Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Yantai and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Yantai: $629 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Yantai
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Yantai Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Yantai

🇨🇳 China

$629

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $629 in Yantai versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Yantai $629
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $926 in Yantai versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Yantai $926
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,223 in Yantai versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Yantai $1,223
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Yantai costs roughly 74% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Yantai is 53% below, Barcelona is 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.92 ¥19.55

$17.94 €15.96

-83.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.14 ¥121

$68.1 €60.5

-73.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.58 ¥30.65

$13.28 €11.81

-65.51%

Cappuccino

$2.81 ¥18.78

$3.25 €2.89

-13.54%

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

$0.54 ¥3.58

$3.01 €2.67

-82.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 ¥2.15

$1.87 €1.66

-82.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.05 ¥7.01

$3.85 €3.42

-72.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.60 ¥17.39

$4.48 €3.98

-41.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 ¥13.11

$1.29 €1.15

51.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 ¥9.01

$2.04 €1.81

-33.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.83 ¥5.58

$1.72 €1.53

-51.74%

Eggs

$1.35 ¥9.02

$4.77 €4.24

-71.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.32 ¥109

$16.77 €14.92

-2.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.28 ¥21.94

$8.93 €7.94

-63.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.89 ¥46.04

$19.88 €17.68

-65.34%

Apples (1kg)

$1.37 ¥9.19

$2.98 €2.65

-54.03%

Banana (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.98

$2.03 €1.80

-56.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.07 ¥7.16

$2.73 €2.43

-60.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.74 ¥4.92

$2.68 €2.38

-72.39%

Potato (1kg)

$0.67 ¥4.49

$2.10 €1.87

-68.10%

Onion (1kg)

$0.78 ¥5.24

$2.08 €1.85

-62.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.58 ¥3.91

$1.45 €1.29

-60.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ¥4.19

$0.89 €0.79

-29.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.65 ¥24.39

$6.94 €6.17

-47.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.68 ¥78.1

$7.78 €6.92

50.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 ¥5.25

$1.45 €1.29

-46.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 ¥6.88

$2.57 €2.29

-59.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.21 ¥1.40

$2.99 €2.66

-92.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.36 ¥9.11

$3.12 €2.77

-56.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 ¥1.92

$1.44 €1.28

-79.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.48 ¥43.30

$33.50 €29.80

-80.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 ¥8.20

$1.79 €1.59

-31.28%

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

$19.3K ¥129.0K

$34.6K €30.8K

-44.29%

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

$16.4K ¥109.8K

$30.1K €26.7K

-45.40%

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

$44.64 ¥298

$178 €158

-74.90%

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

$6.79 ¥45.37

$13.32 €11.85

-49.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$6.09 ¥40.75

$34.88 €31.03

-82.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.60 ¥198

$53.3 €47.37

-44.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.43 ¥49.69

$16.01 €14.24

-53.59%

Cinema Ticket

$5.44 ¥36.37

$11.06 €9.84

-50.81%

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

$363 ¥2,426

$957 €851

-62.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ¥111.2K

$16.6K €14.7K

0.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.97 ¥120

$88.2 €78.4

-79.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.78 ¥152

$39.49 €35.12

-42.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.7 ¥626

$103 €91.5

-8.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.2 ¥603

$121 €108

-25.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$223 ¥1,490

$1,653 €1,470

-86.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$151 ¥1,010

$1,302 €1,158

-88.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$353 ¥2,358

$2,557 €2,275

-86.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$147 ¥982

$1,915 €1,703

-92.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,056 ¥20.4K

$7,286 €6,481

-58.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,096 ¥34.1K

$5,080 €4,519

0.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,063 ¥7,107

$2,281 €2,029

-53.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.37

3.28

2.74%

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

Last update for Yantai: October 12, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Yantai

$191 30.3%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 67.7% $129

Accommodation & Living

Yantai

$151 24%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 762% $1.2K

Clothing & Footwear

Yantai

$101 16.1%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 56.7% $57

Eating Out

Yantai

$85 13.5%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 219% $185

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Yantai

$58 9.1%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 293% $169

Sport & Entertainment

Yantai

$40 6.4%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 86.2% $35

Getting Around

Yantai

$3.6 * 0.6%

Barcelona

$47 2% 1204% $44

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 $223 in Yantai and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 115% 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: $18.00 in Yantai vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $191 vs $320 per month, with Yantai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Yantai

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

00:17 12:17 AM

18:17 6:17 PM

6 h behind Yantai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,871,000

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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Yantai Barcelona 9,300 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Yantai
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

Yantai vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yantai and Barcelona differ by about 281% in total monthly costs ($629 vs $2,399 including rent). Yantai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 115% 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: $223 in Yantai versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $363 in Yantai versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Yantai – a meal for two runs $18.00 versus $68.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $629 in Yantai versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Yantai but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Yantai 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, Yantai 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 Yantai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 281% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.