM

19:45 7:45 PM

5 h behind Koh Lipe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

800

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Koh Lipe Barcelona 10,120 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Koh Lipe
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

Koh Lipe vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Koh Lipe and Barcelona differ by about 13% in total monthly costs ($2,098 vs $2,381 including rent). Koh Lipe is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,147 in Koh Lipe 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: $1,835 in Koh Lipe versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $696 in Koh Lipe versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Koh Lipe – a meal for two runs $52.0 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Koh Lipe 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, Koh Lipe 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 Koh Lipe gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.