Nomad Watch

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 1 2 $2,500 $1,942 $2,400 $1,341 $146
Utilities 2 7 — $146 $165 $108 —
Internet & Mobile 2 8 9 $55 $58 $85 $52 $0
Groceries 6 7 $200 $420 $1,100 $465 $13
Transportation 3 4 5 $75 $48 $130 $45 $22
Dining Out 6 7 $1,020 $380 $620 $165 $72
Leisure Activities 7 11 $480 $240 $3,020 $70 $38
Health Insurance 12 $63 $90 $210 — $2
Visa & Legal Fees 13 14 — $45 $90 — —
Total $4,393 $3,369 $7,820 $2,246 $293

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 7 $11.80 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 7 $99.30 per pair
Summer Dress 7 $47.14 per dress
Running Shoes 7 $114.00 per pair

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 7 $1,341.00 $1,341 – $2,121 per month
Coworking Space 10 $312.38 per month
Airbnb (1 month) 2 $2,470.00 $1,707 – $2,920 per month
Coliving Space 2 $1,180.00 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 7 $3.76 per cup
Beer 6 7 $4.64 per pint
Meal (Inexpensive) 7 $17.60 per meal
Fast Food Combo 19 $13.10 per meal
Apples 6 7 $2.02 per kg
Bread 6 7 $1.18 per loaf
Milk 6 $1.08 per liter
Rice 6 7 $1.35 per kg
Chicken Fillets 6 7 $6.85 per kg
Beef 16 7 $17.70 per kg
Wine (Mid-range) 6 7 $8.81 per bottle
Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 7 $60.10 per meal
Water (1.5L bottle) 6 7 $1.01 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 5 $2.86 per trip
Taxi per km 5 $1.57 per km
Monthly Transport Pass 3 4 $36.71 per month
Gasoline 18 $1.97 per liter
Ride-hailing (5km) 5 $10.72 per trip
Scooter Rental 21 $39.29 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 9 $16.83 per month
Internet (60 Mbps+) 2 22 $35.00 per month
Gym Membership 11 $28.05 per month
Tennis Court (Weekend) 7 $22.45 per hour
SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 8 $11.22 one-time

Personal Care

Haircut 7 $17.40 per visit
Laundry 7 $2.58 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 17 $68.90 per visit
Pharmacy (basic meds) 20 7 $6.48 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 Barcelona, Lisbon, Berlin, Hanoi, Paris

  1. Habitaclia Madrid Capital rentals — 1BR samples €1,195–€1,890/month (Oct 2026)Listings
  2. Wunderflats furnished Madrid — 1BR from €1,520/month; Wi‑Fi included on listingsListings
  3. CRTM unified fares and Abono Transporte titlesOfficial
  4. CRTM Zone A Abono 30 días €32.70 through 31 Dec 2026Secondary
  5. Madrid taxi Tarifa 1 €2.55 flag + €1.40/km (from 1 Jan 2026)Official
  6. Mercadona online — Hacendado leche entera Brik 1 L €0.96; staples on shelf searchShop
  7. Livingcost.org Madrid basket cross-check (Jun 2026 page)Index
  8. Orange Prepago 10 €10/28 daysOfficial
  9. Orange Prepago 15 €15/28 days (nomad mobile tier)Official
  10. Betahaus hot desk €278.30/monthOfficial
  11. Basic-Fit Spain — Comfort membership €24.99 per 4 weeksOfficial
  12. SafetyWing Nomad Insurance Essential $62.72 per 4 weeksOfficial
  13. Spain international telework visa fees and documentation (long-stay)Official
  14. Schengen 90/180-day visits; long-stay permits separateOfficial
  15. Spain Octane-95 ~€1.79/litre (Oct 2026)Index
  16. Mercadona/DIA/Carrefour España shelf prices (Sep–Oct 2026)Shop
  17. Doctoralia Madrid private GP — Primera visita Medicina General from €35–€50Listings
  18. MITECO gasoline 95 E5 €1.75/L (22 Oct 2026 daily series)Official
  19. McDonald's Madrid — Menú Completo Mediano Big Mac €13Listings
  20. diemFarma — Efferaldol Flash paracetamol 16 comprimidos €3.90Shop
  21. Cooltra 125cc monthly hire from €164/monthOfficial
  22. Orange Fibra 300 Mb €30/month standard rate (€20 promo 12 months)Official

