Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phnom Penh and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Phnom Penh: $1,083 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Phnom Penh
Learn more

Phnom Penh Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Phnom Penh

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$1,083

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,083 in Phnom Penh versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Phnom Penh $1,083
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,778 in Phnom Penh versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Phnom Penh $1,778
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,474 in Phnom Penh versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Phnom Penh $2,474
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Phnom Penh costs roughly 56% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phnom Penh is 20% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.55 ៛18.5K

$17.59 €15.75

-74.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.42 ៛164.7K

$67.5 €60.5

-40.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.01 ៛28.6K

$13.53 €12.12

-48.19%

Cappuccino

$2.84 ៛11.6K

$3.19 €2.86

-10.97%

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

$1.72 ៛7,001

$2.91 €2.61

-40.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 ៛2,727

$1.89 €1.70

-64.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.03 ៛4,187

$4.01 €3.59

-74.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 ៛12.4K

$4.53 €4.06

-32.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.28 ៛9,284

$1.31 €1.17

74.05%

White Bread (500g)

$1.60 ៛6,536

$2.02 €1.81

-20.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.07 ៛4,378

$1.85 €1.66

-42.16%

Eggs

$1.82 ៛7,428

$4.83 €4.33

-62.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.70 ៛59.9K

$16.74 €14.99

-12.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.45 ៛18.1K

$9.12 €8.17

-51.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.63 ៛39.2K

$19.64 €17.59

-50.97%

Apples (1kg)

$4.14 ៛16.9K

$2.98 €2.67

38.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ៛6,947

$2.02 €1.81

-15.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.49 ៛18.3K

$2.70 €2.42

66.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.02 ៛8,218

$2.80 €2.51

-27.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 ៛6,997

$2.09 €1.87

-17.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ៛5,125

$2.07 €1.85

-39.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.39 ៛5,659

$1.46 €1.31

-4.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ៛3,146

$0.94 €0.84

-18.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.95 ៛7,933

$6.87 €6.15

-71.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.14 ៛45.4K

$7.89 €7.06

41.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 ៛4,122

$1.41 €1.26

-28.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 ៛7,296

$2.54 €2.27

-29.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.38 ៛1,560

$3.14 €2.82

-87.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.88 ៛40.3K

$25.45 €22.79

-61.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.10 ៛4,463

$2.99 €2.68

-63.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ៛4,126

$1.49 €1.34

-32.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.02 ៛20.4K

$33.37 €29.89

-84.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ៛5,553

$1.80 €1.61

-24.44%

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

$34.8K ៛141.9M

$33.2K €29.7K

4.88%

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

$44.6K ៛181.9M

$31.7K €28.4K

40.83%

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

$118 ៛481.8K

$180 €162

-34.47%

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

$7.32 ៛29.8K

$13.84 €12.39

-47.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.26 ៛102.9K

$33.70 €30.18

-25.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.94 ៛154.6K

$51.5 €46.13

-26.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.05 ៛45.0K

$15.96 €14.29

-30.76%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 ៛20.7K

$10.99 €9.85

-53.69%

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

$597 ៛2.4M

$917 €821

-34.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K ៛45.3M

$16.5K €14.8K

-32.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.17 ៛114.8K

$87.0 €77.9

-67.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.25 ៛98.8K

$38.51 €34.49

-37.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.2 ៛367.4K

$106 €94.8

-14.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.1 ៛236.6K

$120 €107

-51.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$658 ៛2.7M

$1,699 €1,522

-61.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$406 ៛1.7M

$1,355 €1,214

-70.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,441 ៛5.9M

$2,603 €2,331

-44.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$950 ៛3.9M

$2,062 €1,847

-53.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,710 ៛11.0M

$6,915 €6,193

-60.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,523 ៛6.2M

$5,128 €4,592

-70.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$315 ៛1.3M

$2,211 €1,980

-85.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.94

3.28

142.07%

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

Last update for Phnom Penh: 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

Phnom Penh

$406 37.5%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 234% $949

Groceries & Markets

Phnom Penh

$258 23.8%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 24.7% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phnom Penh

$151 13.9%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 51.2% $77

Eating Out

Phnom Penh

$112 10.4%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 139% $156

Clothing & Footwear

Phnom Penh

$90 8.3%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 75% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Phnom Penh

$48 4.4%

Barcelona

$74 3% 52.7% $25

Getting Around

Phnom Penh

$18 1.6%

Barcelona

$48 2% 176% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $658 in Phnom Penh and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $40 in Phnom Penh vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $322 per month, with Phnom Penh cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇭 Phnom Penh

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

04:47 4:47 AM

22:47 10:47 PM

6 h behind Phnom Penh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,009,264 Capital

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KHR = 2.45 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to KHR – Cambodian Riel Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇭 Cambodian Riel (៛)

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 4,075 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.45 USD). 1 EUR = 4,550 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to KHR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phnom Penh Barcelona 10,200 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Phnom Penh
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

Phnom Penh vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,083 in Phnom Penh and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Phnom Penh is about 56% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 86% lower in Phnom Penh. 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: $658 in Phnom Penh versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $597 in Phnom Penh 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 25% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,083 in Phnom Penh versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phnom Penh but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Phnom Penh 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, Phnom Penh and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Phnom Penh gentler on the wallet – expenses run 56% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.