Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mombasa and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Mombasa: $719 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Mombasa
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Mombasa Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Mombasa

🇰🇪 Kenya

$719

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $719 in Mombasa versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Mombasa $719
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,147 in Mombasa versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Mombasa $1,147
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,575 in Mombasa versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Mombasa $1,575
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Mombasa 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: Mombasa is 47% below, Barcelona is 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.66 KES 345

$17.94 €15.96

-85.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.34 KES 3,285

$68.1 €60.5

-62.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.48 KES 1,359

$13.28 €11.81

-21.08%

Cappuccino

$2.74 KES 355

$3.25 €2.89

-15.69%

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

$0.68 KES 88.0

$3.01 €2.67

-77.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.52 KES 67.7

$1.87 €1.66

-72.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.34 KES 303

$3.85 €3.42

-39.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 KES 428

$4.48 €3.98

-26.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.00 KES 130

$1.29 €1.15

-22.48%

White Bread (500g)

$0.51 KES 65.6

$2.04 €1.81

-75.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.55 KES 201

$1.72 €1.53

-9.88%

Eggs

$1.82 KES 236

$4.77 €4.24

-61.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.91 KES 1,803

$16.77 €14.91

-17.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.00 KES 648

$8.93 €7.94

-44.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.25 KES 681

$19.88 €17.68

-73.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.10 KES 272

$2.98 €2.65

-29.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.16 KES 150

$2.03 €1.80

-42.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 KES 228

$2.73 €2.43

-35.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.70 KES 90.9

$2.68 €2.38

-73.88%

Potato (1kg)

$0.72 KES 93.8

$2.10 €1.87

-65.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 KES 130

$2.08 €1.85

-51.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.60 KES 78.4

$1.45 €1.29

-58.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 KES 55.6

$0.89 €0.79

-51.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.00 KES 518

$6.94 €6.17

-42.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.56 KES 1,239

$7.78 €6.92

22.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 KES 258

$1.45 €1.29

37.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 KES 365

$2.57 €2.29

9.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 KES 104

$2.99 €2.66

-73.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.84 KES 5,035

$25.20 €22.41

54.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.16 KES 410

$3.12 €2.77

1.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.75 KES 227

$1.44 €1.28

21.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.65 KES 603

$33.50 €29.80

-86.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 KES 202

$1.79 €1.59

-12.85%

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

$12.1K KES 1.6M

$34.6K €30.8K

-65.15%

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

$11.8K KES 1.5M

$30.1K €26.7K

-60.68%

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

$76.9 KES 9,975

$178 €158

-56.74%

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

$9.14 KES 1,184

$13.32 €11.85

-31.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.48 KES 4,470

$34.88 €31.02

-1.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.18 KES 2,357

$53.3 €47.36

-65.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.93 KES 2,454

$16.01 €14.24

18.24%

Cinema Ticket

$15.63 KES 2,027

$11.06 €9.84

41.32%

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

$86.4 KES 11.2K

$957 €851

-90.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,415 KES 702.1K

$16.6K €14.7K

-67.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.05 KES 1,692

$88.2 €78.4

-85.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$13.77 KES 1,785

$39.49 €35.12

-65.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$23.30 KES 3,021

$103 €91.4

-77.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$46.20 KES 5,990

$121 €108

-61.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$227 KES 29.5K

$1,653 €1,470

-86.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$157 KES 20.4K

$1,302 €1,158

-87.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$540 KES 70.0K

$2,557 €2,275

-78.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$372 KES 48.3K

$1,915 €1,703

-80.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,411 KES 701.6K

$7,286 €6,480

-25.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,884 KES 503.6K

$5,080 €4,518

-23.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$313 KES 40.5K

$2,281 €2,028

-86.29%

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 Mombasa: October 10, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Mombasa

$185 25.8%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 72.6% $135

Accommodation & Living

Mombasa

$157 21.9%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 729% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mombasa

$121 16.8%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 87.5% $106

Eating Out

Mombasa

$109 15.1%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 148% $161

Getting Around

Mombasa

$54 7.5%

Barcelona

$47 2% 12% $6.5

Sport & Entertainment

Mombasa

$49 6.9%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 52.4% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Mombasa

$43 6%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 265% $115

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $227 in Mombasa and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 630% 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: $25.00 in Mombasa vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $185 vs $320 per month, with Mombasa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Mombasa

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

14:47 2:47 PM

13:47 1:47 PM

1 h behind Mombasa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,300,000

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇪 Kenyan Shilling (Sh)

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to KES in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mombasa Barcelona 6,320 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Mombasa
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

Mombasa vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mombasa and Barcelona differ by about 234% in total monthly costs ($719 vs $2,399 including rent). Mombasa is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 630% 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: $227 in Mombasa versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $86.4 in Mombasa 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 73% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $719 in Mombasa versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mombasa but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Mombasa 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, Mombasa 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 Mombasa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 234% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.