Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Macao and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Macao: $2,158 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

104

Cost of Living Index in Macao
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Macao Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

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Macao

🇲🇴 Macao (China)

$2,158

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,158 in Macao versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Macao $2,158
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,053 in Macao versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Macao $3,053
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,948 in Macao versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Macao $3,948
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Macao 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: Macao 59% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.37 MOP 51.5

$17.59 €15.75

-63.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.4 MOP 447

$67.5 €60.5

-17.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.76 MOP 46.56

$13.53 €12.12

-57.43%

Cappuccino

$4.97 MOP 40.18

$3.19 €2.86

55.80%

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

$1.05 MOP 8.46

$2.91 €2.61

-63.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MOP 6.33

$1.89 €1.70

-58.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.66 MOP 45.72

$4.01 €3.59

41.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.34 MOP 59.3

$4.53 €4.06

62.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.12 MOP 25.18

$1.31 €1.17

138.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 MOP 13.78

$2.02 €1.81

-15.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 MOP 13.89

$1.85 €1.66

-7.03%

Eggs

$3.50 MOP 28.25

$4.83 €4.33

-27.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.90 MOP 128

$16.74 €14.99

-5.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.42 MOP 157

$9.12 €8.17

112.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$29.46 MOP 238

$19.64 €17.59

50.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 MOP 20.84

$2.98 €2.67

-13.42%

Banana (1kg)

$2.86 MOP 23.08

$2.02 €1.81

41.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 MOP 15.24

$2.70 €2.42

-30.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.44 MOP 19.73

$2.80 €2.51

-12.86%

Potato (1kg)

$3.95 MOP 31.94

$2.09 €1.87

89.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.94 MOP 23.74

$2.07 €1.85

42.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.62 MOP 5.00

$1.46 €1.31

-57.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 MOP 9.21

$0.94 €0.84

21.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.64 MOP 53.7

$6.87 €6.15

-3.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.16 MOP 98.2

$7.89 €7.06

54.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 MOP 14.41

$1.41 €1.26

26.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 MOP 18.68

$2.54 €2.27

-9.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.71 MOP 5.76

$3.14 €2.82

-77.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.93 MOP 185

$25.45 €22.79

-9.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 MOP 21.53

$2.99 €2.68

-11.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.24 MOP 9.99

$1.49 €1.34

-16.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.00 MOP 121

$33.37 €29.89

-55.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.76 MOP 14.21

$1.80 €1.61

-2.22%

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

$31.1K MOP 251.4K

$33.2K €29.7K

-6.27%

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

$31.4K MOP 253.5K

$31.7K €28.4K

-1.02%

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

$122 MOP 989

$180 €162

-32.18%

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

$24.02 MOP 194

$13.84 €12.39

73.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.91 MOP 298

$33.70 €30.18

9.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$95.6 MOP 772

$51.5 €46.13

85.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.64 MOP 29.43

$15.96 €14.29

-77.19%

Cinema Ticket

$14.43 MOP 117

$10.99 €9.85

31.30%

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

$1,194 MOP 9,646

$917 €821

30.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.4K MOP 156.7K

$16.5K €14.8K

17.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.8 MOP 556

$87.0 €77.9

-20.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.15 MOP 268

$38.51 €34.49

-13.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 MOP 739

$106 €94.8

-13.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$136 MOP 1,095

$120 €107

13.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MOP 8,850

$1,699 €1,522

-35.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,065 MOP 8,605

$1,355 €1,214

-21.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,089 MOP 16.9K

$2,603 €2,331

-19.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,452 MOP 11.7K

$2,062 €1,847

-29.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,783 MOP 79.0K

$6,915 €6,193

41.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,861 MOP 55.4K

$5,128 €4,592

33.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,042 MOP 16.5K

$2,211 €1,980

-7.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

-8.54%

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

Last update for Macao: October 24, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Macao

$1.1K 49.4%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 27.2% $290

Groceries & Markets

Macao

$424 19.6%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 24.1% $102

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Macao

$183 8.5%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 24.4% $45

Eating Out

Macao

$178 8.3%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 50.3% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Macao

$148 6.9%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 6.7% $9.9

Sport & Entertainment

Macao

$124 5.8%

Barcelona

$74 3% 40.9% $51

Getting Around

Macao

$35 1.6%

Barcelona

$48 2% 40% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,095 in Macao and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 8% 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: $55 in Macao vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $424 vs $322, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇴 Macao

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

03:32 3:32 AM

20:32 8:32 PM

7 h behind Macao

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

622,567 Capital

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Macanese Pataca MOP P

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 MOP = 0.124 USD

1 MOP = 0.111 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MOP – Macanese Pataca Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇴 Macanese Pataca (P)

Macanese Pataca exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 8.08 MOP (1 MOP = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.02 MOP (1 MOP = 0.111 EUR).

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

USD to MOP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Macao Barcelona 10,030 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Macao
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

Macao vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,158 in Macao and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Macao is about 12% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 8% lower in Macao. 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: $1,095 in Macao versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,194 in Macao versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 24% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Macao 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, Macao and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Macao wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.