Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Spain and Malta

Name: Malta
Address: MT

For one person, living is cheaper in Spain: $1,775 a month against $1,970 in Malta, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Spain
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Spain Living Index
95

Cost of Living Index in Malta
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Malta Living Index

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🇪🇸 Spain

$1,775

/mo nomad

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,970

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Spain and in Malta

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 Malta actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,775 in Spain versus $1,970 in Malta.

Spain $1,775
Malta $1,970

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Spain versus $3,036 in Malta.

Spain $2,606
Malta $3,036

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,438 in Spain versus $4,102 in Malta.

Spain $3,438
Malta $4,102

Internal cost variation is higher in Spain: monthly costs span $931 to $2,610, compared to $1,657–$2,871 in Malta. City choice carries more weight in Spain.

Living in Spain costs about 10% less than in Malta on average.

Both countries sit above the global median: Spain 30% above, Malta 45% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.69 €14.98

$16.44 €14.76

1.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.7 €49.98

$82.7 €74.2

-32.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.37 €10.20

$11.69 €10.49

-2.74%

Cappuccino

$2.42 €2.17

$2.75 €2.47

-12.00%

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

$2.68 €2.40

$2.57 €2.30

4.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 €1.61

$1.68 €1.51

6.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.07

$4.48 €4.02

-23.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.88 €3.48

$4.43 €3.98

-12.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.20 €1.08

$1.30 €1.17

-7.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.48 €1.33

$1.30 €1.17

13.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.67 €1.50

$3.71 €3.33

-54.99%

Eggs

$3.42 €3.07

$3.90 €3.50

-12.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.17 €12.72

$10.47 €9.39

35.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.33 €7.47

$10.15 €9.11

-17.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.20 €14.54

$16.73 €15.01

-3.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.45 €2.20

$3.08 €2.76

-20.45%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.82

$2.20 €1.98

-7.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.08 €1.86

$2.93 €2.63

-29.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.58 €2.32

$3.24 €2.90

-20.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 €1.64

$1.94 €1.74

-5.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.00 €1.80

$2.09 €1.87

-4.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.90 €1.70

-31.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.93 €0.83

-17.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.36 €5.71

$6.91 €6.20

-7.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.06

$8.18 €7.34

-31.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 €1.17

$1.72 €1.54

-24.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 €1.87

$2.33 €2.09

-10.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 €1.47

$2.25 €2.02

-27.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$32.91 €29.53

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.43 €3.97

$5.72 €5.13

-22.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.47 €1.32

$2.23 €2.00

-34.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.98 €22.42

$33.06 €29.66

-24.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.77 €1.59

$1.48 €1.33

19.59%

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

$35.5K €31.9K

$27.4K €24.6K

29.67%

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

$30.6K €27.5K

$39.5K €35.5K

-22.58%

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

$149 €134

$103 €92.3

45.14%

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

$17.67 €15.86

$26.16 €23.47

-32.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.88 €28.61

$34.75 €31.18

-8.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.24 €39.69

$67.0 €60.1

-33.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.29 €13.72

$22.27 €19.98

-31.34%

Cinema Ticket

$9.66 €8.67

$11.01 €9.87

-12.26%

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

$544 €488

$436 €391

24.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.6K €9,517

$11.2K €10.1K

-5.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.9 €76.2

$99.7 €89.5

-14.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.11 €33.30

$46.43 €41.66

-20.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.2 €80.0

$105 €93.9

-14.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 €94.9

$119 €107

-11.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,056 €948

$1,230 €1,104

-14.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$808 €725

$974 €874

-17.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,621 €1,454

$2,093 €1,878

-22.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,246 €1,118

$1,660 €1,490

-24.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,135 €3,711

$4,503 €4,041

-8.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,633 €2,362

$3,344 €3,000

-21.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,999 €1,794

$1,766 €1,585

13.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.3

4.06

-18.72%

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

Last update for Spain: October 24, 2026

Last update for Malta: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Spain

$808 45.5%

Malta

$974 49.4% 20.5% $166

Groceries & Markets

Spain

$272 15.3%

Malta

$304 15.4% 11.8% $32

Eating Out

Spain

$239 13.5%

Malta

$248 12.6% 3.6% $8.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Spain

$199 11.2%

Malta

$164 8.3% 17.6% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Spain

$143 8%

Malta

$166 8.4% 16.7% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Spain

$64 3.6%

Malta

$89 4.5% 40.1% $25

Getting Around

Spain

$51 2.9%

Malta

$26 * 1.3% 49.5% $25

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $920 in Spain, $1,180 in Malta. Capital cities: $1,508 in Madrid vs $1,389 in Valletta.

National salary averages: $1,972 in Spain, $1,801 in Malta. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 28% higher in Malta.

Dining out costs 44% more in Malta.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Spain

🇲🇹 Malta

🕒 Local time

17:52 5:52 PM

Same time as Spain

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

47,415,750

553,214

💱 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

Spain Malta 1,670 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Spain
Malta

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 Malta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $1,970 per month in Malta and $1,775 in Spain, Spain comes out about 10% cheaper. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $1,180 in Malta and $920 in Spain. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

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