Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mersa Matruh and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Mersa Matruh: $457 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $23,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Mersa Matruh
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Mersa Matruh Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Mersa Matruh

🇪🇬 Egypt

$457

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $457 in Mersa Matruh versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Mersa Matruh $457
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $749 in Mersa Matruh versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Mersa Matruh $749
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,040 in Mersa Matruh versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Mersa Matruh $1,040
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Mersa Matruh costs roughly 81% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mersa Matruh is 66% below, Barcelona is 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.20 E£234

$17.89 €15.95

-76.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.05 E£1,062

$66.2 €59.0

-71.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.72 E£264

$13.69 €12.20

-65.52%

Cappuccino

$1.27 E£70.6

$3.06 €2.73

-58.50%

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

$0.33 E£18.14

$3.07 €2.74

-89.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.11 E£6.01

$1.94 €1.73

-94.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.36 E£75.8

$3.87 €3.45

-64.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 E£156

$4.61 €4.11

-39.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 E£48.65

$1.30 €1.16

-33.08%

White Bread (500g)

$0.66 E£37.07

$2.10 €1.87

-68.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.65 E£36.07

$1.83 €1.63

-64.48%

Eggs

$1.19 E£66.1

$4.62 €4.12

-74.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.80 E£212

$17.36 €15.47

-78.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.24 E£237

$9.28 €8.27

-54.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.23 E£515

$19.83 €17.68

-53.45%

Apples (1kg)

$1.54 E£86.1

$3.01 €2.69

-48.84%

Banana (1kg)

$0.75 E£41.82

$2.03 €1.81

-63.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.55 E£30.85

$2.65 €2.36

-79.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.35 E£19.76

$2.87 €2.56

-87.80%

Potato (1kg)

$0.26 E£14.59

$2.16 €1.92

-87.96%

Onion (1kg)

$0.30 E£16.70

$2.15 €1.91

-86.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.27 E£15.19

$1.47 €1.31

-81.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.22 E£11.99

$0.88 €0.79

-75.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.85 E£103

$6.93 €6.17

-73.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 E£316

$7.83 €6.98

-27.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 E£69.6

$1.39 €1.24

-10.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 E£127

$2.63 €2.35

-13.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.21 E£11.72

$2.91 €2.59

-92.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.69

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.56 E£31.13

$3.00 €2.67

-81.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.17 E£9.23

$1.44 €1.29

-88.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 E£67.1

$33.20 €29.59

-96.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£24.06

$1.86 €1.66

-76.88%

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

$32.5K E£1.8M

$32.3K €28.8K

0.43%

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

$27.1K E£1.5M

$31.7K €28.3K

-14.60%

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

$14.05 E£784

$183 €163

-92.31%

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

$6.68 E£373

$13.61 €12.13

-50.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.50 E£753

$32.93 €29.35

-59.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.88 E£885

$54.7 €48.75

-70.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.73

Cinema Ticket

$2.91 E£162

$11.23 €10.01

-74.09%

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

$85.0 E£4,740

$954 €850

-91.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,090 E£116.6K

$16.6K €14.8K

-87.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.72 E£1,881

$86.0 €76.7

-60.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.91 E£2,560

$39.11 €34.86

17.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 E£7,112

$104 €92.4

23.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.4 E£3,202

$119 €106

-51.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$128 E£7,152

$1,695 €1,511

-92.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$76.7 E£4,278

$1,276 €1,137

-93.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$256 E£14.3K

$2,576 €2,296

-90.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$144 E£8,048

$1,922 €1,713

-92.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$772 E£43.0K

$7,281 €6,490

-89.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$354 E£19.7K

$5,010 €4,465

-92.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$94.2 E£5,253

$2,227 €1,985

-95.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

21.33

3.28

550.30%

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

Last update for Mersa Matruh: 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

Mersa Matruh

$126 27.6%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 157% $199

Clothing & Footwear

Mersa Matruh

$119 26%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 31.3% $37

Eating Out

Mersa Matruh

$77 16.9%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 250% $192

Accommodation & Living

Mersa Matruh

$77 16.8%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 1564% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mersa Matruh

$34 7.5%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 570% $195

Sport & Entertainment

Mersa Matruh

$22 4.7%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 256% $55

Getting Around

Mersa Matruh

$2.2 * 0.5%

Barcelona

$47 2% 2022% $45

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 $128 in Mersa Matruh and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 24 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Mersa Matruh vs $66 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $126 vs $325 per month, with Mersa Matruh cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Mersa Matruh

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

05:37 5:37 AM

03:37 3:37 AM

2 h behind Mersa Matruh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

140,000

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 55.77 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.49 EGP (100 EGP = 1.6 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Mersa Matruh Barcelona 2,490 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Mersa Matruh
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

Mersa Matruh vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mersa Matruh and Barcelona differ by about 421% in total monthly costs ($457 vs $2,381 including rent). Mersa Matruh is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 96% lower in Mersa Matruh. 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: $128 in Mersa Matruh versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $85 in Mersa Matruh 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 Mersa Matruh – a meal for two runs $19 versus $66 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $457 in Mersa Matruh versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $800 budget is realistic in Mersa Matruh but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Mersa Matruh 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.

It comes down to priorities – Mersa Matruh wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.