Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Seongnam and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Seongnam: $1,418 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 Seongnam
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Seongnam Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Seongnam

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,418

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,418 in Seongnam versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Seongnam $1,418
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,361 in Seongnam versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Seongnam $2,361
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,305 in Seongnam versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Seongnam $3,305
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Seongnam 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: Seongnam 4% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.95 ₩9,225

$17.59 €15.80

-60.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.62 ₩55.2K

$67.5 €60.6

-38.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.83 ₩9,067

$13.53 €12.15

-49.52%

Cappuccino

$4.03 ₩5,345

$3.19 €2.87

26.33%

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

$1.56 ₩2,066

$2.91 €2.62

-46.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 ₩1,003

$1.89 €1.70

-59.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.53 ₩4,686

$4.01 €3.60

-11.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.81 ₩5,054

$4.53 €4.07

-15.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.31 ₩3,066

$1.31 €1.17

76.34%

White Bread (500g)

$3.18 ₩4,222

$2.02 €1.81

57.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.71 ₩4,920

$1.85 €1.66

100.54%

Eggs

$3.67 ₩4,865

$4.83 €4.34

-24.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.13 ₩12.1K

$16.74 €15.04

-45.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 ₩10.7K

$9.12 €8.19

-11.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.41 ₩27.1K

$19.64 €17.64

3.92%

Apples (1kg)

$7.56 ₩10.0K

$2.98 €2.68

153.69%

Banana (1kg)

$3.56 ₩4,723

$2.02 €1.81

76.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.65 ₩7,494

$2.70 €2.43

109.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.81 ₩9,042

$2.80 €2.52

143.21%

Potato (1kg)

$3.76 ₩4,983

$2.09 €1.87

79.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.62 ₩3,481

$2.07 €1.86

26.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.93 ₩3,892

$1.46 €1.31

100.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 ₩1,786

$0.94 €0.84

43.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.48 ₩4,615

$6.87 €6.17

-49.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.94 ₩25.1K

$7.89 €7.09

140.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.10 ₩2,784

$1.41 €1.26

48.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 ₩2,558

$2.54 €2.28

-24.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.09 ₩1,444

$3.14 €2.82

-65.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.65 ₩4,840

$2.99 €2.69

22.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.67 ₩888

$1.49 €1.34

-55.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.76 ₩11.6K

$33.37 €29.99

-73.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 ₩1,845

$1.80 €1.62

-22.78%

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

$30.0K ₩39.8M

$33.2K €29.8K

-9.68%

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

$28.1K ₩37.2M

$31.7K €28.5K

-11.48%

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

$215 ₩285.2K

$180 €162

19.12%

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

$36.76 ₩48.8K

$13.84 €12.43

165.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.23 ₩28.2K

$33.70 €30.28

-37.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.1 ₩73.1K

$51.5 €46.28

6.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.12 ₩18.7K

$15.96 €14.34

-11.53%

Cinema Ticket

$11.38 ₩15.1K

$10.99 €9.88

3.55%

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

$379 ₩503.1K

$917 €824

-58.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.1K ₩24.0M

$16.5K €14.8K

9.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.7 ₩76.5K

$87.0 €78.2

-33.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.54 ₩43.2K

$38.51 €34.60

-15.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.4 ₩94.7K

$106 €95.1

-32.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.4 ₩112.0K

$120 €108

-29.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$488 ₩647.2K

$1,699 €1,527

-71.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$360 ₩478.0K

$1,355 €1,218

-73.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,158 ₩1.5M

$2,603 €2,339

-55.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,046 ₩1.4M

$2,062 €1,853

-49.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,247 ₩9.6M

$6,915 €6,213

4.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,589 ₩7.4M

$5,128 €4,607

8.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,211 €1,986

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.08

3.28

24.39%

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

Last update for Seongnam: 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

Seongnam

$426 30%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 24.4% $104

Accommodation & Living

Seongnam

$360 25.4%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 276% $995

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Seongnam

$273 19.3%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 16.5% $45

Eating Out

Seongnam

$159 11.2%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 68.5% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Seongnam

$111 7.8%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 42.7% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Seongnam

$78 5.5%

Barcelona

$74 3% 5.6% $4.3

Getting Around

Seongnam

$11 * 0.8%

Barcelona

$48 2% 327% $37

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $488 in Seongnam and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $42 in Seongnam vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $426 vs $322, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Seongnam

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

20:18 8:18 PM

12:18 12:18 PM

8 h behind Seongnam

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

967,510

1,660,122

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.54 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.77 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to KRW – South Korean Won Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇷 South Korean Won (₩)

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,327 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.54 USD). 1 EUR = 1,477 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.77 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to KRW in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Seongnam Barcelona 9,620 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Seongnam
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

Seongnam vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Seongnam and Barcelona differ by about 73% in total monthly costs ($1,418 vs $2,453 including rent). Seongnam is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,127 in Seongnam and $3,679 in Barcelona to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $488 in Seongnam versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $379 in Seongnam versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Seongnam – a meal for two runs $42 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,418 in Seongnam versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Seongnam but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Seongnam 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, Seongnam 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.