Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zhuhai and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhuhai: $784 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $20,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Zhuhai
Learn more

Zhuhai Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Zhuhai

🇨🇳 China

$784

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $784 in Zhuhai versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Zhuhai $784
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,305 in Zhuhai versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Zhuhai $1,305
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,825 in Zhuhai versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Zhuhai $1,825
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Zhuhai costs roughly 68% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Zhuhai is 42% below, Barcelona is 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.64 ¥17.58

$17.59 €15.72

-84.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.28 ¥201

$67.5 €60.3

-55.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.22 ¥34.70

$13.53 €12.09

-61.42%

Cappuccino

$3.15 ¥20.94

$3.19 €2.85

-1.25%

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

$0.50 ¥3.33

$2.91 €2.60

-82.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ¥2.17

$1.89 €1.69

-82.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.17 ¥7.80

$4.01 €3.59

-70.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 ¥14.97

$4.53 €4.05

-50.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 ¥10.63

$1.31 €1.17

22.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 ¥8.66

$2.02 €1.80

-35.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.13 ¥7.52

$1.85 €1.65

-38.92%

Eggs

$1.69 ¥11.22

$4.83 €4.32

-65.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.33 ¥28.78

$16.74 €14.96

-74.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.21 ¥14.69

$9.12 €8.15

-75.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.79 ¥25.20

$19.64 €17.55

-80.70%

Apples (1kg)

$1.26 ¥8.36

$2.98 €2.66

-57.72%

Banana (1kg)

$0.62 ¥4.09

$2.02 €1.80

-69.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.44 ¥2.91

$2.70 €2.41

-83.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 ¥9.89

$2.80 €2.51

-46.79%

Potato (1kg)

$0.73 ¥4.87

$2.09 €1.86

-65.07%

Onion (1kg)

$0.47 ¥3.11

$2.07 €1.85

-77.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.29 ¥1.90

$1.46 €1.30

-80.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 ¥2.89

$0.94 €0.84

-54.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.08 ¥20.48

$6.87 €6.14

-55.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.71 ¥24.65

$7.89 €7.05

-52.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ¥3.91

$1.41 €1.26

-58.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ¥11.51

$2.54 €2.27

-31.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.13 ¥0.88

$3.14 €2.81

-95.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.75 ¥58.2

$25.45 €22.75

-65.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.46 ¥9.69

$2.99 €2.67

-51.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 ¥2.51

$1.49 €1.33

-74.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.32 ¥48.66

$33.37 €29.84

-78.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 ¥8.53

$1.80 €1.61

-28.89%

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

$15.6K ¥103.9K

$33.2K €29.7K

-52.92%

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

$13.6K ¥90.1K

$31.7K €28.3K

-57.25%

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

$57.5 ¥382

$180 €161

-68.16%

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

$10.13 ¥67.4

$13.84 €12.37

-26.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.37 ¥109

$33.70 €30.13

-51.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$80.9 ¥538

$51.5 €46.05

57.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.87 ¥205

$15.96 €14.27

93.42%

Cinema Ticket

$7.52 ¥50.0

$10.99 €9.83

-31.57%

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

$540 ¥3,592

$917 €819

-41.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.5K ¥163.2K

$16.5K €14.7K

48.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$29.85 ¥199

$87.0 €77.8

-65.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.51 ¥263

$38.51 €34.42

2.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.3 ¥481

$106 €94.6

-31.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.0 ¥612

$120 €107

-23.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$425 ¥2,826

$1,699 €1,519

-75.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$280 ¥1,864

$1,355 €1,212

-79.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$907 ¥6,034

$2,603 €2,327

-65.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 ¥4,331

$2,062 €1,844

-68.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,496 ¥29.9K

$6,915 €6,182

-34.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,836 ¥18.9K

$5,128 €4,584

-44.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,084 ¥7,213

$2,211 €1,976

-50.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.35

3.28

2.13%

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

Last update for Zhuhai: 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

Zhuhai

$280 35.7%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 384% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Zhuhai

$118 15.1%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 173% $204

Clothing & Footwear

Zhuhai

$105 13.4%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 50.2% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Zhuhai

$96 12.2%

Barcelona

$74 3% 23.4% $22

Eating Out

Zhuhai

$88 11.3%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 204% $180

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zhuhai

$84 10.7%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 172% $144

Getting Around

Zhuhai

$13 1.6%

Barcelona

$48 2% 284% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $425 in Zhuhai and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays about 2 times 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: $30 in Zhuhai vs $67 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $118 vs $322 per month, with Zhuhai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Zhuhai

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

20:04 8:04 PM

13:04 1:04 PM

7 h behind Zhuhai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,207,090

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 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 = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.44 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 30, 2026: 1 USD = 0.894 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Zhuhai Barcelona 10,020 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Zhuhai
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

Zhuhai vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $784 in Zhuhai and $2,453 in Barcelona, so Zhuhai is about 68% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 51% lower in Zhuhai. 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: $425 in Zhuhai versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $540 in Zhuhai 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 172% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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 Zhuhai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 68% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.