Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Palawan and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Palawan: $784 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Palawan
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Palawan Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Palawan

🇵🇭 Philippines

$784

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $784 in Palawan versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Palawan $784
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,223 in Palawan versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Palawan $1,223
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,661 in Palawan versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Palawan $1,661
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Palawan costs roughly 68% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Palawan is 42% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.48 ₱220

$17.59 €15.71

-80.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.38 ₱1,228

$67.5 €60.3

-71.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.31 ₱210

$13.53 €12.08

-75.54%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱160

$3.19 €2.85

-21.00%

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

$0.78 ₱49.38

$2.91 €2.60

-73.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.39 ₱25.01

$1.89 €1.69

-79.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.31 ₱82.9

$4.01 €3.58

-67.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 ₱136

$4.53 €4.05

-52.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.90 ₱120

$1.31 €1.17

45.04%

White Bread (500g)

$1.22 ₱77.1

$2.02 €1.80

-39.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.00 ₱63.3

$1.85 €1.65

-45.95%

Eggs

$2.00 ₱127

$4.83 €4.32

-58.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.91 ₱501

$16.74 €14.95

-52.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.35 ₱276

$9.12 €8.14

-52.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.62 ₱483

$19.64 €17.54

-61.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 ₱182

$2.98 €2.66

-3.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 ₱100

$2.02 €1.80

-21.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 ₱166

$2.70 €2.41

-2.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.55 ₱98.4

$2.80 €2.50

-44.64%

Potato (1kg)

$2.24 ₱142

$2.09 €1.86

7.18%

Onion (1kg)

$2.54 ₱161

$2.07 €1.85

22.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 ₱70.1

$1.46 €1.30

-23.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ₱47.76

$0.94 €0.84

-20.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.89 ₱183

$6.87 €6.14

-57.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.95 ₱441

$7.89 €7.04

-11.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 ₱73.9

$1.41 €1.26

-17.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 ₱126

$2.54 €2.26

-22.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 ₱16.34

$3.14 €2.81

-91.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.46 ₱727

$25.45 €22.73

-54.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.81 ₱51.6

$2.99 €2.67

-72.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₱13.93

$1.49 €1.33

-85.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.08 ₱132

$33.37 €29.81

-93.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 ₱71.9

$1.80 €1.61

-37.22%

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

$26.1K ₱1.7M

$33.2K €29.6K

-21.30%

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

$20.7K ₱1.3M

$31.7K €28.3K

-34.58%

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

$112 ₱7,078

$180 €161

-38.10%

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

$33.36 ₱2,115

$13.84 €12.36

141.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.52 ₱1,744

$33.70 €30.10

-18.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.20 ₱2,168

$51.5 €46.01

-33.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.55 ₱289

$15.96 €14.26

-71.49%

Cinema Ticket

$5.96 ₱378

$10.99 €9.82

-45.77%

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

$153 ₱9,715

$917 €819

-83.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,354 ₱276.0K

$16.5K €14.7K

-73.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.66 ₱2,957

$87.0 €77.7

-46.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.57 ₱1,684

$38.51 €34.39

-31.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.4 ₱4,717

$106 €94.5

-29.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$54.1 ₱3,430

$120 €107

-54.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$263 ₱16.7K

$1,699 €1,518

-84.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$174 ₱11.0K

$1,355 €1,211

-87.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$576 ₱36.5K

$2,603 €2,325

-77.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$390 ₱24.7K

$2,062 €1,842

-81.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,321 ₱147.1K

$6,915 €6,176

-66.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,122 ₱71.1K

$5,128 €4,580

-78.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,975

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.67

3.28

103.35%

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

Last update for Palawan: October 25, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Palawan

$202 25.8%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 59% $119

Accommodation & Living

Palawan

$174 22.2%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 678% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Palawan

$173 22%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 32.1% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Palawan

$91 11.6%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 74% $67

Eating Out

Palawan

$84 10.7%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 221% $184

Sport & Entertainment

Palawan

$46 5.9%

Barcelona

$74 3% 59.4% $27

Getting Around

Palawan

$14 1.8%

Barcelona

$48 2% 236% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $263 in Palawan and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $19 in Palawan vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $202 vs $322 per month, with Palawan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Palawan

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

15:45 3:45 PM

08:45 8:45 AM

7 h behind Palawan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

939,594

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.58 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 63.38 PHP (100 PHP = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 70.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Palawan Barcelona 11,410 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Palawan
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

Palawan vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $784 in Palawan and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Palawan is about 68% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,176 in Palawan and $3,679 in Barcelona to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $263 in Palawan versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $153 in Palawan 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 59% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $784 in Palawan versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Palawan but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Palawan 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, Palawan and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Palawan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 68% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.