Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shantou and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Shantou: $691 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Shantou
Learn more

Shantou Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Shantou

🇨🇳 China

$691

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $691 in Shantou versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Shantou $691
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,107 in Shantou versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Shantou $1,107
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,524 in Shantou versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Shantou $1,524
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Shantou costs roughly 72% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Shantou is 49% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ¥15.17

$17.59 €15.76

-87.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.55 ¥157

$67.5 €60.5

-65.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.27 ¥35.00

$13.53 €12.12

-61.05%

Cappuccino

$3.29 ¥21.86

$3.19 €2.86

3.13%

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

$0.47 ¥3.14

$2.91 €2.61

-83.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ¥2.04

$1.89 €1.70

-83.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.93 ¥6.21

$4.01 €3.59

-76.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 ¥14.78

$4.53 €4.06

-50.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.61 ¥10.68

$1.31 €1.17

22.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 ¥9.77

$2.02 €1.81

-27.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.78 ¥5.17

$1.85 €1.66

-57.84%

Eggs

$1.70 ¥11.32

$4.83 €4.33

-64.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.70 ¥91.0

$16.74 €15.00

-18.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.29 ¥21.86

$9.12 €8.17

-63.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.93 ¥86.0

$19.64 €17.60

-34.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 ¥13.63

$2.98 €2.67

-31.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 ¥10.46

$2.02 €1.81

-22.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 ¥12.16

$2.70 €2.42

-32.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.38 ¥9.15

$2.80 €2.51

-50.71%

Potato (1kg)

$0.85 ¥5.67

$2.09 €1.87

-59.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 ¥6.71

$2.07 €1.85

-51.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.59 ¥3.94

$1.46 €1.31

-59.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 ¥2.84

$0.94 €0.84

-54.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.77 ¥25.06

$6.87 €6.16

-45.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.80 ¥78.4

$7.89 €7.07

49.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 ¥5.55

$1.41 €1.26

-40.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 ¥11.57

$2.54 €2.27

-31.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.38 ¥2.54

$3.14 €2.82

-87.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.13 ¥160

$25.45 €22.80

-5.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.46 ¥9.71

$2.99 €2.68

-51.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ¥2.58

$1.49 €1.34

-73.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.39 ¥49.13

$33.37 €29.91

-77.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 ¥8.27

$1.80 €1.61

-31.11%

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

$19.7K ¥130.9K

$33.2K €29.7K

-40.66%

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

$18.2K ¥120.8K

$31.7K €28.4K

-42.64%

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

$58.3 ¥388

$180 €162

-67.67%

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

$9.17 ¥60.9

$13.84 €12.40

-33.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.84 ¥92.0

$33.70 €30.20

-58.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.16

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$7.42 ¥49.29

$10.99 €9.85

-32.48%

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

$527 ¥3,505

$917 €821

-42.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.3K ¥161.8K

$16.5K €14.8K

47.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 ¥367

$87.0 €78.0

-36.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.48 ¥269

$38.51 €34.51

5.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.4 ¥481

$106 €94.8

-31.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.9 ¥617

$120 €107

-22.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$295 ¥1,963

$1,699 €1,523

-82.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$148 ¥984

$1,355 €1,214

-89.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$590 ¥3,924

$2,603 €2,332

-77.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$301 ¥1,998

$2,062 €1,848

-85.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,209 ¥14.7K

$6,915 €6,196

-68.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,479 ¥29.8K

$5,128 €4,595

-12.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,070 ¥7,110

$2,211 €1,981

-51.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.35

3.28

2.13%

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

Last update for Shantou: 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

Shantou

$214 31%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 50.2% $108

Accommodation & Living

Shantou

$148 21.4%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 815% $1.2K

Clothing & Footwear

Shantou

$117 17%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 34.5% $41

Eating Out

Shantou

$86 12.4%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 212% $182

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shantou

$81 11.8%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 180% $147

Getting Around

Shantou

$29 4.2%

Barcelona

$48 2% 66.7% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Shantou

$15 * 2.2%

Barcelona

$74 3% 395% $59

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 $295 in Shantou and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.1 times 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: $24 in Shantou vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $214 vs $322 per month, with Shantou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Shantou

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

16:31 4:31 PM

09:31 9:31 AM

7 h behind Shantou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,389,328

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

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

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Shantou Barcelona 10,160 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Shantou
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

Shantou vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $691 in Shantou and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Shantou is about 72% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 52% lower in Shantou. 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: $295 in Shantou versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $527 in Shantou 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 50% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $691 in Shantou versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Shantou but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Shantou 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.

Expats usually find Shantou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 72% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.