Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zihuatanejo and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Zihuatanejo: $1,131 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Zihuatanejo
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Zihuatanejo Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Zihuatanejo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,131

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,131 in Zihuatanejo versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Zihuatanejo $1,131
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,824 in Zihuatanejo versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Zihuatanejo $1,824
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,517 in Zihuatanejo versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Zihuatanejo $2,517
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Zihuatanejo costs roughly 53% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Zihuatanejo is 17% below, Barcelona is 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$203

$17.89 €15.95

-39.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.16 MX$827

$66.2 €59.0

-33.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.74 MX$164

$13.69 €12.20

-36.16%

Cappuccino

$3.48 MX$65.2

$3.06 €2.73

13.73%

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

$1.36 MX$25.45

$3.07 €2.74

-55.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 MX$19.08

$1.94 €1.73

-47.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.45 MX$45.89

$3.87 €3.45

-36.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.98 MX$74.4

$4.61 €4.11

-13.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 MX$31.05

$1.30 €1.16

27.69%

White Bread (500g)

$2.55 MX$47.69

$2.10 €1.87

21.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 MX$30.90

$1.83 €1.63

-9.84%

Eggs

$2.44 MX$45.61

$4.62 €4.12

-47.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.11 MX$152

$17.36 €15.47

-53.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.52 MX$159

$9.28 €8.27

-8.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.56 MX$216

$19.83 €17.68

-41.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 MX$51.0

$3.01 €2.69

-9.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 MX$29.27

$2.03 €1.81

-23.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$2.65 €2.36

-26.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.77 MX$33.10

$2.87 €2.56

-38.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.24

$2.16 €1.92

-10.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.88 MX$35.15

$2.15 €1.91

-12.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 MX$26.71

$1.47 €1.31

-2.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 MX$20.47

$0.88 €0.79

23.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.28 MX$80.1

$6.93 €6.17

-38.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.27 MX$192

$7.83 €6.98

31.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 MX$34.04

$1.39 €1.24

30.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 MX$57.3

$2.63 €2.35

16.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 MX$12.77

$2.91 €2.59

-76.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.46 €22.69

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 MX$48.93

$3.00 €2.67

-13.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 MX$37.88

$1.44 €1.29

40.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.18 MX$209

$33.20 €29.59

-66.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.93

$1.86 €1.66

-22.58%

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

$21.3K MX$398.4K

$32.3K €28.8K

-34.18%

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

$23.9K MX$447.0K

$31.7K €28.3K

-24.67%

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

$57.3 MX$1,072

$183 €163

-68.67%

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

$23.00 MX$431

$13.61 €12.13

68.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.80 MX$558

$32.93 €29.35

-9.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.76 MX$651

$54.7 €48.75

-36.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.02 MX$375

$16.52 €14.73

21.19%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.2

$11.23 €10.01

-54.23%

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

$216 MX$4,041

$954 €850

-77.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,526 MX$84.7K

$16.6K €14.8K

-72.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.5 MX$1,038

$86.0 €76.7

-35.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.25 MX$753

$39.11 €34.86

2.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 MX$1,844

$104 €92.4

-4.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.0 MX$1,684

$119 €106

-24.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$596 MX$11.1K

$1,695 €1,511

-64.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$384 MX$7,182

$1,276 €1,137

-69.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 MX$19.7K

$2,576 €2,296

-59.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$759 MX$14.2K

$1,922 €1,713

-60.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,915 MX$35.8K

$7,281 €6,490

-73.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,149 MX$21.5K

$5,010 €4,465

-77.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,227 €1,985

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

3.28

244.51%

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

Last update for Zihuatanejo: October 19, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Zihuatanejo

$384 34%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 233% $893

Groceries & Markets

Zihuatanejo

$264 23.3%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 23.2% $61

Eating Out

Zihuatanejo

$185 16.3%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 46% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Zihuatanejo

$128 11.3%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 22.2% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zihuatanejo

$110 9.7%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 108% $119

Sport & Entertainment

Zihuatanejo

$45 4%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 71.4% $32

Getting Around

Zihuatanejo

$15 * 1.4%

Barcelona

$47 2% 206% $32

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 $596 in Zihuatanejo and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Zihuatanejo vs $66 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $264 vs $325 per month, with Zihuatanejo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Zihuatanejo

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

03:16 3:16 AM

10:16 10:16 AM

7 h ahead of Zihuatanejo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

67,408

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 18.72 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Zihuatanejo Barcelona 9,810 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Zihuatanejo
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

Zihuatanejo vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zihuatanejo and Barcelona differ by about 111% in total monthly costs ($1,131 vs $2,381 including rent). Zihuatanejo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,696 in Zihuatanejo 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: $596 in Zihuatanejo versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $216 in Zihuatanejo 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 Zihuatanejo – a meal for two runs $44 versus $66 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,131 in Zihuatanejo versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Zihuatanejo but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Zihuatanejo 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, Zihuatanejo 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.