Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shaab and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Shaab: $1,386 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Shaab
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Shaab Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Shaab

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,386

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,386 in Shaab versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Shaab $1,386
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,294 in Shaab versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Shaab $2,294
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,201 in Shaab versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Shaab $3,201
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Shaab costs roughly 43% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Shaab 2% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.70 KWD 3.92

$17.59 €15.75

-27.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.2 KWD 19.48

$67.5 €60.5

-6.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.88 KWD 2.74

$13.53 €12.12

-34.37%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.12 KWD 0.96

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.97 KWD 1.53

Cappuccino

$5.21 KWD 1.61

$3.19 €2.86

63.32%

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

$0.70 KWD 0.22

$2.91 €2.61

-75.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 KWD 0.09

$1.89 €1.70

-84.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 €3.59

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €4.06

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 KWD 0.49

$1.31 €1.17

20.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 KWD 0.45

$2.02 €1.81

-27.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.98 KWD 0.61

$1.85 €1.66

7.03%

Eggs

$2.07 KWD 0.64

$4.83 €4.33

-57.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.42 KWD 1.36

$16.74 €14.99

-73.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 KWD 2.08

$9.12 €8.17

-26.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.17 KWD 3.14

$19.64 €17.59

-48.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.52 KWD 0.78

$2.98 €2.67

-15.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 KWD 0.59

$2.02 €1.81

-4.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 KWD 0.58

$2.70 €2.42

-30.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 KWD 0.46

$2.80 €2.51

-47.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.32 KWD 0.41

$2.09 €1.87

-36.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 KWD 0.46

$2.07 €1.85

-28.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 KWD 0.71

$1.46 €1.31

57.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 KWD 0.18

$0.94 €0.84

-39.36%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.15 KWD 0.97

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 KWD 0.32

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.39 KWD 0.43

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.69 KWD 0.83

$6.87 €6.15

-60.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.06

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.27

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 KWD 0.25

$3.14 €2.82

-74.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.79

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.87 KWD 1.50

$2.99 €2.68

62.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.30 KWD 1.02

$1.49 €1.34

121.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.86 KWD 4.89

$33.37 €29.89

-52.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.35 KWD 0.11

$1.80 €1.61

-80.56%

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

$23.6K KWD 7,264

$33.2K €29.7K

-28.99%

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

$19.5K KWD 6,017

$31.7K €28.4K

-38.41%

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

$66.5 KWD 20.48

$180 €162

-63.17%

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

$22.82 KWD 7.03

$13.84 €12.39

64.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.54 KWD 9.11

$33.70 €30.18

-12.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$102 KWD 31.38

$51.5 €46.13

97.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.29

Cinema Ticket

$12.90 KWD 3.97

$10.99 €9.85

17.38%

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

$503 KWD 155

$917 €821

-45.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,302 KWD 2,867

$16.5K €14.8K

-43.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.18 KWD 11.46

$87.0 €77.9

-57.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.66 KWD 12.22

$38.51 €34.49

2.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.4 KWD 30.02

$106 €94.8

-7.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.5 KWD 26.95

$120 €107

-26.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$796 KWD 245

$1,699 €1,522

-53.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$617 KWD 190

$1,355 €1,214

-54.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,694 KWD 522

$2,603 €2,331

-34.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,320 KWD 407

$2,062 €1,847

-36.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,915 €6,193

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,592

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,175 KWD 978

$2,211 €1,980

43.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.53

3.28

99.09%

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

Last update for Shaab: October 25, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Shaab

$617 44.5%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 120% $738

Eating Out

Shaab

$195 14.1%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 37.6% $73

Groceries & Markets

Shaab

$186 13.4%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 73% $136

Sport & Entertainment

Shaab

$128 9.2%

Barcelona

$74 3% 42.4% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shaab

$119 8.6%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 91.8% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Shaab

$118 8.5%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 34.1% $40

Getting Around

Shaab

$25 * 1.8%

Barcelona

$48 2% 97% $24

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 $796 in Shaab and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shaab pays 44% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $63 in Shaab vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $186 vs $322 per month, with Shaab cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇼 Shaab

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

03:54 3:54 AM

01:54 1:54 AM

2 h behind Shaab

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

164,212

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 KWD = 3.24 USD

1 KWD = 2.91 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to KWD – Kuwaiti Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇼 Kuwaiti Dinar (د.ك)

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.24 USD). 1 EUR = 0.344 KWD (1 KWD = 2.91 EUR).

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

USD to KWD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Shaab Barcelona 4,310 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Shaab
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

Shaab vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,386 in Shaab and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Shaab is about 43% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 44% higher in Shaab, 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: $796 in Shaab versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $503 in Shaab 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 Shaab – a meal for two runs $63 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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