Cost of living comparison
compared to
Madrid vs. Cologne Cost of Living Summary
Madrid is 3.1% cheaper than Cologne.
Madrid vs. Cologne Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Madrid instead of Cologne, you would:
pay 3.3% less for restaurants
|
Cologne
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.80
€14.99
|
$17.92
€15.99
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.76
€10.49
|
$11.20
€9.99
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.78
€3.37
|
$3.30
€2.95
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$3.18
€2.84
|
$2.30
€2.05
|
|
Cologne vs. Madrid - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.4% more for groceries
|
Cologne
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.52
€2.25
|
$1.57
€1.40
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.27
€5.60
|
$8.35
€7.45
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.91
€4.38
|
$5.25
€4.69
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.67
€3.27
|
$4.15
€3.70
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.55
€4.95
|
$4.23
€3.77
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.35
€1.21
|
$1.17
€1.05
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.89
€0.80
|
$0.96
€0.86
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.15
€1.03
|
$1.15
€1.03
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.76
€1.58
|
$1.16
€1.03
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.65
€0.58
|
$1.00
€0.89
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.53
€0.47
|
$0.97
€0.86
|
|
Cologne vs. Madrid - Cost of groceries
pay 24.0% less for transportation
|
Cologne
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.66
€7.73
|
$6.88
€6.14
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$70.54
€62.96
|
$36.95
€32.98
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,914.63
€29,377.56
|
$35,271.67
€31,481.31
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$26.99
€24.09
|
$15.84
€14.14
|
|
Cologne vs. Madrid - Cost of transportation
pay 13.6% more for housing
|
Cologne
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$36.81
€32.86
|
$34.86
€31.12
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,198.58
€1,069.78
|
$1,491.38
€1,331.11
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$894.26
€798.16
|
$1,193.86
€1,065.57
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$234.73
€209.51
|
$144.11
€128.62
|
|
Cologne vs. Madrid - Cost of housing
pay 29.4% less for childcare
|
Cologne
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,093.36
€975.86
|
$668.48
€596.65
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$21,915.46
€19,560.38
|
$17,859.91
€15,940.65
|
|
Cologne vs. Madrid - Cost of childcare
pay 19.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Cologne
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.60
€5.00
|
$3.92
€3.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.11
€3.67
|
$3.07
€2.74
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.74
€8.69
|
$6.72
€6.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.32
€39.56
|
$50.67
€45.22
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.68
€13.99
|
$11.20
€9.99
|
|
Cologne vs. Madrid - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.2% less for clothing
|
Cologne
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$89.23
€79.64
|
$86.50
€77.20
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.14
€36.72
|
$42.98
€38.36
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.53
€89.72
|
$108.99
€97.28
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$135.12
€120.60
|
$112.77
€100.65
|
|
Cologne vs. Madrid - Cost of clothing
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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Compare further: Cologne vs. Madrid
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