Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Papeete and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Papeete: $2,283 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

109

Cost of Living Index in Papeete
Learn more

Papeete Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Papeete

🇵🇫 French Polynesia

$2,283

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,283 in Papeete versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Papeete $2,283
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,451 in Papeete versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Papeete $3,451
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,620 in Papeete versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Papeete $4,620
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Papeete costs roughly 7% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Papeete 68% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.56 CFPF 1,983

$17.59 €15.76

5.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$95.4 CFPF 10.2K

$67.5 €60.5

41.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.54 CFPF 1,553

$13.53 €12.12

7.46%

Cappuccino

$3.41 CFPF 364

$3.19 €2.86

6.90%

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

$2.62 CFPF 280

$2.91 €2.61

-9.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 CFPF 347

$1.89 €1.70

71.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.35 CFPF 358

$4.01 €3.59

-16.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.76 CFPF 402

$4.53 €4.06

-17.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 CFPF 159

$1.31 €1.17

13.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.75 CFPF 293

$2.02 €1.81

36.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 CFPF 172

$1.85 €1.66

-12.97%

Eggs

$6.36 CFPF 679

$4.83 €4.33

31.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$27.25 CFPF 2,911

$16.74 €15.00

62.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.12 CFPF 1,616

$9.12 €8.17

65.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$26.88 CFPF 2,872

$19.64 €17.60

36.86%

Apples (1kg)

$4.79 CFPF 512

$2.98 €2.67

60.74%

Banana (1kg)

$2.42 CFPF 258

$2.02 €1.81

19.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.39 CFPF 683

$2.70 €2.42

136.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.76 CFPF 830

$2.80 €2.51

177.14%

Potato (1kg)

$2.64 CFPF 282

$2.09 €1.87

26.32%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 CFPF 233

$2.07 €1.85

5.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.65 CFPF 390

$1.46 €1.31

150.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 CFPF 121

$0.94 €0.84

21.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.97 CFPF 1,386

$6.87 €6.16

88.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.00 CFPF 2,244

$7.89 €7.07

166.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.69 CFPF 288

$1.41 €1.26

90.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 CFPF 340

$2.54 €2.27

25.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.91 CFPF 204

$3.14 €2.82

-39.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.80

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$9.23 CFPF 986

$2.99 €2.68

208.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.34

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.91

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 CFPF 162

$1.80 €1.61

-16.11%

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

$18.4K CFPF 2.0M

$33.2K €29.7K

-44.60%

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

$27.8K CFPF 3.0M

$31.7K €28.4K

-12.36%

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

$179 CFPF 19.2K

$180 €162

-0.55%

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

$19.50 CFPF 2,084

$13.84 €12.40

40.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.8 CFPF 7,560

$33.70 €30.20

109.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$84.0 CFPF 8,976

$51.5 €46.16

63.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$14.21 CFPF 1,518

$10.99 €9.85

29.30%

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

$461 CFPF 49.3K

$917 €821

-49.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,248 CFPF 988.1K

$16.5K €14.8K

-43.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.2 CFPF 7,390

$87.0 €78.0

-20.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.5 CFPF 7,528

$38.51 €34.51

82.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.7 CFPF 8,299

$106 €94.8

-26.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 CFPF 9,543

$120 €107

-25.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,328 CFPF 141.9K

$1,699 €1,523

-21.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$947 CFPF 101.2K

$1,355 €1,214

-30.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,806 CFPF 193.0K

$2,603 €2,332

-30.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,513 CFPF 161.6K

$2,062 €1,848

-26.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,081 CFPF 756.6K

$6,915 €6,196

2.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,507 CFPF 802.1K

$5,128 €4,595

46.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,222 CFPF 237.4K

$2,211 €1,981

0.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.5

3.28

37.20%

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

Last update for Papeete: 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

Papeete

$947 41.5%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 43% $408

Groceries & Markets

Papeete

$517 22.7%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 37.8% $196

Eating Out

Papeete

$281 12.3%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 4.6% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Papeete

$270 11.8%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 15.5% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Papeete

$138 6%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 14.5% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Papeete

$112 4.9%

Barcelona

$74 3% 34.6% $39

Getting Around

Papeete

$17 * 0.7%

Barcelona

$48 2% 188% $32

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 $1,328 in Papeete and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $95 in Papeete vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $517 vs $322 per month, with Barcelona cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇫 Papeete

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

19:26 7:26 PM

06:26 6:26 AM

11 h ahead of Papeete

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

26,050 Capital

1,660,122

💱 Currency

CFP Franc XPF Fr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 XPF = 9.36 USD

1,000 XPF = 8.41 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Papeete Barcelona 16,240 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Papeete
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

Papeete vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,283 in Papeete and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Papeete is about 7% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,424 in Papeete 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: $1,328 in Papeete versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $461 in Papeete versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelona – a meal for two runs $67 versus $95 in Papeete. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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