A frequently asked question that I get is the cost of living in the Spanish capital. There are certain variables that I will be specifying throughout this publication, highlighting the budget for housing, food, services, transportation and miscellaneous.
Rent
As you may know, living in Madrid capital is much more expensive than living on the outskirts. Living “downtown” is considered all the neighborhoods located within the M-30 highway, which surrounds the city, so it is established that everything that remains within that diameter is highly connected, but also extremely crowded and demanded. This zones or districts are:
Downtown: The areas of Sol, Lavapiés, Embajadores, Chueca, Justicia, Palacio, Huertas-Cortes and Malasaña.
Salamanca: The areas of Recoletos, Goya, Lista, Castellana, Guindalera and Fuente del Berro.
Arganzuela: In this district are the neighborhoods of Acacias, Palos de Moguer, Imperial, Delicias, Legazpi and Chopera.
Chamartín: El Viso, Prosperidad, Ciudad Jardín, Bernabéu-Hispanoamérica, Nueva España y Castilla neighborhoods.
Chamberí: The areas of Almagro, Trafalgar, Arapiles, Gaztambide, Vallehermoso and Nuevos Ministerios-Ríos Rosas.
Tetuán: Cuatro Caminos, Cuzco, Bellas Vistas, Berruguete, Valdeacederas, Ventilla-Almenara.
Retiro: Pacífico, Adelfas, Niño Jesús, Ibiza, Estrella and Jerónimos areas.
The average price for rent of a flat (apartment) in the mentioned areas of Madrid could be around €700 as a very cheap price. It is possible to find flats that are a little cheaper and of course much more expensive, depending on the number of rooms, state of the property and the area in which it’s located. For example, the downtown area is extremely crowded and “compacted” so it is very common to find that almost all the floors are 30m2 and have only one room or studio type. The more space you’d seek, the more the price you’d pay.
Recommended “cheaper” areas to live
Some neighborhoods in Arganzuela, Tetuán and possibly Centro (many flats in Lavapiés have conditions that leave much to be desired).
Also, renting a room in a shared apartment starts at around €300, additionally you have to check the information or ask if this price includes services or if they are aside from the rent price. Normally, this rooms include the bed, a wardrobe or cabinet to store clothes and, if there is enough space, a small table or desk. Something very basic for all needs. There are also rooms that are rented to couples, but you have to read the description of the offer very well or contact the landlord directly if this is something that can be arranged.
I recommend using the websites idealista.com and fotocasa.es to do some research and look up any options, requirements, conditions, etc.
It is very important to take into account the area of the apartment or room where we want to rent, for example if it has a bar downstairs/across the street, if it is an area known to being “shady”, fights between gangs, etc… If our future home is located in an area of bars and nightlife venues, we are exposed to the possibility that the noise will not let us sleep, the area is very dirty with garbage, cigarette butts, vomiting, drunken fights, etc. Let’s remember that Madrid is a very big city, with many people, where you can see EVERYTHING, and when I say EVERYTHING I fall short…
Food
Regarding the expenses of buying food, personal hygiene items, detergent and cleaning products, among others, I estimate that for a single person the average is between €120 and €160 per month, it all depends on spending on hygiene items , which are usually the most expensive and our personal tastes and diet. If you’re living with your partner, you could spend between €240 and €350 per month.
As a piece of advice: Pork meat is very well priced (very cheap in Spain, I usually buy pork scallops and chops), chicken (it can be a whole chicken, which goes a long way for several meals, or a chicken breasts) and fish (hake fish is fairly well priced). Beef meat is a bit more expensive per kilo, however it is sometimes possible to buy a few small steaks to taste them from time to time. Additionally, eggs, cheese, milk, sausage, ham, beans, rice, and pasta are great value for money and many delicious meals can always be made with these ingredients.
