Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shiga and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Shiga: $1,207 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Shiga
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Shiga Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Shiga

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,207

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Shiga versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Shiga $1,207
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,897 in Shiga versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Shiga $1,897
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,588 in Shiga versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Shiga $2,588
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Shiga costs roughly 51% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Shiga is 11% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.19 ¥976

$17.59 €15.76

-64.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.73 ¥5,003

$67.5 €60.5

-52.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.96 ¥782

$13.53 €12.12

-63.34%

Cappuccino

$2.95 ¥465

$3.19 €2.86

-7.52%

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

$1.31 ¥206

$2.91 €2.61

-54.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.70 ¥110

$1.89 €1.70

-62.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.76 ¥436

$4.01 €3.59

-31.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.53 ¥557

$4.53 €4.06

-22.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.28 ¥203

$1.31 €1.17

-2.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.24 ¥196

$2.02 €1.81

-38.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.89 ¥613

$1.85 €1.66

110.27%

Eggs

$2.04 ¥321

$4.83 €4.33

-57.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.45 ¥1,490

$16.74 €15.00

-43.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.19 ¥1,450

$9.12 €8.17

0.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.48 ¥2,914

$19.64 €17.60

-5.91%

Apples (1kg)

$3.44 ¥542

$2.98 €2.67

15.44%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 ¥320

$2.02 €1.81

0.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.04 ¥322

$2.70 €2.42

-24.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.97 ¥625

$2.80 €2.51

41.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 ¥240

$2.09 €1.87

-27.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 ¥179

$2.07 €1.85

-44.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 ¥215

$1.46 €1.31

-6.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 ¥137

$0.94 €0.84

-7.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.97 ¥626

$6.87 €6.16

-42.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.77 ¥1,541

$7.89 €7.07

23.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 ¥300

$1.41 €1.26

34.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 ¥493

$2.54 €2.27

23.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.16 ¥183

$3.14 €2.82

-63.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.2 ¥8,863

$25.45 €22.80

120.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.86 ¥609

$2.99 €2.68

29.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.20 ¥504

$1.49 €1.34

114.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.98 ¥3,466

$33.37 €29.91

-34.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 ¥172

$1.80 €1.61

-39.44%

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

$22.7K ¥3.6M

$33.2K €29.7K

-31.67%

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

$15.3K ¥2.4M

$31.7K €28.4K

-51.87%

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

$137 ¥21.6K

$180 €162

-24.01%

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

$24.58 ¥3,876

$13.84 €12.40

77.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.76 ¥2,957

$33.70 €30.20

-44.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.0 ¥8,202

$51.5 €46.16

0.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$12.55 ¥1,979

$10.99 €9.85

14.19%

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

$697 ¥110.0K

$917 €821

-23.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K ¥2.1M

$16.5K €14.8K

-18.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.59 ¥7,662

$87.0 €78.0

-44.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.84 ¥4,863

$38.51 €34.51

-19.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.3 ¥11.6K

$106 €94.8

-30.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.1 ¥14.2K

$120 €107

-24.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$551 ¥86.9K

$1,699 €1,523

-67.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$337 ¥53.1K

$1,355 €1,214

-75.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$998 ¥157.3K

$2,603 €2,332

-61.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$727 ¥114.7K

$2,062 €1,848

-64.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,617 ¥728.0K

$6,915 €6,196

-33.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,022 ¥318.8K

$5,128 €4,595

-60.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,210 ¥190.9K

$2,211 €1,981

-45.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.21

3.28

-32.62%

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

Last update for Shiga: October 27, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Shiga

$337 27.9%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 302% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Shiga

$294 24.4%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 9.4% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shiga

$180 15%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 26.3% $48

Eating Out

Shiga

$129 10.7%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 108% $139

Clothing & Footwear

Shiga

$109 9.1%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 44.5% $49

Getting Around

Shiga

$81 6.7%

Barcelona

$48 2% 39.9% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Shiga

$77 6.4%

Barcelona

$74 3% 4.7% $3.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $551 in Shiga and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 83% 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: $32 in Shiga vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $294 vs $322 per month, with Shiga cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Shiga

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

21:12 9:12 PM

13:12 1:12 PM

8 h behind Shiga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

23,836

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR).

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

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Shiga Barcelona 10,280 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Shiga
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

Shiga vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,207 in Shiga and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Shiga is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 45% lower in Shiga. 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: $551 in Shiga versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $697 in Shiga 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 9% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Shiga versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shiga but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Shiga 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, Shiga and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Shiga wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.