Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Manama and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Manama: $1,561 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Manama
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Manama Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Manama

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,561

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,561 in Manama versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Manama $1,561
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,442 in Manama versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Manama $2,442
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Manama versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Manama $3,323
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Manama costs roughly 36% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Manama 15% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.17 BHD 1.95

$17.59 €15.80

-70.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.4 BHD 20.14

$67.5 €60.6

-20.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.22 BHD 2.72

$13.53 €12.15

-46.64%

Cappuccino

$5.01 BHD 1.89

$3.19 €2.87

57.05%

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

$0.88 BHD 0.33

$2.91 €2.62

-69.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 BHD 0.12

$1.89 €1.70

-83.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.48 BHD 2.45

$4.01 €3.60

61.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.09 BHD 3.81

$4.53 €4.07

122.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 BHD 0.52

$1.31 €1.17

6.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 BHD 0.40

$2.02 €1.81

-48.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BHD 0.88

$1.85 €1.66

25.95%

Eggs

$2.22 BHD 0.84

$4.83 €4.34

-54.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.62 BHD 3.25

$16.74 €15.03

-48.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.58 BHD 2.48

$9.12 €8.19

-27.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.38 BHD 3.16

$19.64 €17.64

-57.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.39 BHD 0.90

$2.98 €2.68

-19.80%

Banana (1kg)

$2.31 BHD 0.87

$2.02 €1.81

14.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 BHD 0.73

$2.70 €2.43

-28.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.38 BHD 0.52

$2.80 €2.52

-50.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.01 BHD 0.38

$2.09 €1.87

-51.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 BHD 0.51

$2.07 €1.86

-34.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 BHD 0.59

$1.46 €1.31

6.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 BHD 0.32

$0.94 €0.84

-10.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.26 BHD 1.98

$6.87 €6.17

-23.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.18 BHD 6.86

$7.89 €7.08

130.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.63 BHD 1.37

$1.41 €1.26

157.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 BHD 1.01

$2.54 €2.28

4.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.78 BHD 0.29

$3.14 €2.82

-75.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.65 BHD 13.83

$25.45 €22.86

44.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.18 BHD 1.95

$2.99 €2.69

73.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.42 BHD 1.29

$1.49 €1.34

129.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.82 BHD 5.97

$33.37 €29.98

-52.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.66 BHD 0.25

$1.80 €1.61

-63.33%

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

$25.9K BHD 9,753

$33.2K €29.8K

-22.10%

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

$19.3K BHD 7,296

$31.7K €28.5K

-38.98%

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

$153 BHD 57.6

$180 €162

-15.43%

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

$24.67 BHD 9.30

$13.84 €12.43

78.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.29 BHD 13.31

$33.70 €30.27

4.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.9 BHD 25.99

$51.5 €46.27

33.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.13 BHD 11.36

$15.96 €14.34

88.78%

Cinema Ticket

$10.78 BHD 4.07

$10.99 €9.88

-1.91%

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

$622 BHD 235

$917 €823

-32.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K BHD 4,126

$16.5K €14.8K

-33.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.1 BHD 18.90

$87.0 €78.2

-42.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 BHD 21.89

$38.51 €34.59

50.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.1 BHD 33.61

$106 €95.1

-15.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.7 BHD 33.45

$120 €108

-25.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,004 BHD 379

$1,699 €1,527

-40.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 BHD 241

$1,355 €1,217

-52.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,052 BHD 774

$2,603 €2,338

-21.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,303 BHD 491

$2,062 €1,853

-36.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,590 BHD 977

$6,915 €6,211

-62.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,974 BHD 744

$5,128 €4,606

-61.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,384 BHD 899

$2,211 €1,986

7.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.21

3.28

89.33%

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

Last update for Manama: October 26, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Manama

$638 40.9%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 113% $717

Groceries & Markets

Manama

$249 16%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 29.3% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Manama

$213 13.6%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 7.3% $15

Eating Out

Manama

$181 11.6%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 48.3% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Manama

$129 8.2%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 22.8% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Manama

$90 5.8%

Barcelona

$74 3% 18.7% $17

Getting Around

Manama

$62 4%

Barcelona

$48 2% 21.9% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,004 in Manama and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Manama pays 8% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $53 in Manama vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $249 vs $322 per month, with Manama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇭 Manama

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

01:57 1:57 AM

23:57 11:57 PM

2 h behind Manama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

157,474 Capital

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 BHD = 2.65 USD

1 BHD = 2.38 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to BHD – Bahraini Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇭 Bahraini Dinar (.د.ب)

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.377 BHD (1 BHD = 2.65 USD). 1 EUR = 0.42 BHD (1 BHD = 2.38 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to BHD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Manama Barcelona 4,710 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Manama
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

Manama vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,561 in Manama and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Manama is about 36% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 8% higher in Manama, 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: $1,004 in Manama versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $622 in Manama versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 29% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Manama 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, Manama and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.