As I mentioned, the greatest expense comes from personal hygiene items such as soap, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, toilet paper, body lotion, among others, however, these are products that are not always being bought over and over again , since they have a longer period of use than food, for example. Therefore, they will not always be listed on the shopping list every time we go to the supermarket to get some groceries.
It is the same case with cleaning products, as they last for a little longer, but it is an important addition to the paying bill when it comes to buying them, especially laundry detergent. There are so-called “white-labelled brands”, or “unlabelled” products, for EVERYTHING and they are cheaper products than thos of known brands. For example, instead of buying Ariel detergent, you can buy Bosque Alto detergent (Mercadona’s white-labelled brand for cleaning products), Carrefour, etc. The perfume and the quality will never be the same as the medium or high quality products, but if we do not have a loose budget, we can consider these items that perfectly fulfill the task.
This is another important matter when making the purchase, when choosing the products it is best to think about saving money and buy “white-labelled” items. There is a variety of products like cheese, ham, yogurt, milk, cookies, pasta, rice, etc… Everything you can imagine. For example, although it is true that buying an Oroweat cereal bread is delicious, there are similar options from Hacendado (Mercadona’s own label for food) or Carrefour, Día, among others, which are cheaper and of similar quality.
Recommended places for grocery shopping
I really like Mercadona, that’s why I often choose to go there. you can do the shopping at a fairly good price, the quality is good, their own label of products are of good quality, and there is a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables selection. For cleaning products, Mercadona’s own white-label is called Bosque Alto and for personal hygiene products it is Deliplus.
Aldi is a german supermarket chain and has a lot of variery and good products with high quality. Their Aldi products are a very good choice and, if you choose smart, you could spend little and bring home lots of groceries.
Another interesting option is Carrefour, always choosing its own Carrefour brand on products. There are many Carrefour Express in Madrid and they have little variety in the offer and this can affect our budget, since they seek to highlight the most expensive and known brands in the market. Always try to go to the largest Carrefour supermarkets in town, which have an impressive variety of everything, such as a selection of cheese and charcuterie from different countries, gluten-free or lactose-free products, a greater selection of fruits and vegetables, pasta and cooking oil from different brands and origin, etc.
Supermarkets like Día and Lidl also have their own appeal, but you have to be very smart when choosing what to buy. Between these two, I think Lidl has better quality, but you can get good deals on Día. Again, I emphasize choosing the “white label” version of the products, to ensure significant savings in our budget and in this way it does not get out of control when we add up our entire monthly cost of living in the Spanish capital.
Services Bills
First of all, I have to state the difference between living in a rented room in a shared apartment and the payment of services bills that is divided among all the inhabitants, it is usually around €50-€80 for water, electricity and TV/Internet at home in addition to the rent payment. . Let’s not forget that, on top of that, we have the personal expense of our cellphone service.
Electricity
Electricity in a flat, depending on your daily habits, is usually between €60 and €150. The bill could be higher in case we cook with electric stove, user the washer/dryer, hair dryer or the heat/air conditioning on full blast.
Examples of high-consuming electrical devices
- Electric stove.
- Electric oven.
- Hot water heater and if it is kept on day and night, it will give a significant increase in the bill.
- Heaters.
- Air conditioners.
- Hair dryer.
- Clothes iron.
This are the most common appliances at home that consume a lot of electricity, however are used for short periods of time, although it is always good to take this into account.
Water supply
Regarding the water usage at home, you usually pay around €20-€25 per month, sometimes the bill can come every two months, this depends on the company that provides the service, so you would have to pay around €40-€50 bimonthly when the bill arrives, it is a payment that, even if it is made every two months, must be kept in mind and planned ahead.
Internet/Mobile
When in comes to Internet and mobile services expenses, you have to consider:
- If you pay for the rent of an entire flat, and have Internet service, normally the company provider makes you a special offer to acquire the complete home package, which is cable TV, fixed line, Internet and mobile line. This service could cost around €90 per month.
