Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ndola and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Ndola: $719 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Ndola
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Ndola Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Ndola

🇿🇲 Zambia

$719

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $719 in Ndola versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Ndola $719
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,721 in Ndola versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Ndola $1,721
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,723 in Ndola versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Ndola $2,723
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Ndola 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: Ndola is 47% below, Barcelona is 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.58 ZMW 111

$17.89 €15.92

-68.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.02 ZMW 597

$66.2 €58.9

-54.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.00 ZMW 99.4

$13.69 €12.18

-63.48%

Cappuccino

$2.76 ZMW 54.8

$3.06 €2.72

-9.80%

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

$0.52 ZMW 10.25

$3.07 €2.73

-83.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.24 ZMW 4.73

$1.94 €1.73

-87.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 ZMW 24.31

$3.87 €3.44

-68.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 ZMW 44.02

$4.61 €4.10

-52.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 ZMW 32.92

$1.30 €1.16

26.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 ZMW 23.56

$2.10 €1.87

-43.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 ZMW 42.31

$1.83 €1.62

16.39%

Eggs

$1.56 ZMW 31.07

$4.62 €4.11

-66.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.15 ZMW 202

$17.36 €15.44

-41.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.18 ZMW 123

$9.28 €8.25

-33.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.71 ZMW 133

$19.83 €17.64

-66.16%

Apples (1kg)

$1.47 ZMW 29.27

$3.01 €2.68

-51.16%

Banana (1kg)

$2.41 ZMW 48.00

$2.03 €1.81

18.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.74 ZMW 74.3

$2.65 €2.36

41.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ZMW 30.72

$2.87 €2.55

-46.34%

Potato (1kg)

$2.53 ZMW 50.4

$2.16 €1.92

17.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 ZMW 35.84

$2.15 €1.91

-16.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ZMW 21.93

$1.47 €1.31

-25.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ZMW 11.60

$0.88 €0.79

-34.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.09 ZMW 61.5

$6.93 €6.16

-55.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.83 ZMW 196

$7.83 €6.96

25.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 ZMW 28.97

$1.39 €1.24

5.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.35 ZMW 46.73

$2.63 €2.34

-10.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 ZMW 14.29

$2.91 €2.59

-75.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.57 ZMW 51.2

$3.00 €2.66

-14.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 ZMW 30.41

$1.44 €1.28

6.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.03 ZMW 100

$33.20 €29.53

-84.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 ZMW 26.78

$1.86 €1.65

-27.42%

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

$7,392 ZMW 147.0K

$32.3K €28.8K

-77.14%

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

$26.9K ZMW 534.7K

$31.7K €28.2K

-15.20%

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

$80.2 ZMW 1,596

$183 €163

-56.10%

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

$10.45 ZMW 208

$13.61 €12.11

-23.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.2 ZMW 1,098

$32.93 €29.29

67.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.7 €48.65

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.52 €14.70

Cinema Ticket

$6.04 ZMW 120

$11.23 €9.99

-46.22%

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

$135 ZMW 2,692

$954 €849

-85.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.3K ZMW 324.7K

$16.6K €14.8K

-1.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.64 ZMW 470

$86.0 €76.5

-72.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.39 ZMW 306

$39.11 €34.78

-60.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$45.69 ZMW 909

$104 €92.2

-55.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.4 ZMW 1,421

$119 €106

-39.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$177 ZMW 3,526

$1,695 €1,508

-89.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$148 ZMW 2,948

$1,276 €1,135

-88.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$370 ZMW 7,365

$2,576 €2,291

-85.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,482 ZMW 29.5K

$1,922 €1,710

-22.93%

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)

$596 ZMW 11.9K

$2,227 €1,981

-73.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

784.15%

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

Last update for Ndola: October 18, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ndola

$223 31.1%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 45.5% $102

Accommodation & Living

Ndola

$148 20.6%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 761% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ndola

$146 20.3%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 57.1% $83

Eating Out

Ndola

$106 14.8%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 154% $163

Clothing & Footwear

Ndola

$70 9.8%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 123% $86

Getting Around

Ndola

$13 * 1.8%

Barcelona

$47 2% 261% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Ndola

$12 * 1.7%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 539% $65

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 $177 in Ndola and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 273% 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: $30.00 in Ndola vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $223 vs $325 per month, with Ndola cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇲 Ndola

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

13:43 1:43 PM

Same time as Ndola

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

455,194

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZMW = 5.03 USD

100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ZMW – Zambian Kwacha Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇲 Zambian Kwacha (ZK)

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 19.89 ZMW (100 ZMW = 5.03 USD). 1 EUR = 22.36 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZMW in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ndola Barcelona 6,630 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Ndola
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

Ndola vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ndola and Barcelona differ by about 231% in total monthly costs ($719 vs $2,381 including rent). Ndola is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 273% 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: $177 in Ndola versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $135 in Ndola 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 Ndola – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $719 in Ndola versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ndola but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Ndola 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, Ndola 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 Ndola gentler on the wallet – expenses run 231% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.