Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Arab Emirates vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary
United Arab Emirates is 6.4% cheaper than Madrid.
- Restaurants
-
pay 56.5% less in United Arab Emirates
- Groceries
-
pay 22.5% less in United Arab Emirates
- Transportation
-
pay 21.3% less in United Arab Emirates
- Housing
-
pay 38.8% more in United Arab Emirates
- Childcare
-
pay 31.9% less in United Arab Emirates
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 47.5% more in United Arab Emirates
- Clothing
-
pay 0.8% more in United Arab Emirates
The cost of entertainment and sports, housing, and clothing in United Arab Emirates are more expensive than in Madrid. Expenses including restaurants, childcare, groceries, and transportation are lower in United Arab Emirates.
United Arab Emirates vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of Madrid, you would:
pay 56.5% less for restaurants
|
Madrid
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.10
€15.55
|
$7.91
AED29.06
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
€10.03
|
$8.65
AED31.75
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.13
€2.69
|
$1.04
AED3.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.19
€1.88
|
$0.50
AED1.85
|
|
Madrid vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants
pay 22.5% less for groceries
|
Madrid
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.71
€1.47
|
$1.47
AED5.39
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.25
€6.22
|
$5.36
AED19.68
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.61
€3.96
|
$6.96
AED25.56
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.36
€2.88
|
$2.81
AED10.34
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.05
€3.48
|
$3.68
AED13.51
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.01
|
$0.98
AED3.59
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.02
€0.88
|
$0.75
AED2.75
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.19
€1.03
|
$0.73
AED2.69
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.08
|
$0.59
AED2.15
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$0.48
AED1.76
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.01
€0.87
|
$0.53
AED1.93
|
|
Madrid vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries
pay 21.3% less for transportation
|
Madrid
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.08
€6.08
|
$2.91
AED10.69
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.84
€39.37
|
$53.10
AED195.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,541.72
€33,100.05
|
$40,680.12
AED149,397.75
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.23
€13.94
|
$8.50
AED31.21
|
|
Madrid vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation
pay 38.8% more for housing
|
Madrid
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$34.54
€29.66
|
$101.41
AED372.42
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,540.98
€1,323.41
|
$1,438.18
AED5,281.71
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,118.82
€960.85
|
$990.79
AED3,638.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.78
€132.07
|
$122.67
AED450.49
|
|
Madrid vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing
pay 31.9% less for childcare
|
Madrid
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$673.20
€578.15
|
$497.28
AED1,826.25
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,119.76
€11,267.39
|
$8,164.49
AED29,984.10
|
|
Madrid vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare
pay 47.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Madrid
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.50
€3.86
|
$10.43
AED38.31
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.20
€2.75
|
$4.99
AED18.32
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.01
€6.02
|
$6.23
AED22.88
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.05
€43.85
|
$75.55
AED277.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€10.03
|
$13.19
AED48.44
|
|
Madrid vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.8% more for clothing
|
Madrid
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$98.88
€84.92
|
$75.04
AED275.58
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.27
€35.44
|
$59.50
AED218.51
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.49
€92.31
|
$105.66
AED388.03
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.44
€107.73
|
$106.53
AED391.23
|
|
Madrid vs. United Arab Emirates - 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
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Spain vs. United Arab Emirates.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Spain and United Arab Emirates.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about United Arab Emirates or Madrid. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.