Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sanaa and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Sanaa: $1,027 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Sanaa
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Sanaa Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Sanaa

🇾🇪 Yemen

$1,027

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,027 in Sanaa versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Sanaa $1,027
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,623 in Sanaa versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Sanaa $1,623
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,220 in Sanaa versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Sanaa $2,220
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Sanaa costs roughly 57% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sanaa is 24% below, Barcelona is 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.50 YER 1,534

$17.89 €15.92

-63.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.73 YER 6,069

$66.2 €58.9

-61.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.37 YER 2,211

$13.69 €12.18

-31.56%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.02 YER 477

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 YER 610

Cappuccino

$3.78 YER 892

$3.06 €2.72

23.53%

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

$1.12 YER 264

$3.07 €2.73

-63.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 YER 131

$1.94 €1.73

-71.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 €3.44

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.10

Milk (1 liter)

$2.01 YER 474

$1.30 €1.16

54.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.70 YER 401

$2.10 €1.87

-19.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.99 YER 470

$1.83 €1.62

8.74%

Eggs

$3.75 YER 885

$4.62 €4.11

-18.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.41 YER 4,107

$17.36 €15.44

0.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.39 YER 1,980

$9.28 €8.25

-9.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.97 YER 4,475

$19.83 €17.64

-4.34%

Apples (1kg)

$3.32 YER 783

$3.01 €2.68

10.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.05 YER 249

$2.03 €1.81

-48.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.24 YER 529

$2.65 €2.36

-15.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 YER 392

$2.87 €2.55

-42.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 YER 357

$2.16 €1.92

-30.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 YER 313

$2.15 €1.91

-38.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 YER 283

$1.47 €1.31

-18.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 YER 159

$0.88 €0.79

-23.86%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.49 YER 587

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 YER 438

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.60 YER 614

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.36 YER 1,265

$6.93 €6.16

-22.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.83 €6.96

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.44 YER 104

$2.91 €2.59

-84.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$84.2 YER 19.9K

$25.46 €22.64

230.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.26 YER 1,005

$3.00 €2.66

42.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.08 YER 492

$1.44 €1.28

44.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.47 YER 1,763

$33.20 €29.53

-77.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 YER 500

$1.86 €1.65

13.98%

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

$17.1K YER 4.0M

$32.3K €28.8K

-46.99%

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

$34.5K YER 8.1M

$31.7K €28.2K

8.71%

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

$109 YER 25.6K

$183 €163

-40.52%

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

$23.24 YER 5,481

$13.61 €12.11

70.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$100 YER 23.7K

$32.93 €29.29

204.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.4 YER 15.9K

$54.7 €48.65

23.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.53 YER 3,899

$16.52 €14.70

0.06%

Cinema Ticket

$5.99 YER 1,413

$11.23 €9.99

-46.66%

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

$118 YER 27.9K

$954 €849

-87.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,167 YER 511.2K

$16.6K €14.8K

-86.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.90 YER 9,884

$86.0 €76.5

-51.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$123 YER 28.9K

$39.11 €34.78

213.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$48.13 YER 11.4K

$104 €92.2

-53.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.83 YER 9,632

$119 €106

-65.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$224 YER 52.9K

$1,695 €1,508

-86.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$97.0 YER 22.9K

$1,276 €1,135

-92.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$408 YER 96.3K

$2,576 €2,291

-84.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$273 YER 64.5K

$1,922 €1,710

-85.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,161 YER 981.6K

$7,281 €6,477

-42.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$798 YER 188.3K

$5,010 €4,456

-84.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$196 YER 46.2K

$2,227 €1,981

-91.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.25

3.28

242.99%

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

Last update for Sanaa: October 19, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sanaa

$271 26.4%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 19.8% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sanaa

$232 22.6%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 1.3% $3

Eating Out

Sanaa

$132 12.9%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 104% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Sanaa

$114 11.1%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 37.1% $42

Getting Around

Sanaa

$101 9.8%

Barcelona

$47 2% 53% $53

Accommodation & Living

Sanaa

$97 9.4%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 1216% $1.2K

Sport & Entertainment

Sanaa

$79 7.7%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 2.8% $2.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $224 in Sanaa and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 1036% 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: $26.00 in Sanaa vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $271 vs $325 per month, with Sanaa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇾🇪 Sanaa

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

15:31 3:31 PM

14:31 2:31 PM

1 h behind Sanaa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,527,861 Capital

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.77 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to YER – Yemeni Rial Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇾🇪 Yemeni Rial (﷼)

Yemeni Rial exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 236 YER (1,000 YER = 4.24 USD). 1 EUR = 265 YER (1,000 YER = 3.77 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to YER in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sanaa Barcelona 4,960 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Sanaa
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

Sanaa vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sanaa and Barcelona differ by about 132% in total monthly costs ($1,027 vs $2,381 including rent). Sanaa is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 1036% 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: $224 in Sanaa versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $118 in Sanaa versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,027 in Sanaa versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sanaa but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Sanaa 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, Sanaa 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 Sanaa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 132% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.