Cost of living comparison

compared to

Madrid vs. Santiago de Compostela Cost of Living Summary

Madrid is 37.0% more expensive than Santiago de Compostela.

Restaurants
pay 20.5% more in Madrid
Groceries
pay 28.2% more in Madrid
Transportation
pay 16.3% more in Madrid
Housing
pay 62.2% more in Madrid
Childcare
pay 75.7% more in Madrid
Entertainment and Sports
pay 28.7% more in Madrid
Clothing
pay 27.1% more in Madrid

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, clothing, and restaurants in Madrid are more expensive than in Santiago de Compostela. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Madrid.

Madrid vs. Santiago de Compostela Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Madrid instead of Santiago de Compostela, you would:

pay 20.5% more for restaurants

 
Santiago de Compostela
Madrid
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $14.02
€11.94
$18.10
€15.42
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.93
€8.46
$11.68
€9.95
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.53
€2.16
$3.13
€2.67

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pay 28.2% more for groceries

 
Santiago de Compostela
Madrid
Bread
1 loaf
$1.20
€1.02
$1.71
€1.46
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.67
€3.98
$7.25
€6.17
Milk (1 gallon) $4.33
€3.69
$4.61
€3.93

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pay 16.3% more for transportation

 
Santiago de Compostela
Madrid
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.07
€6.02
$7.08
€6.03
Monthly public transit pass $35.04
€29.85
$45.84
€39.06
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $29,199.74
€24,878.35
$38,541.72
€32,837.78

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pay 62.2% more for housing

 
Santiago de Compostela
Madrid
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$34.85
€29.69
$34.54
€29.43
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $749.46
€638.54
$1,540.98
€1,312.93
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $520.92
€443.83
$1,118.82
€953.24

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pay 75.7% more for childcare

 
Santiago de Compostela
Madrid
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $350.40
€298.54
$673.20
€573.57
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $8,234.33
€7,015.70
$13,119.76
€11,178.11

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pay 28.7% more for entertainment and sports

 
Santiago de Compostela
Madrid
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.15
€2.69
$4.50
€3.83
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.89
€1.61
$3.20
€2.73
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.13
€5.22
$7.01
€5.97

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pay 27.1% more for clothing

 
Santiago de Compostela
Madrid
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$77.09
€65.68
$98.88
€84.25
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$32.12
€27.36
$41.27
€35.16
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$87.60
€74.64
$107.49
€91.58

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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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