Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sharjah and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Sharjah: $1,841 a month against $2,405 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Sharjah
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Sharjah Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Sharjah

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$1,841

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,405

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,841 in Sharjah versus $2,405 in Barcelona.

Sharjah $1,841
Barcelona $2,405

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,576 in Sharjah versus $3,477 in Barcelona.

Sharjah $2,576
Barcelona $3,477

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,312 in Sharjah versus $4,550 in Barcelona.

Sharjah $3,312
Barcelona $4,550

Living in Sharjah costs roughly 23% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sharjah 37% above, Barcelona 79% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.97 AED 21.92

$17.98 €16.05

-66.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.91 AED 121

$67.4 €60.2

-51.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.29 AED 30.45

$13.37 €11.93

-38.00%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.54 AED 35.05

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.35 AED 34.35

Cappuccino

$3.82 AED 14.02

$3.34 €2.98

14.37%

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

$0.80 AED 2.93

$2.95 €2.64

-72.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 AED 1.05

$1.90 €1.69

-84.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.88 €3.46

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 €4.08

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 AED 5.64

$1.27 €1.13

21.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 AED 4.38

$1.96 €1.75

-39.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 AED 6.71

$1.75 €1.56

4.57%

Eggs

$3.21 AED 11.80

$4.89 €4.36

-34.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.64 AED 31.73

$17.47 €15.59

-50.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.63 AED 24.36

$9.06 €8.09

-26.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.46 AED 42.09

$20.18 €18.01

-43.21%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 AED 8.33

$3.08 €2.75

-26.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 AED 6.12

$2.03 €1.81

-17.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.30 AED 4.78

$2.60 €2.32

-50.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.28 AED 4.72

$2.71 €2.42

-52.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 AED 3.79

$2.15 €1.92

-52.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 AED 4.12

$2.21 €1.97

-49.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 AED 5.26

$1.54 €1.38

-7.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 AED 2.23

$0.93 €0.83

-34.41%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$15.53 AED 57.0

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 AED 8.88

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 AED 9.50

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 AED 23.19

$7.09 €6.32

-11.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.63 €6.81

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 €1.33

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 €2.43

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.16 AED 7.92

$2.95 €2.63

-26.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.07 AED 99.4

$25.91 €23.13

4.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.65 AED 13.42

$3.13 €2.80

16.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 AED 1.91

$1.45 €1.29

-64.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.07 AED 44.33

$34.17 €30.49

-64.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.94 AED 3.46

$1.79 €1.60

-47.49%

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

$45.2K AED 166.0K

$34.7K €31.0K

30.30%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$30.3K €27.0K

-27.31%

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

$208 AED 766

$181 €161

15.39%

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

$49.40 AED 181

$13.56 €12.10

264.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$96.1 AED 353

$35.12 €31.34

173.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.5 AED 196

$53.2 €47.44

0.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.29 AED 81.9

$16.05 €14.33

38.88%

Cinema Ticket

$13.54 AED 49.72

$11.37 €10.14

19.09%

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

$325 AED 1,194

$939 €838

-65.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,433 AED 31.0K

$16.5K €14.7K

-48.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.6 AED 212

$88.2 €78.7

-34.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$78.0 AED 286

$39.77 €35.49

96.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 AED 401

$103 €92.3

5.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.1 AED 353

$119 €107

-19.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$823 AED 3,024

$1,695 €1,513

-51.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 AED 3,329

$1,301 €1,161

-30.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,797 AED 6,598

$2,576 €2,299

-30.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 AED 5,148

$1,941 €1,732

-27.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,241 AED 30.3K

$7,470 €6,666

10.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,748 AED 10.1K

$5,195 €4,636

-47.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,191 AED 8,045

$2,299 €2,052

-4.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.5

3.28

37.20%

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

Last update for Sharjah: October 5, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sharjah

$906 49%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54% 43.5% $394

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sharjah

$354 19.1%

Barcelona

$229 9.5% 35.2% $125

Groceries & Markets

Sharjah

$192 10.4%

Barcelona

$325 13.5% 69.1% $133

Clothing & Footwear

Sharjah

$153 8.3%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 2.9% $4.5

Eating Out

Sharjah

$123 6.6%

Barcelona

$272 11.3% 122% $149

Sport & Entertainment

Sharjah

$81 4.4%

Barcelona

$76 3.2% 5.8% $4.7

Getting Around

Sharjah

$42 2.3%

Barcelona

$48 2% 14.7% $6.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $823 in Sharjah and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 5% 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: $33.00 in Sharjah vs $67.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $192 vs $325 per month, with Sharjah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Sharjah

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

11:44 11:44 AM

09:44 9:44 AM

2 h behind Sharjah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,400,000

1,660,122

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sharjah Barcelona 5,170 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Sharjah
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

Sharjah vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sharjah and Barcelona differ by about 31% in total monthly costs ($1,841 vs $2,405 including rent). Sharjah is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 5% lower in Barcelona. 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: $823 in Sharjah versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $325 in Sharjah versus $939 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 69% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,841 in Sharjah versus $2,405 in Barcelona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Sharjah but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Sharjah 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, Sharjah 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.

Expats usually find Sharjah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.