Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shaoxing and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Shaoxing: $751 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Shaoxing
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Shaoxing Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Shaoxing

🇨🇳 China

$751

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $751 in Shaoxing versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Shaoxing $751
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,204 in Shaoxing versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Shaoxing $1,204
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,657 in Shaoxing versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Shaoxing $1,657
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Shaoxing costs roughly 68% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Shaoxing is 45% below, Barcelona is 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.72 ¥24.81

$17.89 €15.97

-79.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.22 ¥148

$66.2 €59.1

-66.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.31 ¥35.43

$13.69 €12.22

-61.21%

Cappuccino

$2.58 ¥17.20

$3.06 €2.73

-15.69%

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

$0.62 ¥4.15

$3.07 €2.74

-79.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 ¥2.38

$1.94 €1.73

-81.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.15 ¥7.66

$3.87 €3.45

-70.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 ¥14.64

$4.61 €4.11

-52.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 ¥11.97

$1.30 €1.16

38.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 ¥13.05

$2.10 €1.87

-6.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.75 ¥4.99

$1.83 €1.63

-59.02%

Eggs

$1.73 ¥11.55

$4.62 €4.13

-62.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 ¥77.8

$17.36 €15.49

-32.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.31 ¥22.05

$9.28 €8.28

-64.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.59 ¥70.6

$19.83 €17.70

-46.60%

Apples (1kg)

$1.78 ¥11.90

$3.01 €2.69

-40.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 ¥11.50

$2.03 €1.81

-15.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.72 ¥11.46

$2.65 €2.37

-35.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.09 ¥7.28

$2.87 €2.56

-62.02%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 ¥5.51

$2.16 €1.92

-61.57%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 ¥6.07

$2.15 €1.92

-57.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.65 ¥4.36

$1.47 €1.31

-55.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ¥3.87

$0.88 €0.79

-34.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.44 ¥22.92

$6.93 €6.18

-50.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.61 ¥70.8

$7.83 €6.98

35.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ¥5.13

$1.39 €1.24

-44.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 ¥10.81

$2.63 €2.35

-38.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 ¥1.54

$2.91 €2.60

-92.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.86 ¥133

$25.46 €22.72

-22.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.99 ¥13.25

$3.00 €2.67

-33.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 ¥2.87

$1.44 €1.29

-70.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.04 ¥60.3

$33.20 €29.63

-72.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 ¥8.93

$1.86 €1.66

-27.96%

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

$19.5K ¥129.8K

$32.3K €28.9K

-39.83%

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

$18.0K ¥120.4K

$31.7K €28.3K

-43.08%

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

$47.33 ¥316

$183 €163

-74.10%

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

$7.90 ¥52.7

$13.61 €12.15

-41.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.14 ¥61.0

$32.93 €29.39

-72.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.57 ¥104

$54.7 €48.81

-71.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.79 ¥45.32

$16.52 €14.75

-58.90%

Cinema Ticket

$6.82 ¥45.51

$11.23 €10.02

-39.27%

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

$844 ¥5,630

$954 €852

-11.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.9K ¥166.3K

$16.6K €14.8K

50.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.55 ¥270

$86.0 €76.8

-52.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.99 ¥213

$39.11 €34.90

-18.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.9 ¥513

$104 €92.5

-25.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 ¥708

$119 €106

-10.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$434 ¥2,898

$1,695 €1,513

-74.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$222 ¥1,484

$1,276 €1,139

-82.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$596 ¥3,977

$2,576 €2,299

-76.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$450 ¥3,000

$1,922 €1,716

-76.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,407 ¥42.7K

$7,281 €6,499

-12.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,558 ¥23.7K

$5,010 €4,471

-28.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$901 ¥6,009

$2,227 €1,987

-59.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

3.28

2.44%

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

Last update for Shaoxing: October 18, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Shaoxing

$222 29.6%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 474% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Shaoxing

$205 27.2%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 59% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Shaoxing

$115 15.3%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 36% $41

Eating Out

Shaoxing

$91 12.1%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 197% $179

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shaoxing

$64 8.6%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 256% $165

Sport & Entertainment

Shaoxing

$29 3.9%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 164% $48

Getting Around

Shaoxing

$25 3.3%

Barcelona

$47 2% 89.8% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $434 in Shaoxing and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2.5 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: $22 in Shaoxing vs $66 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $205 vs $325 per month, with Shaoxing cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Shaoxing

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

00:33 12:33 AM

17:33 5:33 PM

7 h behind Shaoxing

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912,239

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 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 October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 6.67 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.47 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Shaoxing Barcelona 9,870 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Shaoxing
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

Shaoxing vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shaoxing and Barcelona differ by about 217% in total monthly costs ($751 vs $2,381 including rent). Shaoxing is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 60% lower in Shaoxing. 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: $434 in Shaoxing versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $844 in Shaoxing 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 59% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $751 in Shaoxing versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Shaoxing but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Shaoxing 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 Shaoxing gentler on the wallet – expenses run 68% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.