Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mbeya and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbeya: $426 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $23,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

21

Cost of Living Index in Mbeya
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Mbeya Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Mbeya

🇹🇿 Tanzania

$426

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $426 in Mbeya versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Mbeya $426
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $656 in Mbeya versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Mbeya $656
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $887 in Mbeya versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Mbeya $887
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Mbeya costs roughly 82% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mbeya is 69% below, Barcelona is 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.89 €15.92

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.68 TZS 59.4K

$66.2 €58.9

-65.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.77 TZS 20.4K

$13.69 €12.18

-43.24%

Cappuccino

$1.52 TZS 3,989

$3.06 €2.72

-50.33%

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

$0.37 TZS 958

$3.07 €2.73

-87.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.37 TZS 964

$1.94 €1.73

-80.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.72 TZS 1,882

$3.87 €3.44

-81.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

Milk (1 liter)

$0.55 TZS 1,435

$1.30 €1.16

-57.69%

White Bread (500g)

$0.93 TZS 2,430

$2.10 €1.87

-55.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.92 TZS 2,414

$1.83 €1.62

-49.73%

Eggs

$2.32 TZS 6,067

$4.62 €4.11

-49.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.80 TZS 9,949

$17.36 €15.44

-78.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.72 TZS 9,734

$9.28 €8.25

-59.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.30 TZS 8,643

$19.83 €17.64

-83.36%

Apples (1kg)

$1.15 TZS 3,003

$3.01 €2.68

-61.79%

Banana (1kg)

$0.78 TZS 2,051

$2.03 €1.81

-61.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.99 TZS 2,581

$2.65 €2.36

-62.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.73 TZS 1,917

$2.87 €2.55

-74.56%

Potato (1kg)

$0.97 TZS 2,538

$2.16 €1.92

-55.09%

Onion (1kg)

$0.78 TZS 2,053

$2.15 €1.91

-63.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.56 TZS 1,465

$1.47 €1.31

-61.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 TZS 1,883

$0.88 €0.79

-18.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.14 TZS 2,998

$6.93 €6.16

-83.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.72 TZS 9,744

$7.83 €6.96

-52.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 TZS 2,045

$1.39 €1.24

-43.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.16 TZS 3,038

$2.63 €2.34

-55.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 TZS 1,036

$2.91 €2.59

-86.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.10 TZS 2,891

$3.00 €2.66

-63.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.85 TZS 4,834

$1.44 €1.28

28.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 TZS 6,831

$33.20 €29.53

-92.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 TZS 3,204

$1.86 €1.65

-34.41%

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

$32.3K €28.8K

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

$31.7K €28.2K

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

$23.68 TZS 62.0K

$183 €163

-87.04%

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

$18.83 TZS 49.3K

$13.61 €12.11

38.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.09 TZS 120.7K

$32.93 €29.29

39.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.78 TZS 98.9K

$54.7 €48.65

-30.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$9.50 TZS 24.9K

$11.23 €9.99

-15.41%

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

$191 TZS 500.6K

$954 €849

-79.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,129 TZS 3.0M

$16.6K €14.8K

-93.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$11.42 TZS 29.9K

$86.0 €76.5

-86.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$9.23 TZS 24.2K

$39.11 €34.78

-76.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$19.08 TZS 50.0K

$104 €92.2

-81.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$26.12 TZS 68.4K

$119 €106

-77.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$114 TZS 297.4K

$1,695 €1,508

-93.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$76.4 TZS 200.0K

$1,276 €1,135

-94.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$187 TZS 491.0K

$2,576 €2,291

-92.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$112 TZS 292.3K

$1,922 €1,710

-94.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,281 €6,477

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,010 €4,456

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$191 TZS 501.5K

$2,227 €1,981

-91.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

296.34%

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

Last update for Mbeya: 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

Mbeya

$115 26.9%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 184% $210

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mbeya

$89 20.8%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 159% $141

Accommodation & Living

Mbeya

$76 17.9%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 1571% $1.2K

Sport & Entertainment

Mbeya

$57 13.3%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 35.9% $20

Eating Out

Mbeya

$48 * 11.3%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 460% $221

Clothing & Footwear

Mbeya

$30 7%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 428% $127

Getting Around

Mbeya

$12 * 2.8%

Barcelona

$47 2% 297% $35

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 $114 in Mbeya and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 1063% 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: $23.00 in Mbeya vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $115 vs $325 per month, with Mbeya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇿 Mbeya

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

14:36 2:36 PM

13:36 1:36 PM

1 h behind Mbeya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

541,603

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Tanzanian Shilling TZS Sh

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 TZS = 3.82 USD

10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to TZS – Tanzanian Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇿 Tanzanian Shilling (Sh)

Tanzanian Shilling exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 2,619 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.82 USD). 1 EUR = 2,944 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR).

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

USD to TZS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mbeya Barcelona 6,440 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Mbeya
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

Mbeya vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mbeya and Barcelona differ by about 459% in total monthly costs ($426 vs $2,381 including rent). Mbeya is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 1063% 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: $114 in Mbeya versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $191 in Mbeya 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 Mbeya – a meal for two runs $23.00 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $426 in Mbeya versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Mbeya but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Mbeya 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, Mbeya 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 Mbeya gentler on the wallet – expenses run 459% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.