Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zhubei City and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhubei City: $1,055 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $16,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Zhubei City
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Zhubei City Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Zhubei City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,055

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,055 in Zhubei City versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Zhubei City $1,055
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,841 in Zhubei City versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Zhubei City $1,841
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,627 in Zhubei City versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Zhubei City $2,627
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Zhubei City costs roughly 56% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Zhubei City is 22% below, Barcelona is 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.83 NT$157

$17.94 €15.96

-73.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.00 NT$908

$68.1 €60.5

-58.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.07 NT$164

$13.28 €11.81

-61.82%

Cappuccino

$2.89 NT$93.8

$3.25 €2.89

-11.08%

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

$0.91 NT$29.41

$3.01 €2.67

-69.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.59 NT$19.02

$1.87 €1.66

-68.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.93 NT$62.5

$3.85 €3.42

-49.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 NT$75.6

$4.48 €3.98

-47.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.79 NT$90.4

$1.29 €1.15

116.28%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 NT$60.7

$2.04 €1.81

-8.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.59 NT$149

$1.72 €1.53

166.86%

Eggs

$2.85 NT$92.5

$4.77 €4.24

-40.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.76 NT$803

$16.77 €14.92

47.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.37 NT$271

$8.93 €7.94

-6.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.93 NT$841

$19.88 €17.68

30.43%

Apples (1kg)

$4.04 NT$131

$2.98 €2.65

35.57%

Banana (1kg)

$2.42 NT$78.5

$2.03 €1.80

19.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.69 NT$87.3

$2.73 €2.43

-1.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 NT$106

$2.68 €2.38

22.01%

Potato (1kg)

$3.02 NT$97.9

$2.10 €1.87

43.81%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 NT$65.5

$2.08 €1.85

-2.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.06 NT$66.9

$1.45 €1.29

42.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 NT$43.25

$0.89 €0.79

49.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.88 NT$126

$6.94 €6.17

-44.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.23 NT$299

$7.78 €6.92

18.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 NT$46.36

$1.45 €1.29

-1.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 NT$75.4

$2.57 €2.29

-9.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 NT$19.85

$2.99 €2.66

-79.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.20 €22.41

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.10 NT$101

$3.12 €2.77

-0.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 NT$20.76

$1.44 €1.28

-55.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.25 NT$300

$33.50 €29.80

-72.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 NT$32.17

$1.79 €1.59

-44.69%

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

$33.5K NT$1.1M

$34.6K €30.8K

-3.36%

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

$24.8K NT$805.7K

$30.1K €26.7K

-17.37%

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

$103 NT$3,331

$178 €158

-42.25%

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

$18.96 NT$615

$13.32 €11.85

42.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.80 NT$739

$34.88 €31.03

-34.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.40 NT$1,018

$53.3 €47.37

-41.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 €14.24

Cinema Ticket

$9.99 NT$324

$11.06 €9.84

-9.67%

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

$646 NT$20.9K

$957 €851

-32.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K NT$533.8K

$16.6K €14.7K

-0.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.7 NT$1,870

$88.2 €78.4

-34.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.13 NT$1,010

$39.49 €35.12

-21.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.8 NT$2,946

$103 €91.5

-11.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.0 NT$3,209

$121 €108

-18.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$501 NT$16.2K

$1,653 €1,470

-69.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$217 NT$7,032

$1,302 €1,158

-83.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,100 NT$35.7K

$2,557 €2,275

-56.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$768 NT$24.9K

$1,915 €1,703

-59.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$16.2K NT$525.9K

$7,286 €6,481

122.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$9,751 NT$316.2K

$5,080 €4,519

91.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,391 NT$77.5K

$2,281 €2,029

4.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.4

3.28

-26.83%

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

Last update for Zhubei City: October 13, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Zhubei City

$400 37.9%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 19.9% $80

Accommodation & Living

Zhubei City

$217 20.6%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 500% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zhubei City

$144 13.7%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 56.5% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Zhubei City

$125 11.9%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 26.3% $33

Eating Out

Zhubei City

$109 10.3%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 148% $161

Sport & Entertainment

Zhubei City

$51 4.9%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 46.7% $24

Getting Around

Zhubei City

$8.8 * 0.8%

Barcelona

$47 2% 443% $39

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 $501 in Zhubei City and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zhubei City pays 5% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $28.00 in Zhubei City vs $68.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $400 vs $320, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Zhubei City

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

06:36 6:36 AM

00:36 12:36 AM

6 h behind Zhubei City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

211,746

1,660,122

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Zhubei City Barcelona 10,330 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Zhubei City
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

Zhubei City vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zhubei City and Barcelona differ by about 127% in total monthly costs ($1,055 vs $2,399 including rent). Zhubei City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 5% higher in Zhubei City, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $501 in Zhubei City versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $646 in Zhubei City 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 Zhubei City – a meal for two runs $28.00 versus $68.0 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,055 in Zhubei City versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Zhubei City but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Zhubei City 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, Zhubei City 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 Zhubei City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 127% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.