Cost of living comparison

Spain

compared to

Finland

Helsinki vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary

Helsinki is 0.5% cheaper than Madrid.

Restaurants: pay 8.3% more in Helsinki
Groceries: pay 0.5% less in Helsinki
Transportation: pay 42.0% more in Helsinki
Housing: pay 22.9% less in Helsinki
Childcare: pay 28.8% less in Helsinki
Entertainment and Sports: pay 60.8% more in Helsinki
Clothing: pay 8.4% more in Helsinki

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

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Helsinki vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 8.3% more for restaurants

	Madrid	Helsinki
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.92 €15.99	$17.92 €15.99
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	$3.45 €3.08	+4.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.30 €2.05	$2.59 €2.31	+12.5%
Average			+8.3%

Madrid vs. Helsinki - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.5% less for groceries

	Madrid	Helsinki
Bread 1 loaf	$1.57 €1.40	$2.76 €2.46	+76.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.35 €7.45	$4.96 €4.42	-40.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.25 €4.69	$5.08 €4.54	-3.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.15 €3.70	$3.93 €3.51	-5.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.23 €3.77	$6.02 €5.37	+42.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.17 €1.05	$1.26 €1.12	+7.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.96 €0.86	$0.99 €0.88	+3.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.15 €1.03	$1.12 €1.00	-2.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 €1.03	$1.77 €1.58	+52.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.00 €0.89	$0.55 €0.49	-44.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.97 €0.86	$0.74 €0.66	-23.7%
Average			-0.5%

Madrid vs. Helsinki - Cost of groceries

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pay 42.0% more for transportation

	Madrid	Helsinki
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.88 €6.14	$8.89 €7.93	+29.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$36.95 €32.98	$81.74 €72.96	+121.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,271.67 €31,481.31	$36,622.07 €32,686.59	+3.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.84 €14.14	$26.34 €23.51	+66.2%
Average			+42.0%

Madrid vs. Helsinki - Cost of transportation

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pay 22.9% less for housing

	Madrid	Helsinki
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$34.86 €31.12	$24.77 €22.11	-28.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,491.38 €1,331.11	$1,207.26 €1,077.53	-19.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,193.86 €1,065.57	$904.00 €806.85	-24.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$144.11 €128.62	$104.89 €93.61	-27.2%
Average			-22.9%

Madrid vs. Helsinki - Cost of housing

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pay 28.8% less for childcare

	Madrid	Helsinki
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$668.48 €596.65	$476.51 €425.30	-28.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,859.91 €15,940.65	$12,685.20 €11,322.03	-29.0%
Average			-28.8%

Madrid vs. Helsinki - Cost of childcare

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pay 60.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Madrid	Helsinki
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.92 €3.50	$10.08 €8.99	+157.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.07 €2.74	$5.23 €4.67	+70.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.72 €6.00	$14.00 €12.49	+108.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.67 €45.22	$46.96 €41.91	-7.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.20 €9.99	$18.48 €16.49	+65.0%
Average			+60.8%

Madrid vs. Helsinki - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.4% more for clothing

	Madrid	Helsinki
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$86.50 €77.20	$92.46 €82.52	+6.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$42.98 €38.36	$43.55 €38.87	+1.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$108.99 €97.28	$104.85 €93.58	-3.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$112.77 €100.65	$149.45 €133.39	+32.5%
Average			+8.4%

Madrid vs. Helsinki - 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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