Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Madrid

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Cruz de Tenerife: $1,943 a month against $2,265 in Madrid, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Madrid outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

94

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
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Santa Cruz de Tenerife Living Index
111

Cost of Living Index in Madrid
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Madrid Living Index

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Santa Cruz de Tenerife

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,943

/mo nomad

Madrid

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,265

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Cruz de Tenerife 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 Santa Cruz de Tenerife and in Madrid actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,943 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $2,265 in Madrid.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife $1,943
Madrid $2,265

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $3,296 in Madrid.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife $2,828
Madrid $3,296

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,714 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $4,328 in Madrid.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife $3,714
Madrid $4,328

Living in Santa Cruz de Tenerife costs roughly 14% less than in Madrid, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Santa Cruz de Tenerife 44% above, Madrid 68% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.38 €18.12

$18.20 €16.19

11.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.5 €53.8

$68.1 €60.5

-11.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.97 €9.76

$11.24 €9.99

-2.40%

Cappuccino

$2.01 €1.79

$3.15 €2.80

-36.19%

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

$1.87 €1.67

$3.36 €2.99

-44.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 €1.15

$2.36 €2.10

-44.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.84 €2.52

$3.83 €3.40

-25.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.41 €3.03

$4.92 €4.38

-30.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.32 €1.17

3.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 €2.10

$1.61 €1.43

46.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.65 €1.47

-7.27%

Eggs

$4.22 €3.76

$4.07 €3.62

3.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.44 €17.29

$15.82 €14.07

22.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.12 €9.00

$9.49 €8.44

6.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.86 €15.88

$17.52 €15.58

1.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.66 €2.37

$2.56 €2.27

3.91%

Banana (1kg)

$2.38 €2.12

$2.09 €1.86

13.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$2.47 €2.19

-11.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.60 €2.31

$2.49 €2.22

4.42%

Potato (1kg)

$2.14 €1.90

$2.26 €2.01

-5.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.92 €1.71

$2.15 €1.91

-10.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.67 €1.49

$1.57 €1.40

6.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 €0.87

$1.07 €0.95

-8.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.59 €4.98

$6.55 €5.82

-14.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.86 €6.99

$7.65 €6.81

2.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 €1.50

$1.17 €1.04

44.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 €1.56

$2.22 €1.97

-21.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.35 €1.20

$1.63 €1.45

-17.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.61 €37.90

$36.42 €32.39

17.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.11 €3.65

$3.73 €3.32

10.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.71 €1.52

$1.54 €1.37

11.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.65 €14.81

$29.17 €25.94

-42.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 €1.51

$1.78 €1.58

-5.06%

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

$35.6K €31.7K

$35.5K €31.6K

0.35%

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

$28.6K €25.4K

$33.2K €29.6K

-13.94%

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

$126 €112

$189 €168

-33.31%

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

$22.85 €20.32

$17.48 €15.55

30.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.57 €31.63

$34.32 €30.53

3.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.0 €47.16

$48.62 €43.25

9.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.66 €10.37

$18.44 €16.40

-36.77%

Cinema Ticket

$9.53 €8.47

$11.04 €9.82

-13.68%

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

$402 €357

$693 €617

-42.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,073 €4,511

$17.8K €15.8K

-71.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.6 €80.6

$84.6 €75.3

7.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.43 €37.74

$42.50 €37.80

-0.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.8 €79.8

$110 €98.1

-18.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 €100

$112 €99.9

0.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,142 €1,016

$1,506 €1,339

-24.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$893 €794

$1,170 €1,040

-23.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,729 €1,538

$2,756 €2,451

-37.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 €1,145

$1,845 €1,641

-30.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,840 €3,415

$9,168 €8,154

-58.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,149 €1,911

$4,234 €3,766

-49.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,804 €1,604

$2,483 €2,208

-27.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.56

3.14

13.38%

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

Last update for Santa Cruz de Tenerife: October 11, 2026

Last update for Madrid: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$893 45.9%

Madrid

$1.2K 51.7% 31% $277

Groceries & Markets

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$329 16.9%

Madrid

$303 13.4% 7.7% $25

Eating Out

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$254 13.1%

Madrid

$269 11.9% 6% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$184 9.5%

Madrid

$241 10.6% 30.5% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$151 7.8%

Madrid

$157 7% 4.1% $6.3

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$72 3.7%

Madrid

$71 3.1% 1.9% $1.4

Getting Around

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$61 3.1%

Madrid

$54 2.4% 10.3% $6.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,142 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and $1,506 in Madrid. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Madrid pays 38% 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: $61.0 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs $68.0 in Madrid. Groceries flip the comparison at $329 vs $303, with Madrid cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Santa Cruz de Tenerife

🇪🇸 Madrid

🕒 Local time

18:41 6:41 PM

19:41 7:41 PM

1 h ahead of Santa Cruz de Tenerife

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

209,395

3,332,035 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Madrid 1,750 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Santa Cruz de Tenerife
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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

Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs Madrid: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santa Cruz de Tenerife wins on cost – living expenses run 17% lower than in Madrid. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Santa Cruz de Tenerife the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 38% lower in Madrid. 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: $1,142 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $1,506 in Madrid. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

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

Dining out is cheaper in Santa Cruz de Tenerife – a meal for two runs $61.0 versus $68.0 in Madrid. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,943 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $2,265 in Madrid, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Santa Cruz de Tenerife but tight or insufficient in Madrid. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Cruz de Tenerife the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Santa Cruz de Tenerife delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,943 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Santa Cruz de Tenerife hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Madrid 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 Santa Cruz de Tenerife gentler on the wallet – expenses run 17% less than in Madrid. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.