Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Xiamen and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Xiamen: $832 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $19,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Xiamen
Learn more

Xiamen Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Xiamen

🇨🇳 China

$832

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $832 in Xiamen versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Xiamen $832
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,337 in Xiamen versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Xiamen $1,337
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,842 in Xiamen versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Xiamen $1,842
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Xiamen costs roughly 66% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Xiamen is 39% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.93 ¥19.49

$17.59 €15.71

-83.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.60 ¥157

$67.5 €60.3

-65.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.20 ¥34.52

$13.53 €12.08

-61.57%

Cappuccino

$2.57 ¥17.06

$3.19 €2.85

-19.44%

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

$0.47 ¥3.10

$2.91 €2.60

-83.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.35 ¥2.35

$1.89 €1.69

-81.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 ¥10.06

$4.01 €3.58

-62.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 ¥19.57

$4.53 €4.04

-34.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 ¥9.76

$1.31 €1.17

12.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 ¥15.14

$2.02 €1.80

12.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.95 ¥6.30

$1.85 €1.65

-48.65%

Eggs

$1.64 ¥10.87

$4.83 €4.32

-66.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.02 ¥79.8

$16.74 €14.95

-28.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.45 ¥16.24

$9.12 €8.14

-73.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.76 ¥78.1

$19.64 €17.53

-40.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 ¥17.16

$2.98 €2.66

-13.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 ¥9.80

$2.02 €1.80

-26.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 ¥11.10

$2.70 €2.41

-38.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ¥13.23

$2.80 €2.50

-28.93%

Potato (1kg)

$0.97 ¥6.47

$2.09 €1.86

-53.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.81 ¥12.04

$2.07 €1.85

-12.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 ¥6.15

$1.46 €1.30

-36.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 ¥3.61

$0.94 €0.84

-42.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.92 ¥19.36

$6.87 €6.14

-57.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.38 ¥75.6

$7.89 €7.04

44.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 ¥5.28

$1.41 €1.26

-43.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 ¥11.55

$2.54 €2.26

-31.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.16 ¥1.08

$3.14 €2.81

-94.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.93 ¥79.2

$25.45 €22.72

-53.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.46 ¥9.67

$2.99 €2.67

-51.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 ¥1.91

$1.49 €1.33

-80.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.39 ¥49.07

$33.37 €29.80

-77.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ¥8.84

$1.80 €1.61

-26.11%

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

$19.7K ¥131.1K

$33.2K €29.6K

-40.52%

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

$17.6K ¥116.7K

$31.7K €28.3K

-44.58%

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

$43.23 ¥287

$180 €161

-76.04%

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

$8.70 ¥57.8

$13.84 €12.36

-37.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.38 ¥68.9

$33.70 €30.09

-69.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.30 ¥314

$51.5 €46.00

-8.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.31 ¥68.5

$15.96 €14.25

-35.40%

Cinema Ticket

$10.24 ¥68.0

$10.99 €9.82

-6.82%

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

$496 ¥3,297

$917 €819

-45.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.8K ¥164.7K

$16.5K €14.7K

50.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.20 ¥260

$87.0 €77.7

-54.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.55 ¥196

$38.51 €34.39

-23.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 ¥710

$106 €94.5

1.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.5 ¥561

$120 €107

-29.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$352 ¥2,341

$1,699 €1,518

-79.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$266 ¥1,766

$1,355 €1,210

-80.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$841 ¥5,587

$2,603 €2,324

-67.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$544 ¥3,610

$2,062 €1,842

-73.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,588 ¥57.0K

$6,915 €6,175

24.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,847 ¥32.2K

$5,128 €4,579

-5.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,179 ¥7,833

$2,211 €1,974

-46.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

3.28

5.49%

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

Last update for Xiamen: October 24, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Xiamen

$266 32%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 410% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Xiamen

$217 26.1%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 48.4% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Xiamen

$117 14.1%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 34.9% $41

Eating Out

Xiamen

$87 10.4%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 209% $181

Sport & Entertainment

Xiamen

$68 8.2%

Barcelona

$74 3% 8.4% $5.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Xiamen

$62 7.5%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 266% $166

Getting Around

Xiamen

$15 1.9%

Barcelona

$48 2% 213% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $352 in Xiamen and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 87% 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: $24 in Xiamen vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $217 vs $322 per month, with Xiamen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Xiamen

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

07:57 7:57 AM

00:57 12:57 AM

7 h behind Xiamen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,531,000

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.151 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 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 30, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 CNY (1 CNY = 0.151 USD). 1 EUR = 7.44 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 30, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Xiamen Barcelona 10,160 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Xiamen
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

Xiamen vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $832 in Xiamen and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Xiamen is about 66% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 47% lower in Xiamen. 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: $352 in Xiamen versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $496 in Xiamen 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 48% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $832 in Xiamen versus $2,453 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Xiamen but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Xiamen 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.

Expats usually find Xiamen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.