Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rabat and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Rabat: $857 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Rabat
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Rabat Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Rabat

🇲🇦 Morocco

$857

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $857 in Rabat versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Rabat $857
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,484 in Rabat versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Rabat $1,484
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,111 in Rabat versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Rabat $2,111
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Rabat costs roughly 64% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rabat is 36% below, Barcelona is 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.06 MAD 39.57

$17.94 €15.96

-77.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.05 MAD 400

$68.1 €60.5

-39.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.27 MAD 70.8

$13.28 €11.81

-45.26%

Cappuccino

$1.92 MAD 18.73

$3.25 €2.89

-40.92%

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

$0.54 MAD 5.26

$3.01 €2.67

-82.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.37 MAD 3.58

$1.87 €1.66

-80.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.20 MAD 50.7

$3.85 €3.42

35.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 MAD 31.72

$4.48 €3.98

-27.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.84 MAD 8.23

$1.29 €1.15

-34.88%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 MAD 6.38

$2.04 €1.81

-68.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.91 MAD 18.65

$1.72 €1.53

11.05%

Eggs

$1.88 MAD 18.35

$4.77 €4.24

-60.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.35 MAD 111

$16.77 €14.91

-32.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.62 MAD 64.5

$8.93 €7.94

-25.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.13 MAD 118

$19.88 €17.68

-38.98%

Apples (1kg)

$1.64 MAD 15.98

$2.98 €2.65

-44.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 MAD 14.26

$2.03 €1.80

-28.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.85 MAD 8.28

$2.73 €2.43

-68.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.84 MAD 8.20

$2.68 €2.38

-68.66%

Potato (1kg)

$0.71 MAD 6.94

$2.10 €1.87

-66.19%

Onion (1kg)

$0.78 MAD 7.64

$2.08 €1.85

-62.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.38 MAD 3.66

$1.45 €1.29

-73.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 MAD 5.90

$0.89 €0.79

-31.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.24 MAD 41.29

$6.94 €6.17

-38.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.74 MAD 75.4

$7.78 €6.92

-0.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.70 MAD 26.36

$1.45 €1.29

86.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 MAD 26.52

$2.57 €2.29

5.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MAD 5.41

$2.99 €2.66

-81.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.09 MAD 254

$25.20 €22.41

3.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.71 MAD 6.92

$3.12 €2.77

-77.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 MAD 7.62

$1.44 €1.28

-45.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.09 MAD 39.83

$33.50 €29.80

-87.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 MAD 15.41

$1.79 €1.59

-11.73%

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

$31.1K MAD 303.4K

$34.6K €30.8K

-10.13%

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

$31.1K MAD 303.7K

$30.1K €26.7K

3.60%

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

$36.64 MAD 357

$178 €158

-79.40%

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

$10.41 MAD 101

$13.32 €11.85

-21.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.79 MAD 329

$34.88 €31.02

-3.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.95 MAD 282

$53.3 €47.36

-45.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.25 MAD 236

$16.01 €14.24

51.47%

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 MAD 61.3

$11.06 €9.84

-43.22%

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

$182 MAD 1,775

$957 €851

-80.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,632 MAD 93.9K

$16.6K €14.7K

-41.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.69 MAD 475

$88.2 €78.4

-44.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.28 MAD 403

$39.49 €35.12

4.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.1 MAD 898

$103 €91.4

-10.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.6 MAD 639

$121 €108

-46.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$517 MAD 5,037

$1,653 €1,470

-68.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$272 MAD 2,653

$1,302 €1,158

-79.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,002 MAD 9,766

$2,557 €2,275

-60.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MAD 6,924

$1,915 €1,703

-62.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,960 MAD 19.1K

$7,286 €6,480

-73.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,169 MAD 11.4K

$5,080 €4,518

-77.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$709 MAD 6,913

$2,281 €2,028

-68.91%

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 Rabat: October 12, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rabat

$272 31.7%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 378% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Rabat

$205 23.9%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 56% $115

Eating Out

Rabat

$113 13.2%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 138% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Rabat

$111 13%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 42.1% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rabat

$81 9.4%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 180% $145

Sport & Entertainment

Rabat

$42 4.8%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 81.6% $34

Getting Around

Rabat

$33 3.8%

Barcelona

$47 2% 44.2% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $517 in Rabat and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 222% 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: $41.00 in Rabat vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $205 vs $320 per month, with Rabat cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇦 Rabat

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

11:49 11:49 AM

12:49 12:49 PM

1 h ahead of Rabat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

573,895 Capital

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MAD = 10.26 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rabat Barcelona 1,140 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Rabat
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

Rabat vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rabat and Barcelona differ by about 180% in total monthly costs ($857 vs $2,399 including rent). Rabat is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 222% 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: $517 in Rabat versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $182 in Rabat 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 56% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $857 in Rabat versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Rabat but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Rabat 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, Rabat 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 Rabat gentler on the wallet – expenses run 180% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.