Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sapporo and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Sapporo: $1,422 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

68

Cost of Living Index in Sapporo
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Sapporo Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Sapporo

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,422

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,422 in Sapporo versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Sapporo $1,422
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,123 in Sapporo versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Sapporo $2,123
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,823 in Sapporo versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Sapporo $2,823
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Sapporo costs roughly 42% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sapporo 4% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.33 ¥997

$17.59 €15.76

-64.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.34 ¥4,469

$67.5 €60.5

-58.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.51 ¥869

$13.53 €12.12

-59.28%

Cappuccino

$4.92 ¥776

$3.19 €2.86

54.23%

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

$1.74 ¥274

$2.91 €2.61

-40.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 ¥138

$1.89 €1.70

-53.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.37 ¥689

$4.01 €3.59

8.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 ¥898

$4.53 €4.06

25.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 ¥243

$1.31 €1.17

17.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ¥214

$2.02 €1.81

-32.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.97 ¥626

$1.85 €1.66

114.59%

Eggs

$1.78 ¥281

$4.83 €4.33

-63.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.44 ¥1,488

$16.74 €15.00

-43.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.77 ¥1,068

$9.12 €8.17

-25.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.65 ¥4,044

$19.64 €17.60

30.60%

Apples (1kg)

$3.25 ¥512

$2.98 €2.67

9.06%

Banana (1kg)

$3.03 ¥477

$2.02 €1.81

50.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.15 ¥497

$2.70 €2.42

16.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.35 ¥686

$2.80 €2.51

55.36%

Potato (1kg)

$2.14 ¥338

$2.09 €1.87

2.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.66 ¥262

$2.07 €1.85

-19.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.50 ¥236

$1.46 €1.31

2.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ¥77.2

$0.94 €0.84

-47.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 ¥625

$6.87 €6.16

-42.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.19 ¥1,292

$7.89 €7.07

3.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 ¥293

$1.41 €1.26

31.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.24 ¥511

$2.54 €2.27

27.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.56 ¥246

$3.14 €2.82

-50.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.41 ¥7,633

$25.45 €22.80

90.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.12 ¥650

$2.99 €2.68

37.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 ¥257

$1.49 €1.34

9.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.09 ¥2,538

$33.37 €29.91

-51.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 ¥175

$1.80 €1.61

-38.33%

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

$21.9K ¥3.5M

$33.2K €29.7K

-33.93%

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

$14.4K ¥2.3M

$31.7K €28.4K

-54.59%

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

$344 ¥54.2K

$180 €162

90.41%

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

$25.82 ¥4,071

$13.84 €12.40

86.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.90 ¥7,553

$33.70 €30.20

42.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.4 ¥7,954

$51.5 €46.16

-2.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.20 ¥504

$15.96 €14.30

-79.95%

Cinema Ticket

$12.08 ¥1,904

$10.99 €9.85

9.92%

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

$312 ¥49.2K

$917 €821

-65.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.1K ¥1.6M

$16.5K €14.8K

-38.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$38.49 ¥6,069

$87.0 €78.0

-55.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ¥3,979

$38.51 €34.51

-34.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$48.43 ¥7,636

$106 €94.8

-54.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 ¥18.7K

$120 €107

-0.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$463 ¥73.0K

$1,699 €1,523

-72.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$276 ¥43.5K

$1,355 €1,214

-79.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$831 ¥131.1K

$2,603 €2,332

-68.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$644 ¥101.5K

$2,062 €1,848

-68.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,259 ¥356.2K

$6,915 €6,196

-67.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,608 ¥253.5K

$5,128 €4,595

-68.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,281 ¥359.6K

$2,211 €1,981

3.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.57

3.28

-21.65%

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

Last update for Sapporo: October 26, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sapporo

$417 29.3%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 45.4% $189

Groceries & Markets

Sapporo

$314 22.1%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 2.6% $8.2

Accommodation & Living

Sapporo

$276 19.4%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 391% $1.1K

Eating Out

Sapporo

$170 11.9%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 57.7% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Sapporo

$104 7.3%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 52.1% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Sapporo

$75 5.3%

Barcelona

$74 3% 1.5% $1.1

Getting Around

Sapporo

$67 4.7%

Barcelona

$48 2% 27.6% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $463 in Sapporo and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sapporo pays 3% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $28 in Sapporo vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $314 vs $322 per month, with Sapporo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Sapporo

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

18:50 6:50 PM

10:50 10:50 AM

8 h behind Sapporo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,973,395

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR).

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

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sapporo Barcelona 9,770 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Sapporo
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

Sapporo vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,422 in Sapporo and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Sapporo is about 42% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 3% higher in Sapporo, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $463 in Sapporo versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $312 in Sapporo 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 3% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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