Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Meknes and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Meknes: $732 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Meknes
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Meknes Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Meknes

🇲🇦 Morocco

$732

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $732 in Meknes versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Meknes $732
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,096 in Meknes versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Meknes $1,096
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,460 in Meknes versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Meknes $1,460
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Meknes costs roughly 70% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Meknes is 46% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.59 MAD 25.49

$17.59 €15.75

-85.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.47 MAD 152

$67.5 €60.5

-77.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.21 MAD 61.0

$13.53 €12.12

-54.10%

Cappuccino

$1.76 MAD 17.34

$3.19 €2.86

-44.83%

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

$0.95 MAD 9.30

$2.91 €2.61

-67.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 MAD 5.39

$1.89 €1.70

-70.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.98 MAD 29.29

$4.01 €3.59

-25.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 MAD 35.71

$4.53 €4.06

-19.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.80 MAD 7.85

$1.31 €1.17

-38.93%

White Bread (500g)

$0.37 MAD 3.67

$2.02 €1.81

-81.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 MAD 12.54

$1.85 €1.66

-30.81%

Eggs

$1.79 MAD 17.61

$4.83 €4.33

-62.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.05 MAD 109

$16.74 €14.99

-33.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.13 MAD 50.4

$9.12 €8.17

-43.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.13 MAD 89.8

$19.64 €17.59

-53.51%

Apples (1kg)

$1.19 MAD 11.69

$2.98 €2.67

-60.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.31 MAD 12.91

$2.02 €1.81

-35.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.65 MAD 6.35

$2.70 €2.42

-75.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.71 MAD 6.97

$2.80 €2.51

-74.64%

Potato (1kg)

$0.56 MAD 5.54

$2.09 €1.87

-73.21%

Onion (1kg)

$0.51 MAD 5.02

$2.07 €1.85

-75.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.48 MAD 4.75

$1.46 €1.31

-67.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 MAD 5.30

$0.94 €0.84

-42.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.98 MAD 39.11

$6.87 €6.15

-42.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.07 MAD 79.4

$7.89 €7.06

2.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.36 MAD 23.20

$1.41 €1.26

67.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 MAD 25.61

$2.54 €2.27

2.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.39 MAD 3.87

$3.14 €2.82

-87.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.11 MAD 148

$25.45 €22.79

-40.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.69 MAD 6.74

$2.99 €2.68

-76.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.32 MAD 3.17

$1.49 €1.34

-78.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.56 MAD 44.84

$33.37 €29.89

-86.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 MAD 13.54

$1.80 €1.61

-23.33%

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

$31.0K MAD 304.2K

$33.2K €29.7K

-6.75%

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

$30.4K MAD 298.6K

$31.7K €28.4K

-4.17%

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

$45.53 MAD 448

$180 €162

-74.76%

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

$9.78 MAD 96.2

$13.84 €12.39

-29.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.13 MAD 365

$33.70 €30.18

10.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.67 MAD 272

$51.5 €46.13

-46.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.74 MAD 312

$15.96 €14.29

98.87%

Cinema Ticket

$4.18 MAD 41.08

$10.99 €9.85

-61.97%

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

$122 MAD 1,204

$917 €821

-86.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,612 MAD 55.2K

$16.5K €14.8K

-65.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.2 MAD 572

$87.0 €77.9

-33.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.01 MAD 433

$38.51 €34.49

14.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.6 MAD 890

$106 €94.8

-14.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.2 MAD 592

$120 €107

-49.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$343 MAD 3,369

$1,699 €1,522

-79.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$207 MAD 2,039

$1,355 €1,214

-84.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$600 MAD 5,898

$2,603 €2,331

-76.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$323 MAD 3,179

$2,062 €1,847

-84.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$950 MAD 9,337

$6,915 €6,193

-86.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$592 MAD 5,818

$5,128 €4,592

-88.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$468 MAD 4,604

$2,211 €1,980

-78.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.5

3.28

37.20%

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

Last update for Meknes: 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

Meknes

$207 28.3%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 553% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Meknes

$174 23.8%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 84.5% $147

Clothing & Footwear

Meknes

$114 15.6%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 38.8% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Meknes

$92 12.6%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 147% $136

Eating Out

Meknes

$89 12.1%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 202% $179

Sport & Entertainment

Meknes

$36 4.9%

Barcelona

$74 3% 104% $37

Getting Around

Meknes

$19 2.6%

Barcelona

$48 2% 155% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $343 in Meknes and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 4.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $15 in Meknes vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $174 vs $322 per month, with Meknes cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇦 Meknes

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

05:03 5:03 AM

06:03 6:03 AM

1 h ahead of Meknes

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

520,428

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MAD = 10.17 USD

100 MAD = 9.11 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MAD – Moroccan Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇦 Moroccan Dirham (د.م.)

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 9.83 MAD (1 MAD = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.98 MAD (100 MAD = 9.11 EUR).

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

USD to MAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Meknes Barcelona 1,070 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Meknes
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

Meknes vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $732 in Meknes and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Meknes is about 70% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 79% lower in Meknes. 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: $343 in Meknes versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $122 in Meknes 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 85% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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, Meknes and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Meknes gentler on the wallet – expenses run 70% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.