Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Welkom and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Welkom: $1,056 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Welkom
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Welkom Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Welkom

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,056

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,056 in Welkom versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Welkom $1,056
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,603 in Welkom versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Welkom $1,603
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,150 in Welkom versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Welkom $2,150
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Welkom costs roughly 56% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Welkom is 22% below, Barcelona is 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.27 R 153

$17.89 €15.92

-48.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.37 R 352

$66.2 €58.9

-67.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.27 R 86.8

$13.69 €12.18

-61.50%

Cappuccino

$2.32 R 38.18

$3.06 €2.72

-24.18%

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

$0.51 R 8.34

$3.07 €2.73

-83.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.58 R 9.61

$1.94 €1.73

-70.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 R 20.29

$3.87 €3.44

-68.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 R 25.57

$4.61 €4.10

-66.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.00 R 16.52

$1.30 €1.16

-23.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.01 R 16.68

$2.10 €1.87

-51.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.37 R 22.56

$1.83 €1.62

-25.14%

Eggs

$1.88 R 30.94

$4.62 €4.11

-59.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.82 R 112

$17.36 €15.44

-60.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.72 R 77.8

$9.28 €8.25

-49.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.01 R 82.5

$19.83 €17.64

-74.74%

Apples (1kg)

$1.53 R 25.22

$3.01 €2.68

-49.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.58

$2.03 €1.81

-17.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.72 R 28.41

$2.65 €2.36

-35.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.21 R 19.92

$2.87 €2.55

-57.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 R 18.05

$2.16 €1.92

-49.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 R 20.48

$2.15 €1.91

-42.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 R 15.37

$1.47 €1.31

-36.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 R 22.31

$0.88 €0.79

53.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.45 R 40.31

$6.93 €6.16

-64.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$2.44 R 40.21

$7.83 €6.96

-68.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 R 25.22

$1.39 €1.24

10.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 R 29.41

$2.63 €2.34

-32.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.46 R 23.99

$2.91 €2.59

-49.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.64

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.31 R 5.17

$3.00 €2.66

-89.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.81 R 13.39

$1.44 €1.28

-43.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.69 R 242

$33.20 €29.53

-55.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 R 25.84

$1.86 €1.65

-15.59%

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

$35.2K R 579.2K

$32.3K €28.8K

8.71%

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

$34.6K R 570.3K

$31.7K €28.2K

9.19%

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

$152 R 2,502

$183 €163

-16.90%

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

$37.50 R 618

$13.61 €12.11

175.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.90 R 624

$32.93 €29.29

15.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.20 R 531

$54.7 €48.65

-41.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.68 R 159

$16.52 €14.70

-41.40%

Cinema Ticket

$7.18 R 118

$11.23 €9.99

-36.06%

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

$260 R 4,279

$954 €849

-72.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,614 R 92.5K

$16.6K €14.8K

-66.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.6 R 883

$86.0 €76.5

-37.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.13 R 529

$39.11 €34.78

-17.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.4 R 1,506

$104 €92.2

-11.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.4 R 1,357

$119 €106

-30.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$392 R 6,457

$1,695 €1,508

-76.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$359 R 5,920

$1,276 €1,135

-71.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$733 R 12.1K

$2,576 €2,291

-71.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$743 R 12.2K

$1,922 €1,710

-61.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$749 R 12.3K

$7,281 €6,477

-89.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$651 R 10.7K

$5,010 €4,456

-87.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,981

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.34

3.28

245.73%

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

Last update for Welkom: October 17, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Welkom

$359 34%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 255% $917

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Welkom

$227 21.5%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 0.9% $2

Groceries & Markets

Welkom

$165 15.6%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 97.3% $160

Eating Out

Welkom

$131 12.4%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 105% $138

Clothing & Footwear

Welkom

$117 11.1%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 33.9% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Welkom

$47 4.4%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 65.7% $31

Getting Around

Welkom

$10 * 1%

Barcelona

$47 2% 364% $37

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 $392 in Welkom and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $21.00 in Welkom vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $165 vs $325 per month, with Welkom cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Welkom

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

16:23 4:23 PM

Same time as Welkom

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

64,130

1,660,122

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

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

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Welkom Barcelona 8,120 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Welkom
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

Welkom vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Welkom and Barcelona differ by about 125% in total monthly costs ($1,056 vs $2,381 including rent). Welkom is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,584 in Welkom and $3,571 in Barcelona to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $392 in Welkom versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $260 in Welkom 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 Welkom – a meal for two runs $21.00 versus $66.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,056 in Welkom versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Welkom but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Welkom 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, Welkom 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 Welkom gentler on the wallet – expenses run 125% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.