Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nouakchott and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Nouakchott: $809 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Nouakchott
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Nouakchott Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Nouakchott

🇲🇷 Mauritania

$809

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $809 in Nouakchott versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Nouakchott $809
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,337 in Nouakchott versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Nouakchott $1,337
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,864 in Nouakchott versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Nouakchott $1,864
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Nouakchott costs roughly 66% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nouakchott is 40% below, Barcelona is 77% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.43 MRU 97.5

$17.89 €15.92

-86.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.78 MRU 993

$66.2 €58.9

-62.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.91 MRU 237

$13.69 €12.18

-56.83%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.74 MRU 69.6

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 MRU 72.0

Cappuccino

$2.26 MRU 90.7

$3.06 €2.72

-26.14%

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

$1.76 MRU 70.3

$3.07 €2.73

-42.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 MRU 87.1

$1.94 €1.73

11.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 MRU 63.1

$1.30 €1.16

21.54%

White Bread (500g)

$0.28 MRU 11.29

$2.10 €1.87

-86.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 MRU 53.6

$1.83 €1.62

-26.78%

Eggs

$2.39 MRU 95.7

$4.62 €4.11

-48.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.01 MRU 241

$17.36 €15.44

-65.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.49 MRU 220

$9.28 €8.25

-40.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.03 MRU 282

$19.83 €17.64

-64.55%

Apples (1kg)

$3.20 MRU 128

$3.01 €2.68

6.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 MRU 74.0

$2.03 €1.81

-8.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 MRU 64.2

$2.65 €2.36

-39.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.12 MRU 44.90

$2.87 €2.55

-60.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.00 MRU 40.17

$2.16 €1.92

-53.70%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 MRU 35.51

$2.15 €1.91

-58.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 MRU 29.89

$1.47 €1.31

-48.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.64 MRU 25.69

$0.88 €0.79

-27.27%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$9.94 MRU 398

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.55 MRU 102

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 MRU 66.9

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.46 MRU 98.4

$6.93 €6.16

-64.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.43 MRU 17.38

$2.91 €2.59

-85.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.81 MRU 874

$25.46 €22.64

-14.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.89 MRU 35.63

$3.00 €2.66

-70.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 MRU 14.26

$1.44 €1.28

-75.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.72 MRU 149

$33.20 €29.53

-88.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 MRU 56.6

$1.86 €1.65

-24.19%

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

$7,372 MRU 295.3K

$32.3K €28.8K

-77.20%

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

$9,263 MRU 371.1K

$31.7K €28.2K

-70.78%

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

$128 MRU 5,147

$183 €163

-29.70%

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

$22.12 MRU 886

$13.61 €12.11

62.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.9 MRU 2,440

$32.93 €29.29

84.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$87.5 MRU 3,506

$54.7 €48.65

60.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$252 MRU 10.1K

$16.52 €14.70

1425.54%

Cinema Ticket

$4.03 MRU 162

$11.23 €9.99

-64.11%

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

$437 MRU 17.5K

$954 €849

-54.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,506 MRU 300.7K

$16.6K €14.8K

-54.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$15.49 MRU 621

$86.0 €76.5

-81.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.29 MRU 933

$39.11 €34.78

-40.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.4 MRU 2,701

$104 €92.2

-34.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$46.80 MRU 1,875

$119 €106

-60.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$295 MRU 11.8K

$1,695 €1,508

-82.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$172 MRU 6,878

$1,276 €1,135

-86.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$731 MRU 29.3K

$2,576 €2,291

-71.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$325 MRU 13.0K

$1,922 €1,710

-83.09%

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)

$639 MRU 25.6K

$2,227 €1,981

-71.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

509.76%

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

Last update for Nouakchott: October 18, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nouakchott

$212 26.2%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 8.4% $18

Accommodation & Living

Nouakchott

$172 21.2%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 643% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Nouakchott

$155 19.1%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 110% $170

Sport & Entertainment

Nouakchott

$96 11.8%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 19.3% $18

Eating Out

Nouakchott

$80 9.9%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 237% $189

Clothing & Footwear

Nouakchott

$69 8.5%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 127% $87

Getting Around

Nouakchott

$26 3.2%

Barcelona

$47 2% 80.5% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $295 in Nouakchott and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 257% 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 Nouakchott vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $155 vs $320 per month, with Nouakchott cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇷 Nouakchott

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

09:54 9:54 AM

11:54 11:54 AM

2 h ahead of Nouakchott

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

958,399 Capital

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Mauritanian Ouguiya MRU UM

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MRU = 2.5 USD

100 MRU = 2.22 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MRU – Mauritanian Ouguiya Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇷 Mauritanian Ouguiya (UM)

Mauritanian Ouguiya exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 40.06 MRU (100 MRU = 2.5 USD). 1 EUR = 45.04 MRU (100 MRU = 2.22 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MRU in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nouakchott Barcelona 3,110 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Nouakchott
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

Nouakchott vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nouakchott and Barcelona differ by about 197% in total monthly costs ($809 vs $2,399 including rent). Nouakchott is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 257% 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: $295 in Nouakchott versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $437 in Nouakchott 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 107% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $809 in Nouakchott versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Nouakchott but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Nouakchott 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, Nouakchott 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 Nouakchott gentler on the wallet – expenses run 197% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.