Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Spain and the Maldives

Name: Maldives
Address: MV

For one person, living is cheaper in the Maldives: $1,476 a month against $1,775 in Spain, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Spain
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Spain Living Index
71

Cost of Living Index in the Maldives
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Maldives Living Index

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🇪🇸 Spain

$1,775

/mo nomad

🇲🇻 Maldives

$1,476

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Spain and in the Maldives

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,775 in Spain versus $1,476 in the Maldives.

Spain $1,775
Maldives $1,476

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Spain versus $2,376 in the Maldives.

Spain $2,606
Maldives $2,376

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,438 in Spain versus $3,276 in the Maldives.

Spain $3,438
Maldives $3,276

Spain ($931–$2,610) and the Maldives ($45–$1,503) have similar cost spreads. Where you settle within each country has roughly equal impact on the budget.

Living in Spain is roughly 20% more expensive than in the Maldives on average.

Both countries sit above the global median: Spain 30% above, the Maldives 8% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.69 €14.96

$6.31 MVR 97.3

164.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.7 €49.91

$50.4 MVR 778

10.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.37 €10.18

$9.74 MVR 150

16.74%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.95 MVR 76.4

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.89 MVR 153

Cappuccino

$2.42 €2.17

$3.31 MVR 51.0

-26.89%

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

$2.68 €2.40

$1.59 MVR 24.46

68.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 €1.60

$0.29 MVR 4.44

517.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.07

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.88 €3.47

Milk (1 liter)

$1.20 €1.07

$1.85 MVR 28.58

-35.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.48 €1.33

$1.56 MVR 24.10

-5.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.67 €1.50

$1.04 MVR 16.04

60.58%

Eggs

$3.42 €3.07

$1.74 MVR 26.81

96.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.17 €12.70

$6.33 MVR 97.6

123.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.33 €7.46

$6.49 MVR 100

28.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.20 €14.52

$10.13 MVR 156

59.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.45 €2.20

$4.00 MVR 61.6

-38.75%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.82

$3.00 MVR 46.33

-32.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.08 €1.86

$3.86 MVR 59.5

-46.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.58 €2.31

$2.58 MVR 39.79

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 €1.64

$1.76 MVR 27.08

3.98%

Onion (1kg)

$2.00 €1.79

$1.75 MVR 27.05

14.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.11 MVR 32.53

-37.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.61 MVR 9.37

26.23%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$11.13 MVR 172

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.47 MVR 38.09

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.63 MVR 71.4

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.36 €5.70

$15.03 MVR 232

-57.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.06

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 €1.17

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 €1.87

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 €1.47

$0.62 MVR 9.54

164.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$32.91 €29.49

$28.37 MVR 437

16.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.43 €3.97

$1.97 MVR 30.35

124.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.90 MVR 29.24

-22.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.98 €22.39

$8.30 MVR 128

200.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.77 €1.59

$0.99 MVR 15.29

78.79%

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

$35.5K €31.8K

$31.9K MVR 492.1K

11.30%

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

$30.6K €27.4K

$30.8K MVR 474.3K

-0.47%

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

$149 €134

$129 MVR 1,993

15.48%

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

$17.67 €15.84

$30.04 MVR 463

-41.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.88 €28.57

$68.3 MVR 1,054

-53.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.24 €39.64

$62.7 MVR 967

-29.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.29 €13.70

$20.86 MVR 322

-26.70%

Cinema Ticket

$9.66 €8.66

$8.98 MVR 139

7.57%

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

$544 €488

$181 MVR 2,795

200.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.6K €9,504

$2,834 MVR 43.7K

274.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.9 €76.1

$38.11 MVR 588

122.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.11 €33.26

$50.0 MVR 771

-25.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.2 €79.9

$86.1 MVR 1,327

3.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 €94.8

$52.4 MVR 808

101.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,056 €947

$930 MVR 14.3K

13.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$808 €724

$678 MVR 10.5K

19.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,621 €1,453

$1,939 MVR 29.9K

-16.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,246 €1,117

$1,484 MVR 22.9K

-16.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,135 €3,706

$2,663 MVR 41.1K

55.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,633 €2,359

$776 MVR 12.0K

239.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,999 €1,791

$781 MVR 12.0K

155.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.3

-76.43%

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

Last update for Spain: October 24, 2026

Last update for the Maldives: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Spain

$808 45.5%

Maldives

$678 46% 16% $129

Groceries & Markets

Spain

$272 15.3%

Maldives

$218 14.8% 19.8% $54

Eating Out

Spain

$239 13.5%

Maldives

$127 8.6% 47% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Spain

$199 11.2%

Maldives

$228 15.4% 14.5% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Spain

$143 8%

Maldives

$102 6.9% 28.5% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Spain

$64 3.6%

Maldives

$81 5.5% 27% $17

Getting Around

Spain

$51 2.9%

Maldives

$42 2.9% 17.5% $9

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $920 in Spain, $805 in the Maldives. Capital cities: $1,508 in Madrid vs $939 in Male.

National salary averages: $1,972 in Spain, $736 in the Maldives. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 14% higher in Spain.

Dining out costs 46% more in Spain.

Public transport is 24% more expensive in Spain.

Salaries are about 2.7 times higher in Spain, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Spain.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Spain

🇲🇻 Maldives

🕒 Local time

13:27 1:27 PM

17:27 5:27 PM

4 h ahead of Spain

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

47,415,750

436,330

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Maldivian Rufiyaa MVR Rf

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MVR = 6.49 USD

100 MVR = 5.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MVR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Maldivian Rufiyaa exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 15.42 MVR (100 MVR = 6.49 USD). 1 EUR = 17.21 MVR (100 MVR = 5.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Spain Maldives 8,630 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Spain
Maldives

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

Spain vs Maldives: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $1,476 per month in the Maldives and $1,775 in Spain, the Maldives comes out about 17% cheaper. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Day-to-day life is cheaper in the Maldives: lower grocery prices, cheaper commutes, and more affordable meals out. Over time, those daily savings make a real difference to your monthly budget and ability to put money away.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $920 in Spain and $805 in the Maldives. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

In the Maldives, $2,000 covers most cities easily; in Spain it stretches only to regional areas and falls short in the capital – you’ll need to make trade-offs on housing or lifestyle.

It depends on what you’re after: the Maldives wins on affordability, while salaries, visas, language, and lifestyle can tip the balance either way.