Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tawau and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Tawau: $932 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Tawau
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Tawau Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Tawau

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$932

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $932 in Tawau versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Tawau $932
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,391 in Tawau versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Tawau $1,391
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,851 in Tawau versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Tawau $1,851
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Tawau costs roughly 62% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tawau is 32% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.24 MYR 13.22

$17.59 €15.80

-81.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.61 MYR 79.9

$67.5 €60.6

-70.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.20 MYR 17.13

$13.53 €12.15

-68.96%

Cappuccino

$3.06 MYR 12.46

$3.19 €2.87

-4.08%

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

$0.94 MYR 3.81

$2.91 €2.62

-67.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 MYR 1.45

$1.89 €1.70

-80.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.71 MYR 11.04

$4.01 €3.60

-32.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 MYR 18.68

$4.53 €4.07

1.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 MYR 7.28

$1.31 €1.17

36.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.03 MYR 4.20

$2.02 €1.81

-49.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 MYR 5.82

$1.85 €1.66

-22.70%

Eggs

$2.24 MYR 9.15

$4.83 €4.34

-53.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 MYR 47.71

$16.74 €15.03

-30.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.38 MYR 17.86

$9.12 €8.19

-51.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.45 MYR 38.50

$19.64 €17.64

-51.88%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MYR 12.63

$2.98 €2.68

4.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 MYR 6.25

$2.02 €1.81

-24.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.54 MYR 10.36

$2.70 €2.43

-5.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 MYR 5.53

$2.80 €2.52

-51.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.41 MYR 5.75

$2.09 €1.87

-32.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.46 MYR 5.93

$2.07 €1.86

-29.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 MYR 4.60

$1.46 €1.31

-22.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 MYR 2.10

$0.94 €0.84

-44.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.44 MYR 18.09

$6.87 €6.17

-35.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.05 MYR 77.6

$7.89 €7.08

141.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.03 MYR 12.33

$1.41 €1.26

114.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 MYR 18.73

$2.54 €2.28

81.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 MYR 2.83

$3.14 €2.82

-78.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.10 MYR 45.21

$25.45 €22.86

-56.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 MYR 4.89

$2.99 €2.69

-59.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.54 MYR 2.19

$1.49 €1.34

-63.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.62 MYR 31.05

$33.37 €29.98

-77.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.78 MYR 3.17

$1.80 €1.61

-56.67%

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

$51.4K MYR 209.3K

$33.2K €29.8K

54.79%

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

$34.9K MYR 142.0K

$31.7K €28.5K

9.96%

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

$50.5 MYR 206

$180 €162

-72.00%

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

$10.55 MYR 42.97

$13.84 €12.43

-23.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.09 MYR 114

$33.70 €30.27

-16.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.09 MYR 176

$51.5 €46.27

-16.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.77 MYR 27.60

$15.96 €14.34

-57.58%

Cinema Ticket

$3.71 MYR 15.12

$10.99 €9.88

-66.24%

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

$240 MYR 979

$917 €823

-73.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,864 MYR 32.0K

$16.5K €14.8K

-52.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.7 MYR 227

$87.0 €78.2

-36.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.86 MYR 146

$38.51 €34.59

-6.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.4 MYR 307

$106 €95.1

-28.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.2 MYR 278

$120 €108

-43.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$460 MYR 1,875

$1,699 €1,527

-72.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$315 MYR 1,284

$1,355 €1,217

-76.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$780 MYR 3,178

$2,603 €2,338

-70.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$519 MYR 2,115

$2,062 €1,853

-74.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,240 MYR 9,125

$6,915 €6,211

-67.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,307 MYR 5,325

$5,128 €4,606

-74.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$424 MYR 1,727

$2,211 €1,986

-80.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

3.28

23.78%

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

Last update for Tawau: 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

Tawau

$315 33.8%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 330% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Tawau

$250 26.9%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 28.6% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Tawau

$106 11.4%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 49.3% $52

Eating Out

Tawau

$103 11.1%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 160% $165

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tawau

$89 9.6%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 156% $139

Sport & Entertainment

Tawau

$51 5.4%

Barcelona

$74 3% 45.5% $23

Getting Around

Tawau

$18 1.9%

Barcelona

$48 2% 173% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $460 in Tawau and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 5.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $20 in Tawau vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $250 vs $322 per month, with Tawau cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Tawau

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

06:58 6:58 AM

23:58 11:58 PM

7 h behind Tawau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

420,806

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Tawau Barcelona 11,790 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Tawau
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

Tawau vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $932 in Tawau and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Tawau is about 62% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 81% lower in Tawau. 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: $460 in Tawau versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $240 in Tawau 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 29% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Tawau 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, Tawau and Barcelona are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Tawau gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.