- If you have only purchased the mobile line service, data plan and calls (that is, zero Internet at home, you only pay for your data and minutes plan) it would mean a monthly cost of around €30.
Transportation
According to the image above, if you live in Madrid Capital, you’re living in zone “A” (red area in graphic), and the Transport Pass has a price of €27.30 for 30 days from September 01st and until December 31st 2022. This is due to help the population of Madrid for the gas prices and the state of the economy in general, due to the consequences of the Covid-19 Pandemic and the War in Ukraine, that has affected Europe and the economy worldwide.
The normal price for this transport pass zone A is €54.60 per month, and it will return to its original price on January 01st 2023.
All transport passes are valid for 30 days from its first use after recharging and is used for the subway, bus, train and “metro ligero” (light rail service). If you have to go a little further than zone A to another zone, you will have to pay the difference. Each zone has its cost, this is also interesting to keep in mind when looking for a place to live, since what you could be saving in a flat or room a little further away, you could be paying in transportation to be able to move around every day, whether you’re going to work, going to interviews, getting groceries, etc.
The interesting thing about the transport pass is that you can use all the transport services as many times as you want and without limit of use, as long as it is active within 30 days. If, on the other hand, you rarely use public transport (something extremely rare in a city like Madrid), you could think about recharging the multi-ticket pass, which is only used for metro and bus in a Madrid Capital (zone A) with a current price of €8.50 for 10 trips within zone A, and in 2023 it will return to its regular price of €12.20
Single Tickets special prices from September 01 – December 31 2022
| Single ticket | Euros |
|---|---|
| Metro (Zone A y ML1) | 1,50 € |
| MetroEste, MetroNorte y MetroSur | 1,50 € |
| TFM | 2,00 € |
| Metro combined | 3,00 € |
| 10 trips ticket | Euros |
|---|---|
| Metro Zona A, EMT y ML1 (Metrobús) | 8,50 € |
| MetroEste, MetroNorte y MetroSur | 7,80 € |
| TFM | 8,50 € |
| Metro combined | 12,80 € |
| Airport ticket origin and/or destination | Euros |
|---|---|
| Single + Suplement | 5,00 € |
| Single combined + Suplement | 6,00 € |
| Airport suplement ticket | 3,00 € |
If you are under 26 years old, you’re in luck because the transport pass valid for 30 days for all zones in Madrid has a price of €10, from September 01st and until December 31st 2022, with a regular price of €20/monthly again on January 01st 2023.
Also, for people over 65 years old, their transport pass has a price of €1,60 of all areas in Madrid in the mentioned period of time, with a normal and full price of €3.30 again in 2023.
Transport Pass special prices from September 01 – December 31 2022
| Zone/Pass | A | B1 | B2 | B3 | C1 | C2 | E1 | E2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | €27.30 | €31.80 | €36.00 | €41.00 | €41.00 | €41.00 | €55.30 | €65.90 |
| Young | €10.00 | |||||||
| Senior | €1.60 |
Transport Pass regular prices on January 1 2023
Other expenses
Like any good budget, miscellaneous or extra expenses should be included, such as buying a jacket and duvet (bedspread, blanket or similar) for the cold season, or clothes for the summer so you can endure this time of year, or maybe you need to get new shoes, perhaps going to the movies or want to go out and grab a bite… Depending on our expenses and our possibilities, these kind of events are prone to happen, so you could throw an extra €70 per month in case of need to cover miscellanous expenses.
Total budget
To sum things out, to live in Madrid you need a minimum monthly budget of €1,200 per person, renting a cheap flat and reducing expenses almost to the extreme; or €600-700/monthly per person if you rent a room in a shared flat. Sometimes it happens that you spend more than expected, especially when it comes to other expenses such as making some photocopies or printing a resume, eating outside, having a coffee here or there, a variation in the bill of some service, among others. .. But in a very stern way, that would be the budget to have a humble life in Madrid. Good luck and godspeed!
