Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Matsuyama and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Matsuyama: $1,277 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Matsuyama
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Matsuyama Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Matsuyama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,277

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,277 in Matsuyama versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Matsuyama $1,277
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,017 in Matsuyama versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Matsuyama $2,017
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,758 in Matsuyama versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Matsuyama $2,758
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Matsuyama costs roughly 46% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Matsuyama is 6% below, Barcelona is 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.38 ¥1,008

$17.89 €15.92

-64.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.99 ¥4,896

$66.2 €58.9

-53.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.71 ¥744

$13.69 €12.18

-65.60%

Cappuccino

$2.38 ¥376

$3.06 €2.72

-22.22%

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

$1.19 ¥188

$3.07 €2.73

-61.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.58 ¥91.7

$1.94 €1.73

-70.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.09 ¥330

$3.87 €3.44

-45.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 ¥361

$4.61 €4.10

-50.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ¥238

$1.30 €1.16

15.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.33 ¥210

$2.10 €1.87

-36.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.40 ¥853

$1.83 €1.62

195.08%

Eggs

$2.08 ¥329

$4.62 €4.11

-54.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.49 ¥1,974

$17.36 €15.44

-28.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 ¥1,498

$9.28 €8.25

2.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$32.49 ¥5,134

$19.83 €17.64

63.84%

Apples (1kg)

$3.67 ¥579

$3.01 €2.68

21.93%

Banana (1kg)

$2.32 ¥367

$2.03 €1.81

14.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.34 ¥1,001

$2.65 €2.36

139.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 ¥670

$2.87 €2.55

47.74%

Potato (1kg)

$3.67 ¥580

$2.16 €1.92

69.91%

Onion (1kg)

$3.45 ¥545

$2.15 €1.91

60.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 ¥196

$1.47 €1.31

-15.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 ¥154

$0.88 €0.79

10.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.51 ¥555

$6.93 €6.16

-49.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.99 ¥1,262

$7.83 €6.96

2.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.97 ¥312

$1.39 €1.24

41.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.44 ¥227

$2.63 €2.34

-45.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.44 ¥228

$2.91 €2.59

-50.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.7 ¥8,327

$25.46 €22.64

107.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.23 ¥510

$3.00 €2.66

7.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.08 ¥486

$1.44 €1.28

113.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.40 ¥4,170

$33.20 €29.53

-20.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ¥173

$1.86 €1.65

-40.86%

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

$20.0K ¥3.2M

$32.3K €28.8K

-38.07%

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

$16.7K ¥2.6M

$31.7K €28.2K

-47.32%

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

$144 ¥22.8K

$183 €163

-21.04%

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

$23.66 ¥3,738

$13.61 €12.11

73.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.16 ¥6,819

$32.93 €29.29

31.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.0 ¥8,379

$54.7 €48.65

-3.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$12.54 ¥1,982

$11.23 €9.99

11.67%

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

$319 ¥50.3K

$954 €849

-66.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,069 ¥958.9K

$16.6K €14.8K

-63.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.43 ¥7,809

$86.0 €76.5

-42.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.19 ¥3,980

$39.11 €34.78

-35.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$46.18 ¥7,297

$104 €92.2

-55.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.3 ¥10.5K

$119 €106

-44.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$526 ¥83.2K

$1,695 €1,508

-68.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$328 ¥51.8K

$1,276 €1,135

-74.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,122 ¥177.3K

$2,576 €2,291

-56.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$724 ¥114.4K

$1,922 €1,710

-62.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,302 ¥679.6K

$7,281 €6,477

-40.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,726 ¥272.6K

$5,010 €4,456

-65.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.28

3.28

-30.49%

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

Last update for Matsuyama: October 18, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Matsuyama

$383 30%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 15% $58

Accommodation & Living

Matsuyama

$328 25.7%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 289% $948

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Matsuyama

$211 16.5%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 8.6% $18

Eating Out

Matsuyama

$116 9.1%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 133% $154

Clothing & Footwear

Matsuyama

$84 6.6%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 85.7% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Matsuyama

$78 6.1%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 1.2% $1

Getting Around

Matsuyama

$77 6%

Barcelona

$47 2% 38.6% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $526 in Matsuyama and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $31.00 in Matsuyama vs $66.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $383 vs $325, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Matsuyama

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

12:00 12:00 PM

05:00 5:00 AM

7 h behind Matsuyama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

511,192

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Matsuyama Barcelona 10,250 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Matsuyama
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

Matsuyama vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Matsuyama and Barcelona differ by about 86% in total monthly costs ($1,277 vs $2,381 including rent). Matsuyama is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,915 in Matsuyama 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: $526 in Matsuyama versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $319 in Matsuyama versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 18% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,277 in Matsuyama versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Matsuyama but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Matsuyama 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, Matsuyama 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 Matsuyama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 86% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.