Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kilkenny and Madrid

For one person, living costs are similar in Kilkenny and in Madrid: $2,340 and $2,304 a month, rent and utilities included.

113

Cost of Living Index in Kilkenny
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Kilkenny Living Index
111

Cost of Living Index in Madrid
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Madrid Living Index

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Kilkenny

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,340

/mo nomad

Madrid

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,304

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kilkenny and in Madrid

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Kilkenny and in Madrid actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,340 in Kilkenny versus $2,304 in Madrid.

Kilkenny $2,340
Madrid $2,304

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,280 in Kilkenny versus $3,389 in Madrid.

Kilkenny $3,280
Madrid $3,389

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,221 in Kilkenny versus $4,475 in Madrid.

Kilkenny $4,221
Madrid $4,475

Monthly costs are close between Kilkenny and Madrid; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Kilkenny 72% above, Madrid 69% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.55 €14.87

$17.73 €15.93

-6.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 €60.5

$66.9 €60.1

0.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.02 €9.00

$11.30 €10.15

-11.33%

Cappuccino

$4.28 €3.85

$3.04 €2.73

40.79%

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

$2.98 €2.68

$3.36 €3.02

-11.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 €1.96

$2.35 €2.11

-7.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.57 €5.90

$3.89 €3.50

68.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.50 €5.84

$4.80 €4.31

35.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 €1.20

$1.32 €1.18

0.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.35 €2.11

$1.64 €1.47

43.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.72 €1.55

-11.05%

Eggs

$4.38 €3.94

$4.20 €3.78

4.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.50 €9.43

$15.91 €14.29

-34.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.72 €5.14

$9.36 €8.41

-38.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.82 €6.13

$17.21 €15.46

-60.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.04

$2.56 €2.30

-11.33%

Banana (1kg)

$2.23 €2.00

$2.09 €1.88

6.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 €2.72

$2.55 €2.29

18.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.85 €2.56

$2.58 €2.32

10.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 €1.11

$2.31 €2.08

-46.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 €1.03

$2.17 €1.95

-47.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.85 €0.76

$1.50 €1.35

-43.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 €1.65

$1.07 €0.96

71.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.42 €18.34

$6.57 €5.90

210.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.18 €12.74

$7.87 €7.07

80.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.82 €3.43

$1.21 €1.09

215.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 €3.93

$2.17 €1.95

101.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.71 €2.44

$1.67 €1.50

62.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.53 €33.71

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 €4.79

$3.76 €3.38

42.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.41 €1.27

$1.49 €1.34

-5.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.4 €50.7

$30.17 €27.10

87.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 €1.83

$1.85 €1.66

10.27%

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

$38.2K €34.3K

$33.9K €30.4K

12.87%

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

$38.4K €34.5K

$33.3K €29.9K

15.19%

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

$181 €162

$192 €172

-5.76%

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

$20.72 €18.62

$17.66 €15.86

17.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.8 €46.55

$35.07 €31.51

47.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$69.4 €62.4

$47.27 €42.46

46.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.38 €20.10

$18.23 €16.37

22.76%

Cinema Ticket

$13.53 €12.16

$11.29 €10.14

19.84%

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

$877 €788

$687 €617

27.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.0K €16.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$86.5 €77.7

17.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.88 €33.13

$41.65 €37.41

-11.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 €100

$108 €97.1

3.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.0 €84.5

$112 €100

-15.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,534 €1,378

$1,508 €1,355

1.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,252 €1,125

$1,210 €1,087

3.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,620 €2,353

$2,829 €2,541

-7.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,818 €1,633

$2,004 €1,800

-9.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,172 €7,341

$9,002 €8,086

-9.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,279 €2,047

$4,710 €4,231

-51.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,765 €2,484

$2,453 €2,204

12.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.68

3.14

17.20%

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

Last update for Kilkenny: October 27, 2026

Last update for Madrid: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kilkenny

$1.3K 53.5%

Madrid

$1.2K 52.5% 3.4% $42

Eating Out

Kilkenny

$280 12%

Madrid

$264 11.5% 5.8% $16

Groceries & Markets

Kilkenny

$280 12%

Madrid

$304 13.2% 8.7% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kilkenny

$253 10.8%

Madrid

$244 10.6% 3.5% $8.8

Clothing & Footwear

Kilkenny

$155 6.6%

Madrid

$157 6.8% 1.2% $1.8

Sport & Entertainment

Kilkenny

$96 4.1%

Madrid

$70 3% 27.6% $27

Getting Around

Kilkenny

$23 * 1%

Madrid

$55 2.4% 138% $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 $1,534 in Kilkenny and $1,508 in Madrid. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kilkenny pays 13% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Kilkenny vs $67 in Madrid for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $280 vs $304 per month, with Kilkenny cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Kilkenny

🇪🇸 Madrid

🕒 Local time

20:35 8:35 PM

21:35 9:35 PM

1 h ahead of Kilkenny

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

26,500

3,332,035 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kilkenny Madrid 1,390 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Kilkenny
Madrid

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

Kilkenny vs Madrid: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay runs 13% higher in Kilkenny, 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: $1,534 in Kilkenny versus $1,508 in Madrid. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $877 in Kilkenny versus $687 in Madrid. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Kilkenny pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Madrid is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Kilkenny and Madrid are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Madrid wins on affordability, Kilkenny on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.