Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Suzhou and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Suzhou: $876 a month against $2,405 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Suzhou
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Suzhou Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Suzhou

🇨🇳 China

$876

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,405

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $876 in Suzhou versus $2,405 in Barcelona.

Suzhou $876
Barcelona $2,405

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,504 in Suzhou versus $3,477 in Barcelona.

Suzhou $1,504
Barcelona $3,477

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,132 in Suzhou versus $4,550 in Barcelona.

Suzhou $2,132
Barcelona $4,550

Living in Suzhou costs roughly 64% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Suzhou is 35% below, Barcelona is 79% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.26 ¥28.48

$17.98 €16.05

-76.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.42 ¥197

$67.4 €60.2

-56.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.29 ¥35.36

$13.37 €11.93

-60.43%

Cappuccino

$3.38 ¥22.58

$3.34 €2.98

1.20%

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

$0.73 ¥4.86

$2.95 €2.64

-75.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.39 ¥2.59

$1.90 €1.69

-79.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.25 ¥15.05

$3.88 €3.46

-42.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ¥30.71

$4.57 €4.08

0.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 ¥12.61

$1.27 €1.13

48.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 ¥13.63

$1.96 €1.75

4.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 ¥8.63

$1.75 €1.56

-26.29%

Eggs

$1.82 ¥12.19

$4.89 €4.36

-62.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.80 ¥119

$17.47 €15.59

1.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.50 ¥23.36

$9.06 €8.09

-61.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.57 ¥57.3

$20.18 €18.01

-57.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.03 ¥13.58

$3.08 €2.75

-34.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.28 ¥8.54

$2.03 €1.81

-36.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.39 ¥9.27

$2.60 €2.32

-46.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ¥10.03

$2.71 €2.42

-44.65%

Potato (1kg)

$0.63 ¥4.21

$2.15 €1.92

-70.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 ¥7.79

$2.21 €1.97

-47.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.83 ¥5.56

$1.54 €1.38

-46.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ¥3.69

$0.93 €0.83

-40.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.56 ¥30.50

$7.09 €6.32

-35.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.01 ¥60.2

$7.63 €6.81

18.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 ¥7.11

$1.49 €1.33

-28.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 ¥13.77

$2.73 €2.43

-24.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.39 ¥2.59

$2.95 €2.63

-86.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.93 ¥294

$25.91 €23.13

69.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.73 ¥11.59

$3.13 €2.80

-44.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 ¥2.38

$1.45 €1.29

-75.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.20 ¥68.2

$34.17 €30.49

-70.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 ¥8.58

$1.79 €1.60

-28.49%

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

$19.6K ¥131.3K

$34.7K €31.0K

-43.35%

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

$17.7K ¥118.6K

$30.3K €27.0K

-41.42%

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

$99.4 ¥664

$181 €161

-44.99%

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

$12.81 ¥85.6

$13.56 €12.10

-5.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.12 ¥74.4

$35.12 €31.34

-68.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.16 ¥222

$53.2 €47.44

-37.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.47 ¥123

$16.05 €14.33

15.08%

Cinema Ticket

$5.85 ¥39.09

$11.37 €10.14

-48.55%

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

$1,213 ¥8,105

$939 €838

29.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.4K ¥143.0K

$16.5K €14.7K

29.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.4 ¥350

$88.2 €78.7

-40.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.14 ¥275

$39.77 €35.49

3.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.3 ¥557

$103 €92.3

-19.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.6 ¥578

$119 €107

-27.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$457 ¥3,057

$1,695 €1,513

-73.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$193 ¥1,292

$1,301 €1,161

-85.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 ¥6,902

$2,576 €2,299

-59.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$594 ¥3,971

$1,941 €1,732

-69.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,329 ¥35.6K

$7,470 €6,666

-28.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,773 ¥18.5K

$5,195 €4,636

-46.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,381 ¥9,231

$2,299 €2,052

-39.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.53

3.28

7.62%

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

Last update for Suzhou: October 3, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Suzhou

$221 25.5%

Barcelona

$325 13.5% 47.1% $104

Accommodation & Living

Suzhou

$193 22.3%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54% 573% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Suzhou

$123 14.3%

Barcelona

$229 9.5% 86% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Suzhou

$119 13.7%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 33.2% $39

Eating Out

Suzhou

$115 13.3%

Barcelona

$272 11.3% 136% $157

Getting Around

Suzhou

$49 5.7%

Barcelona

$48 2% 1.8% $0.9

Sport & Entertainment

Suzhou

$45 5.2%

Barcelona

$76 3.2% 69.2% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $457 in Suzhou and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 66% 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: $29.00 in Suzhou vs $67.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $221 vs $325 per month, with Suzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Suzhou

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

15:21 3:21 PM

09:21 9:21 AM

6 h behind Suzhou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,748,262

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.5 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 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

Suzhou Barcelona 9,760 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Suzhou
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

Suzhou vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Suzhou and Barcelona differ by about 175% in total monthly costs ($876 vs $2,405 including rent). Suzhou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 66% 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: $457 in Suzhou versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,213 in Suzhou 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 47% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $876 in Suzhou versus $2,405 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Suzhou but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Suzhou 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, Suzhou 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 Suzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 175% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.