Manchester vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary

Manchester is 13.9% more expensive than Madrid.

Restaurants
pay 3.7% less in Manchester
Groceries
pay 8.3% less in Manchester
Transportation
pay 44.2% more in Manchester
Housing
pay 15.3% more in Manchester
Childcare
pay 44.6% more in Manchester
Entertainment and Sports
pay 51.9% more in Manchester
Clothing
pay 7.2% less in Manchester

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

Manchester vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown

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

pay 3.7% less for restaurants

 
Madrid
Manchester
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.92
€16.07
$19.82
£14.84
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.20
€10.05
$10.57
£7.91
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.30
€2.96
$2.48
£1.86

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pay 8.3% less for groceries

 
Madrid
Manchester
Bread
1 loaf
$1.57
€1.41
$1.90
£1.42
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.35
€7.49
$4.79
£3.58
Milk (1 gallon) $5.25
€4.71
$5.55
£4.15

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pay 44.2% more for transportation

 
Madrid
Manchester
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.88
€6.17
$7.90
£5.91
Monthly public transit pass $36.95
€33.15
$105.71
£79.15
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,271.67
€31,643.98
$38,182.92
£28,586.44

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pay 15.3% more for housing

 
Madrid
Manchester
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$34.86
€31.28
$39.77
£29.77
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,491.38
€1,337.99
$1,811.56
£1,356.26
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,193.86
€1,071.07
$1,245.87
£932.75

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pay 44.6% more for childcare

 
Madrid
Manchester
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $668.48
€599.73
$1,258.34
£942.08
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $17,859.91
€16,023.02
$19,850.79
£14,861.71

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pay 51.9% more for entertainment and sports

 
Madrid
Manchester
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.92
€3.52
$7.93
£5.94
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.07
€2.76
$4.76
£3.56
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.72
€6.03
$23.46
£17.56

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pay 7.2% less for clothing

 
Madrid
Manchester
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$86.50
€77.60
$83.63
£62.61
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$42.98
€38.56
$41.98
£31.43
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$108.99
€97.78
$92.54
£69.28

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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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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