Cost of living comparison

Spain

compared to

Germany

Giessen vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary

Giessen is 6.1% cheaper than Madrid.

Restaurants: pay 9.6% more in Giessen
Groceries: pay 8.2% less in Giessen
Transportation: pay 19.0% more in Giessen
Housing: pay 25.2% less in Giessen
Childcare: pay 2.0 times more in Giessen
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.5% more in Giessen
Clothing: pay 22.2% less in Giessen

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

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Giessen vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Giessen instead of Madrid, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 9.6% more for restaurants

	Madrid	Giessen
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.92 €15.99	$21.27 €18.99	+18.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.20 €9.99	$13.44 €11.99	+20.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.30 €2.95	$2.38 €2.12	-28.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.30 €2.05	$1.94 €1.73	-15.6%
Average			+9.6%

Madrid vs. Giessen - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.2% less for groceries

	Madrid	Giessen
Bread 1 loaf	$1.57 €1.40	$2.12 €1.89	+35.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.35 €7.46	$7.14 €6.37	-14.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.25 €4.69	$4.86 €4.34	-7.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.15 €3.70	$3.68 €3.29	-11.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.23 €3.77	$4.89 €4.36	+15.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.17 €1.05	$1.35 €1.21	+15.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.96 €0.86	$0.80 €0.71	-16.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.15 €1.03	$0.97 €0.87	-15.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 €1.03	$1.82 €1.62	+56.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.00 €0.89	$0.53 €0.48	-46.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.97 €0.86	$0.50 €0.45	-48.0%
Average			-8.2%

Madrid vs. Giessen - Cost of groceries

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pay 19.0% more for transportation

	Madrid	Giessen
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.88 €6.14	$7.43 €6.63	+8.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$36.95 €32.98	$67.74 €60.47	+83.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,271.67 €31,484.13	$30,434.41 €27,166.30	-13.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.84 €14.14	$23.51 €20.99	+48.4%
Average			+19.0%

Madrid vs. Giessen - Cost of transportation

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pay 25.2% less for housing

	Madrid	Giessen
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$34.86 €31.12	$52.95 €47.26	+51.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,491.38 €1,331.23	$727.83 €649.67	-51.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,193.86 €1,065.66	$895.79 €799.60	-25.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$144.11 €128.63	$263.16 €234.90	+82.6%
Average			-25.2%

Madrid vs. Giessen - Cost of housing

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pay 2.0 times more for childcare

	Madrid	Giessen
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$668.48 €596.70	$1,088.63 €971.73	+62.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,859.91 €15,942.08	$44,341.53 €39,580.05	+148.3%
Average			+101.1%

Madrid vs. Giessen - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Madrid	Giessen
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.92 €3.50	$4.76 €4.25	+21.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.07 €2.74	$3.92 €3.50	+27.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.72 €6.00	$9.74 €8.70	+45.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.67 €45.23	$38.63 €34.48	-23.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.20 €9.99	$10.64 €9.50	-5.0%
Average			+4.5%

Madrid vs. Giessen - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.2% less for clothing

	Madrid	Giessen
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$86.50 €77.21	$44.78 €39.97	-48.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$42.98 €38.37	$22.39 €19.99	-47.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$108.99 €97.28	$111.97 €99.95	+2.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$112.77 €100.66	$149.30 €133.27	+32.4%
Average			-22.2%

Madrid vs. Giessen - 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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