Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sohar and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Sohar: $1,430 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

69

Cost of Living Index in Sohar
Learn more

Sohar Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Sohar

🇴🇲 Oman

$1,430

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,430 in Sohar versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Sohar $1,430
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,095 in Sohar versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Sohar $2,095
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,759 in Sohar versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Sohar $2,759
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Sohar costs roughly 42% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sohar 5% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.35 OMR 2.45

$17.59 €15.76

-63.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.17 OMR 8.15

$67.5 €60.5

-68.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.17 OMR 3.53

$13.53 €12.12

-32.22%

Cappuccino

$4.93 OMR 1.90

$3.19 €2.86

54.55%

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

$0.69 OMR 0.26

$2.91 €2.61

-76.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 OMR 0.12

$1.89 €1.70

-84.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.15 OMR 5.06

$4.01 €3.59

227.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$14.51 OMR 5.59

$4.53 €4.06

220.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 OMR 0.82

$1.31 €1.17

62.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 OMR 0.43

$2.02 €1.81

-45.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.27 OMR 1.26

$1.85 €1.66

76.76%

Eggs

$2.69 OMR 1.04

$4.83 €4.33

-44.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.27 OMR 5.11

$16.74 €15.00

-20.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.06 OMR 3.49

$9.12 €8.17

-0.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.23 OMR 5.48

$19.64 €17.60

-27.55%

Apples (1kg)

$3.22 OMR 1.24

$2.98 €2.67

8.05%

Banana (1kg)

$2.21 OMR 0.85

$2.02 €1.81

9.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 OMR 0.98

$2.70 €2.42

-5.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.17 OMR 0.45

$2.80 €2.51

-58.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 OMR 0.71

$2.09 €1.87

-12.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 OMR 0.72

$2.07 €1.85

-9.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.73 OMR 0.67

$1.46 €1.31

18.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 OMR 0.35

$0.94 €0.84

-2.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.96 OMR 2.29

$6.87 €6.16

-13.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$26.26 OMR 10.11

$7.89 €7.07

232.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.99 OMR 1.54

$1.41 €1.26

182.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.51 OMR 3.28

$2.54 €2.27

235.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.54 OMR 0.98

$3.14 €2.82

-19.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$51.9 OMR 19.98

$25.45 €22.80

103.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.23 OMR 1.24

$2.99 €2.68

8.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.60 OMR 0.62

$1.49 €1.34

7.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.34 OMR 3.98

$33.37 €29.91

-69.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.64 OMR 0.25

$1.80 €1.61

-64.44%

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

$18.3K OMR 7,060

$33.2K €29.7K

-44.75%

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

$20.2K OMR 7,758

$31.7K €28.4K

-36.43%

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

$104 OMR 39.96

$180 €162

-42.48%

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

$29.67 OMR 11.42

$13.84 €12.40

114.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$87.6 OMR 33.71

$33.70 €30.20

159.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.50 OMR 19.06

$51.5 €46.16

-3.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.96 €14.30

Cinema Ticket

$11.74 OMR 4.52

$10.99 €9.85

6.82%

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

$294 OMR 113

$917 €821

-67.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,986 OMR 2,690

$16.5K €14.8K

-57.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.2 OMR 19.72

$87.0 €78.0

-41.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.66 OMR 16.81

$38.51 €34.51

13.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.2 OMR 30.86

$106 €94.8

-24.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$47.50 OMR 18.29

$120 €107

-60.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$489 OMR 188

$1,699 €1,523

-71.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 OMR 147

$1,355 €1,214

-71.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$809 OMR 312

$2,603 €2,332

-68.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$674 OMR 260

$2,062 €1,848

-67.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,153 OMR 444

$6,915 €6,196

-83.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$767 OMR 295

$5,128 €4,595

-85.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,503 OMR 964

$2,211 €1,981

13.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.33

3.28

92.99%

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

Last update for Sohar: October 26, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sohar

$381 26.6%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 256% $975

Groceries & Markets

Sohar

$346 24.2%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 7% $24

Eating Out

Sohar

$236 16.5%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 13.4% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sohar

$221 15.5%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 3.1% $6.9

Clothing & Footwear

Sohar

$100 7%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 57.7% $58

Getting Around

Sohar

$73 5.1%

Barcelona

$48 2% 33.9% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Sohar

$73 5.1%

Barcelona

$74 3% 0.7% $0.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $489 in Sohar and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sohar pays 13% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $21 in Sohar vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $346 vs $322, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇴🇲 Sohar

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

14:01 2:01 PM

11:01 11:01 AM

3 h behind Sohar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

221,605

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.33 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to OMR – Omani Rial Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇴🇲 Omani Rial (ر.ع.)

Omani Rial exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.43 OMR (1 OMR = 2.33 EUR).

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

USD to OMR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sohar Barcelona 5,340 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Sohar
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

Sohar vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,430 in Sohar and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Sohar is about 42% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 13% higher in Sohar, 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: $489 in Sohar versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $294 in Sohar versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Barcelona pay roughly 7% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

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