Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Sebastian vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary
San Sebastian is 12.0% cheaper than Madrid.
- Restaurants
-
pay 11.8% less in San Sebastian
- Groceries
-
pay 4.0% less in San Sebastian
- Transportation
-
pay 6.6% less in San Sebastian
- Housing
-
pay 16.6% less in San Sebastian
- Childcare
-
pay 19.9% less in San Sebastian
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.5% less in San Sebastian
- Clothing
-
pay 10.3% less in San Sebastian
Expenses including childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, clothing, and transportation are lower in San Sebastian.
San Sebastian vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Sebastian instead of Madrid, you would:
pay 11.8% less for restaurants
|
Madrid
|
San Sebastian
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.10
€15.61
|
$17.52
€15.11
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
€10.07
|
$9.34
€8.06
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.13
€2.70
|
$2.92
€2.52
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.19
€1.89
|
$1.81
€1.56
|
|
Madrid vs. San Sebastian - Cost of restaurants
pay 4.0% less for groceries
|
Madrid
|
San Sebastian
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.71
€1.48
|
$1.06
€0.91
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.25
€6.25
|
$11.49
€9.90
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.61
€3.97
|
$4.42
€3.81
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.36
€2.89
|
$2.82
€2.43
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.05
€3.50
|
$3.28
€2.83
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.02
|
$1.20
€1.04
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.02
€0.88
|
$1.04
€0.90
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.19
€1.03
|
$0.89
€0.77
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.09
|
$1.36
€1.17
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$0.92
€0.79
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.01
€0.87
|
$0.91
€0.79
|
|
Madrid vs. San Sebastian - Cost of groceries
pay 6.6% less for transportation
|
Madrid
|
San Sebastian
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.08
€6.10
|
$6.74
€5.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.84
€39.53
|
$35.04
€30.22
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,541.72
€33,235.57
|
$38,969.97
€33,604.86
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.23
€14.00
|
$16.40
€14.14
|
|
Madrid vs. San Sebastian - Cost of transportation
pay 16.6% less for housing
|
Madrid
|
San Sebastian
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$34.54
€29.78
|
$34.81
€30.01
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,540.98
€1,328.83
|
$1,306.69
€1,126.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,118.82
€964.79
|
$884.33
€762.59
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.78
€132.61
|
$105.90
€91.32
|
|
Madrid vs. San Sebastian - Cost of housing
pay 19.9% less for childcare
|
Madrid
|
San Sebastian
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$673.20
€580.51
|
$467.20
€402.88
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,119.76
€11,313.52
|
$11,914.08
€10,273.83
|
|
Madrid vs. San Sebastian - Cost of childcare
pay 14.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Madrid
|
San Sebastian
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.50
€3.88
|
$3.50
€3.02
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.20
€2.76
|
$2.26
€1.95
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.01
€6.04
|
$6.42
€5.54
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.05
€44.03
|
$54.73
€47.19
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€10.07
|
$9.34
€8.06
|
|
Madrid vs. San Sebastian - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.3% less for clothing
|
Madrid
|
San Sebastian
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$98.88
€85.27
|
$113.88
€98.20
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.27
€35.59
|
$36.50
€31.47
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.49
€92.69
|
$90.52
€78.06
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.44
€108.17
|
$89.06
€76.80
|
|
Madrid vs. San Sebastian - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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