Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Spain

Madrid vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Madrid is 5.3% more expensive than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 98.6% more in Madrid
Groceries: pay 21.8% more in Madrid
Transportation: pay 53.5% more in Madrid
Housing: pay 20.1% less in Madrid
Childcare: pay 0.9% more in Madrid
Entertainment and Sports: pay 43.9% less in Madrid
Clothing: pay 5.3% more in Madrid

The cost of restaurants, transportation, groceries, clothing, and childcare in Madrid are more expensive than in Abu Dhabi. Expenses including entertainment and sports and housing are lower in Madrid. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Madrid.

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Madrid vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Madrid instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 98.6% more for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Madrid
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$17.92 €15.95	+119.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$11.20 €9.97	+17.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$3.30 €2.94	+186.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$2.30 €2.05	+453.2%
Average			+98.6%

Abu Dhabi vs. Madrid - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.8% more for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Madrid
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$1.57 €1.39	-3.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$8.35 €7.43	+43.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.10	$5.25 €4.67	-28.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$4.15 €3.69	+18.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.16	$4.23 €3.76	-4.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$1.17 €1.04	+4.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$0.96 €0.85	+1.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$1.15 €1.02	+36.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$1.16 €1.03	+63.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$1.00 €0.89	+80.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.97 €0.86	+81.7%
Average			+21.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. Madrid - Cost of groceries

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pay 53.5% more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Madrid
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.32	$6.88 €6.12	+89.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.49	$36.95 €32.89	+39.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$35,271.67 €31,393.06	+17.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$15.84 €14.10	+107.8%
Average			+53.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Madrid - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.1% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Madrid
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.28	$34.86 €31.03	-60.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,221.36	$1,491.38 €1,327.38	-24.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,139.88	$1,193.86 €1,062.58	-14.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.52	$144.11 €128.26	-2.6%
Average			-20.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. Madrid - Cost of housing

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pay 0.9% more for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Madrid
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,904.68	$668.48 €594.97	-15.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,423.74	$17,859.91 €15,895.97	+20.5%
Average			+0.9%

Abu Dhabi vs. Madrid - Cost of childcare

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pay 43.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Madrid
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$3.92 €3.49	-66.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.87	$3.07 €2.74	-48.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$6.72 €5.98	+0.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED349.96	$50.67 €45.10	-46.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED54.99	$11.20 €9.97	-25.2%
Average			-43.9%

Abu Dhabi vs. Madrid - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.3% more for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Madrid
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.73	$86.50 €76.99	+40.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.30	$42.98 €38.25	-12.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED409.96	$108.99 €97.00	-2.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.50	$112.77 €100.37	+2.4%
Average			+5.3%

Abu Dhabi vs. Madrid - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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