Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Salalah and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Salalah: $1,062 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Salalah
Learn more

Salalah Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Salalah

🇴🇲 Oman

$1,062

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,062 in Salalah versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Salalah $1,062
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,598 in Salalah versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Salalah $1,598
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,134 in Salalah versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Salalah $2,134
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Salalah costs roughly 57% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Salalah is 22% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.17 OMR 1.99

$17.59 €15.76

-70.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.56 OMR 9.84

$67.5 €60.5

-62.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.24 OMR 5.10

$13.53 €12.12

-2.14%

Cappuccino

$6.42 OMR 2.47

$3.19 €2.86

101.25%

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

$0.85 OMR 0.33

$2.91 €2.61

-70.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 OMR 0.10

$1.89 €1.70

-85.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.88 OMR 3.42

$4.01 €3.59

121.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.34 OMR 3.98

$4.53 €4.06

128.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.93 OMR 0.74

$1.31 €1.17

47.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.22 OMR 0.47

$2.02 €1.81

-39.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.63 OMR 1.01

$1.85 €1.66

42.16%

Eggs

$1.89 OMR 0.73

$4.83 €4.33

-60.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.78 OMR 1.84

$16.74 €15.00

-71.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.56 OMR 1.76

$9.12 €8.17

-50.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.35 OMR 2.45

$19.64 €17.60

-67.67%

Apples (1kg)

$1.90 OMR 0.73

$2.98 €2.67

-36.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.79 OMR 0.69

$2.02 €1.81

-11.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.07 OMR 0.80

$2.70 €2.42

-23.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.87 OMR 0.72

$2.80 €2.51

-33.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.44 OMR 0.55

$2.09 €1.87

-31.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.06 OMR 0.41

$2.07 €1.85

-48.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 OMR 0.41

$1.46 €1.31

-27.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.48 OMR 0.19

$0.94 €0.84

-48.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 OMR 2.26

$6.87 €6.16

-14.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.95 OMR 7.68

$7.89 €7.07

152.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.84 OMR 1.48

$1.41 €1.26

172.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.65 OMR 1.79

$2.54 €2.27

83.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.32 OMR 0.51

$3.14 €2.82

-57.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 OMR 21.13

$25.45 €22.80

115.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.32 OMR 0.89

$2.99 €2.68

-22.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.28 OMR 0.49

$1.49 €1.34

-14.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.54 OMR 4.44

$33.37 €29.91

-65.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.64 OMR 0.25

$1.80 €1.61

-64.44%

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

$20.7K OMR 7,971

$33.2K €29.7K

-37.62%

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

$17.9K OMR 6,900

$31.7K €28.4K

-43.46%

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

$79.2 OMR 30.50

$180 €162

-56.09%

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

$49.43 OMR 19.03

$13.84 €12.40

257.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$73.9 OMR 28.45

$33.70 €30.20

119.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.35 OMR 15.54

$51.5 €46.16

-21.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.24 OMR 10.10

$15.96 €14.30

64.41%

Cinema Ticket

$7.84 OMR 3.02

$10.99 €9.85

-28.66%

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

$105 OMR 40.39

$917 €821

-88.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,970 OMR 758

$16.5K €14.8K

-88.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.71 OMR 11.05

$87.0 €78.0

-67.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.42 OMR 12.10

$38.51 €34.51

-18.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$57.6 OMR 22.16

$106 €94.8

-45.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$44.75 OMR 17.23

$120 €107

-62.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$247 OMR 95.1

$1,699 €1,523

-85.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$205 OMR 78.9

$1,355 €1,214

-84.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$634 OMR 244

$2,603 €2,332

-75.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$391 OMR 151

$2,062 €1,848

-81.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,980 OMR 762

$6,915 €6,196

-71.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,228 OMR 473

$5,128 €4,595

-76.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,778 OMR 684

$2,211 €1,981

-19.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.58

3.28

39.63%

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

Last update for Salalah: October 26, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Salalah

$229 21.5%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 40.8% $93

Eating Out

Salalah

$228 21.5%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 17.6% $40

Accommodation & Living

Salalah

$205 19.3%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 561% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Salalah

$203 19.1%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 12.5% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Salalah

$73 6.9%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 116% $85

Getting Around

Salalah

$69 6.5%

Barcelona

$48 2% 29.6% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Salalah

$56 5.3%

Barcelona

$74 3% 31.2% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $247 in Salalah and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 24% 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: $26 in Salalah vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $229 vs $322 per month, with Salalah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇴🇲 Salalah

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

16:28 4:28 PM

13:28 1:28 PM

3 h behind Salalah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

178,469

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.33 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to OMR – Omani Rial Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇴🇲 Omani Rial (ر.ع.)

Omani Rial exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.43 OMR (1 OMR = 2.33 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to OMR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Salalah Barcelona 5,620 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Salalah
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

Salalah vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,062 in Salalah and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Salalah is about 57% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 20% lower in Salalah. 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: $247 in Salalah versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $105 in Salalah 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 41% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Salalah is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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

It comes down to priorities – Salalah wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.