Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Madrid Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Madrid

🙂 Solo nomad: Barcelona is 0.3% cheaper than Madrid without rent, and 2.1% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Barcelona is 1.4% more expensive than Madrid without rent, and 2.5% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.41 €15.03

$17.03 €14.7

2.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.7 €59.3

$70.3 €60.7

-2.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.71 €11.84

$11.77 €10.16

16.48%

Cappuccino

$2.78 €2.4

$3.21 €2.77

-13.40%

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

$2.8 €2.42

$3.18 €2.75

-11.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 €1.71

$2.1 €1.82

-5.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.43 €3.83

$4.13 €3.56

7.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 €3.91

$4.49 €3.88

0.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 €1.07

$1.23 €1.07

0.81%

White Bread (500g)

$2.03 €1.75

$1.63 €1.41

24.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.98 €1.71

$1.64 €1.41

20.73%

Eggs

$3.46 €2.99

$3.34 €2.89

3.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.32 €15.82

$14.88 €12.84

23.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.82 €8.47

$9.04 €7.81

8.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.24 €16.61

$16.8 €14.5

14.52%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 €2.25

$2.73 €2.35

-4.40%

Banana (1kg)

$2.34 €2.02

$2.15 €1.86

8.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.11 €1.82

$2.5 €2.16

-15.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.77 €2.39

$2.67 €2.31

3.75%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 €1.76

$2.14 €1.85

-4.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.77 €1.53

$2.16 €1.87

-18.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.5 €1.3

$1.35 €1.17

11.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 €0.73

$0.93 €0.81

-8.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7 €6.04

$7.12 €6.15

-1.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.13 €6.16

$7.96 €6.87

-10.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 €1.24

$1.39 €1.2

2.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 €1.98

$2.27 €1.96

0.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.02 €2.6

$1.71 €1.47

76.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.97 €25.01

$48.37 €41.77

-40.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.59 €3.96

$4.15 €3.59

10.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 €1.74

$1.34 €1.15

50.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.56 €25.53

$28.54 €24.64

3.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 €1.56

$1.86 €1.6

-2.69%

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

$38.4K €33.1K

$37.9K €32.7K

1.37%

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

$32.4K €28K

$34.2K €29.5K

-5.29%

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

$190 €164

$191 €165

-0.81%

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

$22.18 €19.15

$21.25 €18.35

4.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.37 €31.4

$35.96 €31.05

1.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.4 €49.55

$54 €46.59

6.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.95 €18.09

$17.96 €15.51

16.65%

Cinema Ticket

$10.8 €9.33

$11.51 €9.94

-6.17%

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

$732 €632

$674 €582

8.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.1K €13.1K

$11.8K €10.2K

27.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.8 €74.9

$95.7 €82.6

-9.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.78 €31.76

$41.6 €35.92

-11.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €88.2

$105 €91.1

-3.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 €101

$132 €114

-11.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,581 €1,365

$1,561 €1,348

1.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,230 €1,062

$1,109 €958

10.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,707 €2,337

$2,840 €2,452

-4.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 €1,751

$1,884 €1,626

7.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,602 €5,700

$8,381 €7,236

-21.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,045 €4,356

$4,938 €4,263

2.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,198 €1,898

$2,579 €2,227

-14.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.39

3.43

-1.17%

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

Last update for Barcelona: October 28, 2025

Last update for Madrid: October 29, 2025

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