Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medan and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Medan: $613 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Medan
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Medan Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Medan

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$613

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $613 in Medan versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Medan $613
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $940 in Medan versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Medan $940
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,266 in Medan versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Medan $1,266
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Medan costs roughly 74% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medan is 55% below, Barcelona is 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.71 Rp 30.8K

$17.94 €15.96

-90.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$8.30 Rp 149.4K

$68.1 €60.5

-87.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.95 Rp 53.0K

$13.28 €11.81

-77.79%

Cappuccino

$1.53 Rp 27.5K

$3.25 €2.89

-52.92%

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

$0.35 Rp 6,215

$3.01 €2.67

-88.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 Rp 4,534

$1.87 €1.66

-86.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.66 Rp 29.9K

$3.85 €3.42

-56.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

$4.48 €3.98

-19.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

$1.29 €1.15

-13.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$2.04 €1.81

-42.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 Rp 14.7K

$1.72 €1.53

-52.91%

Eggs

$1.32 Rp 23.8K

$4.77 €4.24

-72.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.12 Rp 146.2K

$16.77 €14.92

-51.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

$8.93 €7.94

-59.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.36 Rp 114.5K

$19.88 €17.68

-68.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 Rp 43.1K

$2.98 €2.65

-19.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.05 Rp 18.9K

$2.03 €1.80

-48.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.42 Rp 25.5K

$2.73 €2.43

-47.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.93 Rp 16.7K

$2.68 €2.38

-65.30%

Potato (1kg)

$0.84 Rp 15.1K

$2.10 €1.87

-60.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 Rp 32.3K

$2.08 €1.85

-13.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.38 Rp 6,905

$1.45 €1.29

-73.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 Rp 7,872

$0.89 €0.79

-50.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.87 Rp 51.7K

$6.94 €6.17

-58.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.72 Rp 282.9K

$7.78 €6.92

102.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 Rp 32.9K

$1.45 €1.29

26.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 Rp 54.1K

$2.57 €2.29

17.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 Rp 4,816

$2.99 €2.66

-90.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.93 Rp 106.7K

$25.20 €22.41

-76.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.51 Rp 9,186

$3.12 €2.77

-83.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.19 Rp 3,465

$1.44 €1.28

-86.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.50 €29.80

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 Rp 14.4K

$1.79 €1.59

-55.31%

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

$24.7K Rp 444.1M

$34.6K €30.8K

-28.76%

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

$32.2K Rp 579.9M

$30.1K €26.7K

7.14%

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

$84.8 Rp 1.5M

$178 €158

-52.30%

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

$3.17 Rp 57.0K

$13.32 €11.85

-76.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.57 Rp 424.3K

$34.88 €31.03

-32.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.95 Rp 305.0K

$53.3 €47.37

-68.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.41 Rp 151.5K

$16.01 €14.24

-47.47%

Cinema Ticket

$3.29 Rp 59.3K

$11.06 €9.84

-70.25%

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

$112 Rp 2.0M

$957 €851

-88.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,692 Rp 30.5M

$16.6K €14.7K

-89.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 Rp 975.9K

$88.2 €78.4

-38.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.53 Rp 693.6K

$39.49 €35.12

-2.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 Rp 1.9M

$103 €91.5

5.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 Rp 2.0M

$121 €108

-8.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$233 Rp 4.2M

$1,653 €1,470

-85.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$89.8 Rp 1.6M

$1,302 €1,158

-93.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$494 Rp 8.9M

$2,557 €2,275

-80.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$212 Rp 3.8M

$1,915 €1,703

-88.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,158 Rp 20.8M

$7,286 €6,481

-84.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$560 Rp 10.1M

$5,080 €4,519

-88.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$215 Rp 3.9M

$2,281 €2,029

-90.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.25

3.28

182.01%

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

Last update for Medan: October 12, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Medan

$181 29.5%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 77% $139

Clothing & Footwear

Medan

$140 22.9%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 12.9% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medan

$112 18.2%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 103% $114

Accommodation & Living

Medan

$90 14.6%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 1350% $1.2K

Eating Out

Medan

$59 9.6%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 360% $211

Sport & Entertainment

Medan

$24 3.8%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 220% $52

Getting Around

Medan

$8.5 1.4%

Barcelona

$47 2% 460% $39

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $233 in Medan and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 960% 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: $8.00 in Medan vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $181 vs $320 per month, with Medan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Medan

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

16:29 4:29 PM

11:29 11:29 AM

5 h behind Medan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,097,610

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medan Barcelona 10,280 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Medan
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

Medan vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medan and Barcelona differ by about 291% in total monthly costs ($613 vs $2,399 including rent). Medan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 960% 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: $233 in Medan versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $112 in Medan versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 77% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $613 in Medan versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Medan but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Medan 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, Medan 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 Medan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 291% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.