Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taif and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Taif: $1,271 a month against $2,443 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Taif
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Taif Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Taif

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,271

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,443

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,271 in Taif versus $2,443 in Barcelona.

Taif $1,271
Barcelona $2,443

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,863 in Taif versus $3,519 in Barcelona.

Taif $1,863
Barcelona $3,519

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,456 in Taif versus $4,595 in Barcelona.

Taif $2,456
Barcelona $4,595

Living in Taif costs roughly 48% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Taif is 6% below, Barcelona is 81% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.39 SAR 20.22

$17.66 €15.73

-69.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.10 SAR 139

$67.5 €60.1

-45.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.55 SAR 28.35

$13.61 €12.13

-44.53%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.17 SAR 8.14

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.36 SAR 5.11

Cappuccino

$2.20 SAR 8.27

$3.10 €2.76

-29.03%

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

$0.63 SAR 2.37

$3.00 €2.67

-79.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.22 SAR 0.81

$1.93 €1.72

-88.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 €3.42

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.88

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 SAR 6.80

$1.25 €1.11

44.80%

White Bread (500g)

$0.28 SAR 1.05

$2.12 €1.89

-86.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 SAR 8.74

$1.97 €1.76

18.27%

Eggs

$2.68 SAR 10.05

$4.76 €4.24

-43.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.82 SAR 21.83

$17.07 €15.20

-65.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.93 SAR 26.01

$8.96 €7.98

-22.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.46 SAR 35.52

$20.65 €18.39

-54.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.45 SAR 9.19

$3.16 €2.82

-22.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 SAR 6.56

$1.97 €1.75

-11.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 SAR 6.82

$2.65 €2.36

-31.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.87 SAR 7.02

$2.88 €2.57

-35.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.34 SAR 5.04

$2.06 €1.83

-34.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.44 SAR 5.41

$2.18 €1.94

-33.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.91 SAR 3.42

$1.53 €1.37

-40.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 SAR 2.92

$0.97 €0.86

-19.59%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.01 SAR 11.32

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 SAR 5.38

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 SAR 7.75

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.98 SAR 26.20

$6.97 €6.21

0.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.89 €7.03

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.26

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 €2.39

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.07 SAR 4.03

$3.31 €2.95

-67.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.71 SAR 142

$25.61 €22.81

47.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.36 SAR 5.11

$3.08 €2.75

-55.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.96 SAR 7.34

$1.48 €1.32

32.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.54 SAR 35.80

$32.87 €29.28

-70.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.64 SAR 2.40

$1.87 €1.66

-65.78%

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

$26.8K SAR 100.6K

$33.0K €29.4K

-18.71%

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

$21.4K SAR 80.5K

$31.9K €28.5K

-32.87%

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

$141 SAR 530

$183 €163

-22.79%

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

$27.63 SAR 104

$14.24 €12.69

94.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$68.4 SAR 257

$34.56 €30.79

97.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$143 SAR 538

$51.4 €45.81

179.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.26 SAR 49.75

$16.38 €14.60

-19.05%

Cinema Ticket

$19.64 SAR 73.7

$11.06 €9.86

77.58%

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

$187 SAR 701

$944 €841

-80.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,348 SAR 12.6K

$22.3K €19.8K

-84.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.65 SAR 156

$87.7 €78.1

-52.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.6 SAR 190

$38.77 €34.54

30.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.2 SAR 354

$105 €93.1

-9.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.6 SAR 325

$118 €105

-26.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$569 SAR 2,136

$1,697 €1,512

-66.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$399 SAR 1,496

$1,337 €1,191

-70.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$897 SAR 3,366

$2,692 €2,398

-66.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$610 SAR 2,288

$2,077 €1,850

-70.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,992 SAR 7,478

$7,155 €6,373

-72.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,188 SAR 4,459

$5,079 €4,524

-76.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,573 SAR 5,905

$2,241 €1,997

-29.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.54

3.19

73.67%

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

Last update for Taif: November 1, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Taif

$399 31.4%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.7% 235% $938

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taif

$237 18.7%

Barcelona

$232 9.5% 2.3% $5.5

Sport & Entertainment

Taif

$183 14.4%

Barcelona

$74 3% 59.8% $109

Groceries & Markets

Taif

$181 14.2%

Barcelona

$328 13.4% 81.4% $147

Clothing & Footwear

Taif

$123 9.7%

Barcelona

$157 6.4% 27.7% $34

Eating Out

Taif

$96 7.5%

Barcelona

$267 10.9% 179% $171

Getting Around

Taif

$53 4.2%

Barcelona

$49 2% 7.2% $3.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $569 in Taif and $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 42% 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: $37 in Taif vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $181 vs $328 per month, with Taif cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Taif

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

21:39 9:39 PM

19:39 7:39 PM

2 h behind Taif

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

579,970

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Taif Barcelona 4,220 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Taif
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

Taif vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,271 in Taif and $2,443 in Barcelona, so Taif is about 48% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 30% lower in Taif. 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: $569 in Taif versus $1,697 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $187 in Taif versus $944 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 81% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Taif is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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

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