Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New Plymouth and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in New Plymouth: $1,820 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in New Plymouth
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New Plymouth Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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New Plymouth

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,820

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,820 in New Plymouth versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

New Plymouth $1,820
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in New Plymouth versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

New Plymouth $2,828
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,836 in New Plymouth versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

New Plymouth $3,836
Barcelona $4,564

Living in New Plymouth costs roughly 26% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: New Plymouth 34% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.43 NZ$22.06

$17.59 €15.75

-29.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.9 NZ$121

$67.5 €60.5

0.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.44 NZ$14.98

$13.53 €12.12

-37.62%

Cappuccino

$3.34 NZ$5.93

$3.19 €2.86

4.70%

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

$2.12 NZ$3.76

$2.91 €2.61

-27.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 NZ$3.28

$1.89 €1.70

-2.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.32 NZ$9.45

$4.01 €3.59

32.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.65 NZ$10.02

$4.53 €4.06

24.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 NZ$2.55

$1.31 €1.17

9.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 NZ$2.22

$2.02 €1.81

-38.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 NZ$2.92

$1.85 €1.66

-10.81%

Eggs

$5.53 NZ$9.82

$4.83 €4.33

14.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.52 NZ$9.79

$16.74 €14.99

-67.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.19 NZ$12.76

$9.12 €8.17

-21.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.42 NZ$20.28

$19.64 €17.59

-41.85%

Apples (1kg)

$2.63 NZ$4.67

$2.98 €2.67

-11.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.86 NZ$3.29

$2.02 €1.81

-7.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.93 NZ$5.20

$2.70 €2.42

8.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.12 NZ$10.86

$2.80 €2.51

118.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 NZ$3.53

$2.09 €1.87

-4.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.41 NZ$2.51

$2.07 €1.85

-31.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.88 NZ$3.33

$1.46 €1.31

28.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 NZ$2.35

$0.94 €0.84

40.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.12 NZ$41.04

$6.87 €6.15

236.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.73 NZ$15.51

$7.89 €7.06

10.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.03 NZ$5.37

$1.41 €1.26

114.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.78 NZ$6.72

$2.54 €2.27

48.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.68 NZ$2.99

$3.14 €2.82

-46.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.6 NZ$133

$25.45 €22.79

193.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.68 NZ$6.53

$2.99 €2.68

23.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.89

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.67 NZ$2.97

$1.80 €1.61

-7.22%

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

$28.7K NZ$50.9K

$33.2K €29.7K

-13.61%

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

$22.8K NZ$40.5K

$31.7K €28.4K

-28.10%

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

$130 NZ$231

$180 €162

-28.03%

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

$27.85 NZ$49.44

$13.84 €12.39

101.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.35 NZ$85.8

$33.70 €30.18

43.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.29 NZ$76.9

$51.5 €46.13

-15.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

Cinema Ticket

$8.20 NZ$14.55

$10.99 €9.85

-25.39%

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

$680 NZ$1,206

$917 €821

-25.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.1K NZ$41.0K

$16.5K €14.8K

40.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.3 NZ$109

$87.0 €77.9

-29.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.74 NZ$68.8

$38.51 €34.49

0.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.6 NZ$161

$106 €94.8

-14.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 NZ$188

$120 €107

-11.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$907 NZ$1,611

$1,699 €1,522

-46.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$836 NZ$1,485

$1,355 €1,214

-38.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,740 NZ$3,089

$2,603 €2,331

-33.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 NZ$2,821

$2,062 €1,847

-22.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,209 NZ$5,697

$6,915 €6,193

-53.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,622 NZ$4,655

$5,128 €4,592

-48.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,787 NZ$4,948

$2,211 €1,980

26.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.93

3.28

80.79%

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

Last update for New Plymouth: 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

New Plymouth

$836 45.9%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 62% $519

Groceries & Markets

New Plymouth

$281 15.5%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 14.4% $41

Eating Out

New Plymouth

$219 12%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 22.6% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New Plymouth

$206 11.3%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 10.6% $22

Clothing & Footwear

New Plymouth

$133 7.3%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 18.4% $25

Getting Around

New Plymouth

$85 * 4.7%

Barcelona

$48 2% 43% $37

Sport & Entertainment

New Plymouth

$60 3.3%

Barcelona

$74 3% 23.2% $14

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 $907 in New Plymouth and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

New Plymouth pays 26% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68 in New Plymouth vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $281 vs $322, with New Plymouth cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇳🇿 New Plymouth

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

13:11 1:11 PM

01:11 1:11 AM

12 h behind New Plymouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,400

1,660,122

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

New Plymouth Barcelona 19,280 km ≈ 25 h nonstop flight

From you

New Plymouth
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

New Plymouth vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,820 in New Plymouth and $2,453 in Barcelona, so New Plymouth is about 26% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 26% higher in New Plymouth, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $907 in New Plymouth versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $680 in New Plymouth versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

A monthly transit pass in Barcelona runs roughly 66% less than in New Plymouth. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though New Plymouth gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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