Cost of Living in Bilbao, 🇪🇸 Spain - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 2 3 $1,571 $1,090 $2,133 $989 $123

Utilities 30 31 32 — $122 $172 $111 —

Internet & Mobile 7 8 9 $51 $56 $88 $51 $7

Groceries 1 13 $146 $431 $948 $299 $11

Transportation 4 11 12 $65 $81 $236 $49 $18

Dining Out 22 23 33 34 $1,100 $382 $696 $163 $81

Leisure Activities 1 10 18 29 $338 $124 $1,954 $40 $25

Health Insurance 14 $63 $75 $236 — —

Visa & Legal Fees 16 19 20 $20 $8 $17 — —

Total $3,354 $2,369 $6,480 $1,702 $265

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 2 $1,100.12 $886 – $1,090 per month

Coworking Space 6 $312.38 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 3 $1,571.44 $954 – $2,133 per month

Coliving Space 3 $954.09 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 22 $2.65 per cup

Beer 22 $4.05 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 23 33 $19.80 per meal

Fast Food Combo 25 $12.72 per meal

Apples 13 $2.06 per kg

Bread 13 $1.47 per loaf

Milk 13 $0.94 per liter

Rice 13 $2.12 per kg

Chicken Fillets 13 $8.20 per kg

Beef 13 $16.95 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 39 $7.35 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 34 $72.96 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 38 $0.30 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 11 12 $5.44 per trip

Taxi per km 12 $1.01 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 4 $37.83 per month

Gasoline 21 $1.97 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 12 $8.93 per trip

Scooter Rental 15 $8.98 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 7 8 $16.84 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 9 $33.67 per month

Gym Membership 10 $30.39 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 29 $9.09 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 7 $11.22 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 18 $9.99 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 26 $33.61 per pair

Summer Dress 27 $33.61 per dress

Running Shoes 28 $16.83 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 36 $15.71 per visit

Laundry 35 $5.05 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 17 $78.57 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 37 $4.38 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 0.8909 EUR on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, Hanoi, Berlin, Zurich

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 2253.03 1571.44
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 1010.98 1100.12
- Apples 2.48 2.06
- Beef 15.6 16.95
- Beer 4.04 4.05
40 more changes
- Bread 1.44 1.47
- Chicken Fillets 9.01 8.2
- Cinema Ticket 10.4 9.99
- Coffee 2.2 2.65
- Coliving Space 866.55 954.09
- Coworking Space 242.63 312.38
- Dining Out local 161.76, nomad 1097.63, expat 369.73, family 577.7, tourist 86.66 local 162.75, nomad 1100.01, expat 381.64, family 695.93, tourist 80.82
- Doctor Visit (GP) 75.1 78.57
- Fast Food Combo 10.98 12.72
- Gasoline 1.99 1.97
- Groceries local 369.73, nomad 138.65, expat 439.05, family 982.09, tourist 9.24 local 298.57, nomad 145.92, expat 431.02, family 948.48, tourist 11.22
- Gym Membership 51.99 30.39
- Haircut 25.42 15.71
- Health Insurance local 0, nomad 80.88, expat 63.55, family 184.86 local 0, nomad 62.72, expat 75.2, family 235.72
- Housing local 866.55, nomad 1906.41, expat 1213.17, family 1675.33, tourist 127.09 local 988.89, nomad 1571.44, expat 1090.05, family 2132.67, tourist 123.47
- Internet & Mobile local 51.99, nomad 75.1, expat 63.55, family 98.21, tourist 5.78 local 50.51, expat 56.12, family 87.55, tourist 6.73
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 43.91 33.67
- Jeans 92.43 33.61
- Laundry 7.51 5.05
- Leisure Activities local 92.43, nomad 554.59, expat 254.19, family 462.16, tourist 28.89 local 40.38, nomad 337.58, expat 124.27, family 1954.38, tourist 24.69
- Meal (Inexpensive) 16.18 19.8
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 69.32 72.96
- Milk 1.27 0.94
- Mobile Plan 23.11 16.84
- Monthly Transport Pass 36.97 37.83
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 8.67 4.38
- Rice 1.68 2.12
- Ride-hailing (5km) 13.29 8.93
- Running Shoes 103.99 16.83
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 17.33 11.22
- Scooter Rental 0.32 8.98
- Summer Dress 40.44 33.61
- Taxi Start 6.01 5.44
- Taxi per km 1.1 1.01
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 13.86 9.09
- Transportation local 48.53, nomad 63.55, expat 69.32, family 207.97, tourist 17.33 local 49.05, nomad 65.1, expat 80.82, family 235.72, tourist 17.95
- Utilities local 150.2, nomad 0, expat 184.86, family 277.3, tourist 0 local 111.22, nomad 0, expat 122.34, family 171.81, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, expat 17.33, family 34.66 local 0, nomad 20, expat 8.42, family 16.84
- Water (1.5L bottle) 0.87 0.3
- Wine (Mid-range) 9.24 7.35
Beer, Dining Out, Fast Food Combo, Gasoline, Haircut, Jeans, Laundry, Meal (Mid-range, 2 people), Pharmacy (basic meds), Running Shoes, Summer Dress, Tennis Court (Weekend), Utilities, Water (1.5L bottle), and Wine (Mid-range) moved to operator, restaurant, shop, and official tariff pages (bilbaoberrialabarra.com, restaurantevictor.com, carta.menu, bdsice.mineco.gob.es, repsol.es, consorciodeaguas.eus, zara.com, decathlon.es, bilbaokirolak.eus, restaurantekasko.com, radarsuper.com, radarsuper.com, bilbao.bloomest.es, booksy.com, diemfarma.com).

Bilbao cost of living