Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Oued Zem and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Oued Zem: $751 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Oued Zem
Learn more

Oued Zem Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Oued Zem

🇲🇦 Morocco

$751

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $751 in Oued Zem versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Oued Zem $751
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,196 in Oued Zem versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Oued Zem $1,196
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,640 in Oued Zem versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Oued Zem $1,640
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Oued Zem costs roughly 69% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Oued Zem is 45% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.18 MAD 41.18

$17.59 €15.80

-76.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.10 MAD 405

$67.5 €60.6

-39.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.11 MAD 70.0

$13.53 €12.15

-47.45%

Cappuccino

$1.93 MAD 19.03

$3.19 €2.87

-39.50%

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

$0.57 MAD 5.59

$2.91 €2.62

-80.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 MAD 3.58

$1.89 €1.70

-80.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.95 MAD 48.75

$4.01 €3.60

23.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 MAD 31.46

$4.53 €4.07

-29.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.82 MAD 8.05

$1.31 €1.17

-37.40%

White Bread (500g)

$0.61 MAD 5.96

$2.02 €1.81

-69.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 MAD 18.21

$1.85 €1.66

Eggs

$1.95 MAD 19.18

$4.83 €4.34

-59.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.22 MAD 111

$16.74 €15.03

-32.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.67 MAD 65.7

$9.12 €8.19

-26.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.88 MAD 117

$19.64 €17.64

-39.51%

Apples (1kg)

$1.60 MAD 15.80

$2.98 €2.68

-46.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MAD 13.99

$2.02 €1.81

-29.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.89 MAD 8.77

$2.70 €2.43

-67.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.82 MAD 8.08

$2.80 €2.52

-70.71%

Potato (1kg)

$0.71 MAD 7.03

$2.09 €1.87

-66.03%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 MAD 7.74

$2.07 €1.86

-61.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.39 MAD 3.86

$1.46 €1.31

-73.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 MAD 5.97

$0.94 €0.84

-35.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.23 MAD 41.63

$6.87 €6.17

-38.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.23 MAD 71.2

$7.89 €7.08

-8.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 MAD 25.25

$1.41 €1.26

81.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 MAD 25.45

$2.54 €2.28

1.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.50 MAD 4.95

$3.14 €2.82

-84.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.08 MAD 188

$25.45 €22.86

-25.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.73 MAD 7.19

$2.99 €2.69

-75.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 MAD 7.36

$1.49 €1.34

-49.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 MAD 38.95

$33.37 €29.98

-88.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 MAD 14.77

$1.80 €1.61

-16.67%

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

$29.9K MAD 294.5K

$33.2K €29.8K

-9.92%

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

$32.7K MAD 322.5K

$31.7K €28.5K

3.31%

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

$36.51 MAD 360

$180 €162

-79.76%

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

$9.90 MAD 97.5

$13.84 €12.43

-28.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.95 MAD 334

$33.70 €30.27

0.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.75 MAD 224

$51.5 €46.27

-55.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 MAD 188

$15.96 €14.34

19.67%

Cinema Ticket

$6.24 MAD 61.4

$10.99 €9.88

-43.22%

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

$181 MAD 1,779

$917 €823

-80.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,550 MAD 94.1K

$16.5K €14.8K

-42.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.28 MAD 466

$87.0 €78.2

-45.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.31 MAD 387

$38.51 €34.59

2.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.6 MAD 902

$106 €95.1

-13.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.5 MAD 655

$120 €108

-44.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$314 MAD 3,096

$1,699 €1,527

-81.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$185 MAD 1,824

$1,355 €1,217

-86.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$476 MAD 4,686

$2,603 €2,338

-81.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$283 MAD 2,788

$2,062 €1,853

-86.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,129 MAD 11.1K

$6,915 €6,211

-83.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$874 MAD 8,606

$5,128 €4,606

-82.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$230 MAD 2,264

$2,211 €1,986

-89.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.55

3.28

38.72%

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

Last update for Oued Zem: 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

Oued Zem

$201 26.8%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 59.9% $121

Accommodation & Living

Oued Zem

$185 24.7%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 632% $1.2K

Eating Out

Oued Zem

$113 15%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 137% $155

Clothing & Footwear

Oued Zem

$110 14.7%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 43.5% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Oued Zem

$80 10.7%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 184% $148

Sport & Entertainment

Oued Zem

$35 4.7%

Barcelona

$74 3% 109% $38

Getting Around

Oued Zem

$26 3.4%

Barcelona

$48 2% 89.6% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $314 in Oued Zem and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 9.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $41 in Oued Zem vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $201 vs $322 per month, with Oued Zem cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇦 Oued Zem

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

21:01 9:01 PM

22:01 10:01 PM

1 h ahead of Oued Zem

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

95,267

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MAD = 10.15 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MAD – Moroccan Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇦 Moroccan Dirham (د.م.)

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.85 MAD (1 MAD = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to MAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Oued Zem Barcelona 1,220 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Oued Zem
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

Oued Zem vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $751 in Oued Zem and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Oued Zem is about 69% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 90% lower in Oued Zem. 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: $314 in Oued Zem versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $181 in Oued Zem versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 60% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $751 in Oued Zem versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Oued Zem but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Oued Zem 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, Oued Zem and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Oued Zem gentler on the wallet – expenses run 69% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.