Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pekanbaru and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Pekanbaru: $628 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Pekanbaru
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Pekanbaru Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

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Pekanbaru

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$628

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $628 in Pekanbaru versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Pekanbaru $628
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $983 in Pekanbaru versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Pekanbaru $983
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,339 in Pekanbaru versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Pekanbaru $1,339
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Pekanbaru costs roughly 74% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Pekanbaru is 53% below, Barcelona is 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.43 Rp 25.8K

$17.94 €15.96

-92.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$8.20 Rp 147.6K

$68.1 €60.5

-87.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.41 Rp 43.4K

$13.28 €11.81

-81.85%

Cappuccino

$1.30 Rp 23.3K

$3.25 €2.89

-60.00%

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

$0.58 Rp 10.4K

$3.01 €2.67

-80.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 Rp 5,954

$1.87 €1.66

-82.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.07 Rp 37.3K

$3.85 €3.42

-46.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 Rp 62.1K

$4.48 €3.98

-22.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 Rp 23.3K

$1.29 €1.15

0.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.15 Rp 20.6K

$2.04 €1.81

-43.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.89 Rp 16.1K

$1.72 €1.53

-48.26%

Eggs

$1.68 Rp 30.3K

$4.77 €4.24

-64.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 Rp 131.3K

$16.77 €14.92

-56.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.37 Rp 42.7K

$8.93 €7.94

-73.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.49 Rp 116.9K

$19.88 €17.68

-67.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.70 Rp 48.5K

$2.98 €2.65

-9.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 Rp 30.6K

$2.03 €1.80

-16.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.41 Rp 43.4K

$2.73 €2.43

-11.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 Rp 22.8K

$2.68 €2.38

-52.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 Rp 22.3K

$2.10 €1.87

-40.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$2.08 €1.85

-8.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 Rp 13.5K

$1.45 €1.29

-48.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.35 Rp 6,350

$0.89 €0.79

-60.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.16 Rp 38.9K

$6.94 €6.17

-68.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.45 Rp 386.0K

$7.78 €6.92

175.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$1.45 €1.29

31.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 Rp 54.2K

$2.57 €2.29

17.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 Rp 5,230

$2.99 €2.66

-90.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.44 Rp 152.0K

$25.20 €22.41

-66.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 Rp 16.6K

$3.12 €2.77

-70.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 Rp 7,154

$1.44 €1.28

-72.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.68 Rp 48.2K

$33.50 €29.80

-92.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.76 Rp 13.6K

$1.79 €1.59

-57.54%

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

$23.3K Rp 418.9M

$34.6K €30.8K

-32.80%

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

$26.0K Rp 468.5M

$30.1K €26.7K

-13.43%

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

$62.1 Rp 1.1M

$178 €158

-65.09%

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

$5.99 Rp 107.9K

$13.32 €11.85

-55.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.78 Rp 428.1K

$34.88 €31.03

-31.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.34 Rp 510.2K

$53.3 €47.37

-46.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.31 Rp 149.7K

$16.01 €14.24

-48.09%

Cinema Ticket

$3.03 Rp 54.6K

$11.06 €9.84

-72.60%

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

$96.0 Rp 1.7M

$957 €851

-89.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,773 Rp 139.9M

$16.6K €14.7K

-53.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$31.96 Rp 575.3K

$88.2 €78.4

-63.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.42 Rp 511.6K

$39.49 €35.12

-28.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$54.8 Rp 985.5K

$103 €91.5

-46.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.8 Rp 1.5M

$121 €108

-33.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$262 Rp 4.7M

$1,653 €1,470

-84.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$145 Rp 2.6M

$1,302 €1,158

-88.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$540 Rp 9.7M

$2,557 €2,275

-78.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$356 Rp 6.4M

$1,915 €1,703

-81.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,070 Rp 19.3M

$7,286 €6,481

-85.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$807 Rp 14.5M

$5,080 €4,519

-84.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$176 Rp 3.2M

$2,281 €2,029

-92.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.46

3.28

188.41%

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

Last update for Pekanbaru: October 12, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Pekanbaru

$201 32%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 59.4% $119

Accommodation & Living

Pekanbaru

$145 23.1%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 799% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pekanbaru

$92 14.6%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 146% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Pekanbaru

$88 14%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 79.6% $70

Eating Out

Pekanbaru

$55 8.8%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 390% $215

Sport & Entertainment

Pekanbaru

$34 5.5%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 119% $41

Getting Around

Pekanbaru

$13 2%

Barcelona

$47 2% 279% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $262 in Pekanbaru and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 1196% 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: $8.00 in Pekanbaru vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $201 vs $320 per month, with Pekanbaru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Pekanbaru

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

08:51 8:51 AM

03:51 3:51 AM

5 h behind Pekanbaru

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,020,308

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Pekanbaru Barcelona 10,740 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Pekanbaru
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

Pekanbaru vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Pekanbaru and Barcelona differ by about 282% in total monthly costs ($628 vs $2,399 including rent). Pekanbaru is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 1196% 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: $262 in Pekanbaru versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $96.0 in Pekanbaru 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 59% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $628 in Pekanbaru versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Pekanbaru but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Pekanbaru 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, Pekanbaru 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 Pekanbaru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 282% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.