Change history

    • Method Generated Researched
    • Airbnb (1 month) 3235.12 2470
    • Apartment (1 bedroom) 1444.25 1341
    • Apples 2.83 2.02
    • Beef 19.06 17.7
    • Beer 4.62 4.64
    40 more changes
    • Bread 1.5 1.18
    • Chicken Fillets 9.47 6.85
    • Cinema Ticket 10.98 11.8
    • Coffee 2.54 3.76
    • Coliving Space 1270.94 1180
    • Coworking Space 271.52 312.38
    • Dining Out local 138.65, nomad 1213.17, expat 369.73, family 519.93, tourist 80.88 local 165, nomad 1020, expat 380, family 620, tourist 72
    • Doctor Visit (GP) 92.43 68.9
    • Fast Food Combo 12.13 13.1
    • Gasoline 2.06 1.97
    • Groceries local 323.51, nomad 138.65, expat 404.39, family 982.09, tourist 0 local 465, nomad 200, expat 420, family 1100, tourist 13
    • Gym Membership 51.99 28.05
    • Haircut 25.42 17.4
    • Health Insurance local 0, nomad 75.1, expat 69.32, family 207.97 local 0, nomad 63, expat 90, family 210, tourist 2.1
    • Housing local 866.55, nomad 2426.34, expat 1559.79, family 2253.03, tourist 161.76 local 1341, nomad 2500, expat 1942, family 2400, tourist 146
    • Internet & Mobile local 51.99, nomad 75.1, expat 63.55, family 103.99, tourist 5.78 local 52, nomad 55, expat 58, family 85, tourist 0.37
    • Internet (60 Mbps+) 43.91 35
    • Jeans 98.21 99.3
    • Laundry 9.82 2.58
    • Leisure Activities local 92.43, nomad 519.93, expat 231.08, family 462.16, tourist 40.44 local 70, nomad 480, expat 240, family 3020, tourist 38
    • Meal (Inexpensive) 17.33 17.6
    • Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 75.1 60.1
    • Milk 1.33 1.08
    • Mobile Plan 25.42 16.83
    • Monthly Transport Pass 63.08 36.71
    • Pharmacy (basic meds) 8.67 6.48
    • Rice 1.91 1.35
    • Ride-hailing (5km) 13.86 10.72
    • Running Shoes 109.76 114
    • SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 23.11 11.22
    • Scooter Rental 7.51 39.29
    • Summer Dress 40.44 47.14
    • Taxi Start 3.64 2.86
    • Taxi per km 1.62 1.57
    • Tennis Court (Weekend) 16.18 22.45
    • Transportation local 63.55, nomad 92.43, expat 69.32, family 184.86, tourist 20.8 local 45, nomad 75, expat 48, family 130, tourist 22
    • Utilities local 127.09, nomad 0, expat 184.86, family 323.51, tourist 0 local 108, nomad 0, expat 146, family 165, tourist 0
    • Visa & Legal Fees local 0, expat 28.89, family 57.77 local 0, expat 45, family 90
    • Water (1.5L bottle) 0.98 1.01
    • Wine (Mid-range) 10.4 8.81

    Coworking Space, Coffee, Wine (Mid-range), Taxi Start, Monthly Transport Pass, Mobile Plan, Internet (60 Mbps+), Groceries, Transportation, Dining Out, Health Insurance, Visa & Legal Fees, Meal (Mid-range, 2 people), Ride-hailing (5km), SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid), Haircut, Doctor Visit (GP), Pharmacy (basic meds), Fast Food Combo, Beef, Gasoline and Scooter Rental moved to Betahaus, CRTM, Orange, Mercadona, ESMadrid taxi, SafetyWing, Doctoralia, MITECO, McDonald's, mealbudget, diemFarma and Cooltra tariffs (betahaus.es, crtm.es, orange.es, doctoralia.es, bdsice.mineco.gob.es, carta.menu)

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