Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New Taipei City and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in New Taipei City: $1,185 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in New Taipei City
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New Taipei City Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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New Taipei City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,185

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,185 in New Taipei City versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

New Taipei City $1,185
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,998 in New Taipei City versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

New Taipei City $1,998
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,810 in New Taipei City versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

New Taipei City $2,810
Barcelona $4,564

Living in New Taipei City costs roughly 52% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: New Taipei City is 13% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.67 NT$152

$17.59 €15.76

-73.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.83 NT$1,005

$67.5 €60.5

-54.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.18 NT$169

$13.53 €12.12

-61.71%

Cappuccino

$2.31 NT$75.4

$3.19 €2.86

-27.59%

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

$0.82 NT$26.80

$2.91 €2.61

-71.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 NT$17.19

$1.89 €1.70

-71.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.58 NT$51.7

$4.01 €3.59

-60.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 NT$79.3

$4.53 €4.06

-46.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.13 NT$102

$1.31 €1.17

138.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 NT$60.4

$2.02 €1.81

-8.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 NT$69.6

$1.85 €1.66

15.14%

Eggs

$2.15 NT$70.1

$4.83 €4.33

-55.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.36 NT$794

$16.74 €15.00

45.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.65 NT$347

$9.12 €8.17

16.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.90 NT$616

$19.64 €17.60

-3.77%

Apples (1kg)

$4.01 NT$131

$2.98 €2.67

34.56%

Banana (1kg)

$2.49 NT$81.2

$2.02 €1.81

23.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 NT$89.9

$2.70 €2.42

2.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.01 NT$131

$2.80 €2.51

43.21%

Potato (1kg)

$3.96 NT$129

$2.09 €1.87

89.47%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 NT$67.8

$2.07 €1.85

0.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.59 NT$51.9

$1.46 €1.31

8.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 NT$32.93

$0.94 €0.84

7.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 NT$140

$6.87 €6.16

-37.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.16 NT$299

$7.89 €7.07

16.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 NT$44.40

$1.41 €1.26

-3.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 NT$74.3

$2.54 €2.27

-10.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 NT$20.66

$3.14 €2.82

-79.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.16 NT$1,212

$25.45 €22.80

46.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 NT$86.7

$2.99 €2.68

-11.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 NT$30.71

$1.49 €1.34

-36.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.35 NT$305

$33.37 €29.91

-71.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 NT$32.28

$1.80 €1.61

-45.00%

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

$33.2K NT$1.1M

$33.2K €29.7K

-0.09%

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

$23.6K NT$768.0K

$31.7K €28.4K

-25.70%

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

$112 NT$3,650

$180 €162

-37.95%

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

$16.63 NT$542

$13.84 €12.40

20.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.01 NT$750

$33.70 €30.20

-31.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.65 NT$1,227

$51.5 €46.16

-26.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.72 NT$252

$15.96 €14.30

-51.63%

Cinema Ticket

$10.65 NT$347

$10.99 €9.85

-3.09%

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

$634 NT$20.7K

$917 €821

-30.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.0K NT$683.8K

$16.5K €14.8K

27.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.02 NT$1,142

$87.0 €78.0

-59.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.03 NT$1,012

$38.51 €34.51

-19.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.3 NT$2,910

$106 €94.8

-15.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.2 NT$3,202

$120 €107

-17.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$613 NT$20.0K

$1,699 €1,523

-63.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$335 NT$10.9K

$1,355 €1,214

-75.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,377 NT$44.9K

$2,603 €2,332

-47.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$920 NT$30.0K

$2,062 €1,848

-55.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$10.2K NT$331.8K

$6,915 €6,196

47.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,980 NT$195.0K

$5,128 €4,595

16.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,359 NT$44.3K

$2,211 €1,981

-38.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.81

3.28

-14.33%

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

Last update for New Taipei City: October 27, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

New Taipei City

$380 32.1%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 15.4% $58

Accommodation & Living

New Taipei City

$335 28.2%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 305% $1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New Taipei City

$152 12.8%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 50.4% $76

Clothing & Footwear

New Taipei City

$114 9.6%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 38.5% $44

Eating Out

New Taipei City

$99 8.3%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 171% $169

Sport & Entertainment

New Taipei City

$59 5%

Barcelona

$74 3% 24.7% $15

Getting Around

New Taipei City

$47 4%

Barcelona

$48 2% 3% $1.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $613 in New Taipei City and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 63% 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: $31 in New Taipei City vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $380 vs $322, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 New Taipei City

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

18:15 6:15 PM

11:15 11:15 AM

7 h behind New Taipei City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,004,367

1,660,122

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.39 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

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

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

New Taipei City Barcelona 10,350 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

New Taipei City
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 Taipei City vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,185 in New Taipei City and $2,453 in Barcelona, so New Taipei City is about 52% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 39% lower in New Taipei City. 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: $613 in New Taipei City versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $634 in New Taipei City versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 15% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,185 in New Taipei City versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in New Taipei City but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes New Taipei City 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, New Taipei City and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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