Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surabaya and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Surabaya: $674 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Surabaya
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Surabaya Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Surabaya

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$674

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $674 in Surabaya versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Surabaya $674
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,173 in Surabaya versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Surabaya $1,173
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,672 in Surabaya versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Surabaya $1,672
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Surabaya 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: Surabaya is 50% below, Barcelona is 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.63 Rp 29.3K

$17.89 €15.92

-90.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.26 Rp 202.7K

$66.2 €58.9

-82.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.14 Rp 56.5K

$13.69 €12.18

-77.06%

Cappuccino

$1.56 Rp 28.0K

$3.06 €2.72

-49.02%

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

$0.55 Rp 9,867

$3.07 €2.73

-82.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 Rp 4,619

$1.94 €1.73

-86.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 Rp 38.9K

$3.87 €3.44

-44.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.14 Rp 74.5K

$4.61 €4.10

-10.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 Rp 22.5K

$1.30 €1.16

-3.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 Rp 22.9K

$2.10 €1.87

-39.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

$1.83 €1.62

-54.64%

Eggs

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$4.62 €4.11

-74.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.75 Rp 139.4K

$17.36 €15.44

-55.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.08 Rp 55.5K

$9.28 €8.25

-66.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.75 Rp 139.4K

$19.83 €17.64

-60.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 Rp 36.3K

$3.01 €2.68

-32.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.29 Rp 23.2K

$2.03 €1.81

-36.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 Rp 34.0K

$2.65 €2.36

-28.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 Rp 26.9K

$2.87 €2.55

-48.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.36 Rp 24.4K

$2.16 €1.92

-37.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 Rp 34.2K

$2.15 €1.91

-11.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 Rp 16.0K

$1.47 €1.31

-39.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.39 Rp 7,029

$0.88 €0.79

-55.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.98 Rp 35.7K

$6.93 €6.16

-71.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$25.14 Rp 452.5K

$7.83 €6.96

221.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 Rp 31.3K

$1.39 €1.24

25.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.83 Rp 50.9K

$2.63 €2.34

7.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 Rp 6,237

$2.91 €2.59

-87.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.46 Rp 8,282

$3.00 €2.66

-84.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.42 Rp 7,542

$1.44 €1.28

-70.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.58 Rp 46.4K

$33.20 €29.53

-92.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.88 Rp 15.8K

$1.86 €1.65

-52.69%

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

$24.6K Rp 443.1M

$32.3K €28.8K

-23.88%

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

$32.3K Rp 581.0M

$31.7K €28.2K

1.81%

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

$87.3 Rp 1.6M

$183 €163

-52.22%

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

$4.57 Rp 82.2K

$13.61 €12.11

-66.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.05 Rp 342.9K

$32.93 €29.29

-42.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.92 Rp 322.6K

$54.7 €48.65

-67.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.66 Rp 119.9K

$16.52 €14.70

-59.69%

Cinema Ticket

$2.64 Rp 47.5K

$11.23 €9.99

-76.49%

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

$277 Rp 5.0M

$954 €849

-70.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,324 Rp 167.8M

$16.6K €14.8K

-43.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.9 Rp 1.3M

$86.0 €76.5

-17.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.58 Rp 694.4K

$39.11 €34.78

-1.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.8 Rp 1.5M

$104 €92.2

-22.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$75.1 Rp 1.4M

$119 €106

-36.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$282 Rp 5.1M

$1,695 €1,508

-83.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$144 Rp 2.6M

$1,276 €1,135

-88.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,238 Rp 22.3M

$2,576 €2,291

-51.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$601 Rp 10.8M

$1,922 €1,710

-68.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,161 Rp 38.9M

$7,281 €6,477

-70.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,072 Rp 19.3M

$5,010 €4,456

-78.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$271 Rp 4.9M

$2,227 €1,981

-87.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.5

3.28

128.66%

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

Last update for Surabaya: October 20, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Surabaya

$209 31%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 55.7% $116

Accommodation & Living

Surabaya

$144 21.4%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 785% $1.1K

Clothing & Footwear

Surabaya

$119 17.7%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 30.9% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surabaya

$111 16.5%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 107% $118

Eating Out

Surabaya

$63 9.4%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 325% $206

Sport & Entertainment

Surabaya

$23 3.4%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 233% $54

Getting Around

Surabaya

$3.9 * 0.6%

Barcelona

$47 2% 1101% $43

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 $282 in Surabaya and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 723% 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: $11.00 in Surabaya vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $209 vs $325 per month, with Surabaya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Surabaya

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

19:30 7:30 PM

14:30 2:30 PM

5 h behind Surabaya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,765,487

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Surabaya Barcelona 12,250 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Surabaya
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

Surabaya vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Surabaya and Barcelona differ by about 253% in total monthly costs ($674 vs $2,381 including rent). Surabaya is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 723% 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: $282 in Surabaya versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $277 in Surabaya versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Surabaya – a meal for two runs $11.00 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $674 in Surabaya versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Surabaya but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Surabaya 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, Surabaya 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 Surabaya gentler on the wallet – expenses run 253% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.