Cost of Living in Madrid 2026: Rent and Monthly Budget

A single person renting a 60 m² flat in Madrid needs about €2,314 a month, and a couple renting 80 m² needs about €3,693, using September 2026 asking rents and what INE says residents of the Comunidad de Madrid spend. Madrid is the most expensive of Spain’s five biggest cities to rent in, and rent makes up €1,404 of the single budget and €1,872 of the couple budget.

Rent is idealista’s September 2026 asking rent for Madrid city: €23.4 per m² a month, the highest of any Spanish provincial capital in idealista’s report. Spending is from the INE Household Budget Survey 2025, which publishes by region, so it is the Comunidad de Madrid average.

Rent in Madrid

Asking rent is the price on listings today. It is what a newcomer faces, and it usually exceeds what existing tenants pay. Size changes the bill directly:

Flat size	Calculation	Monthly rent
50 m²	50 × €23.4	€1,170
60 m²	60 × €23.4	€1,404
70 m²	70 × €23.4	€1,638
80 m²	80 × €23.4	€1,872

Madrid asks about 55% more per m² than the national figure (€23.4 against €15.1). Against the other big cities: Barcelona €20.1, Málaga €16.5, Valencia €16.3 and Alicante €13.9. For a 70 m² flat that is €1,638 in Madrid against €1,407 in Barcelona, €1,141 in Valencia and €973 in Alicante.

Everyday spending

INE reports spending per person in the Comunidad de Madrid in 2025, housing costs removed, utilities kept in:

Per person	A year	A month
Food (groceries)	€2,212	€184
Transport	€1,684	€140
Utilities (water, electricity, gas)	€652	€54
Leisure (recreation, culture, restaurants, hotels)	€2,382	€198
Other (clothing, health, communications, education, insurance, personal care)	€3,994	€333
Total	€10,924	€910

Monthly rows are rounded and can differ from the total by €1. Madrid has the highest everyday spending of the five regions in our dataset: €910 a month, against €869 in Cataluña, €827 in the Comunitat Valenciana, €740 in Andalucía and €834 for Spain. The gap shows up mostly in leisure (€198 a month, against €160 in Cataluña) and in “other” (€333, against €315).

Monthly budget: single person and couple

The single person rents 60 m². The couple rents 80 m² and spends twice the per-person average.

Monthly	Single (60 m²)	Couple (80 m²)
Rent	€1,404	€1,872
Food	€184	€369
Transport	€140	€281
Utilities	€54	€109
Leisure	€198	€397
Other	€333	€666
Total	€2,314	€3,693
Total per year	€27,768	€44,316

Rent is 61% of the single budget (€1,404 of €2,314) and 51% of the couple budget (€1,872 of €3,693). Not included: income tax, a private health policy, buying a car, and one-off costs such as the rental deposit. The couple column assumes two people use twice the average utilities, which overstates a shared home slightly. See renting in Spain as a foreigner for how deposits and contracts work.

Budget versus visa income requirements

Monthly	Budget in Madrid	Non-lucrative visa	Digital nomad visa
Single	€2,314	€2,400	€2,442 (safe: €2,849)
Couple	€3,693	€3,000	€3,358 (safe: €3,918)

The non-lucrative visa requires 400% of the IPREM for the applicant (€2,400 a month) and 100% (€600) per family member, so €3,000 for a couple. The digital nomad visa asks for €2,442 for one person and €3,358 for a couple as the Washington consulate counts it, or €2,849 and €3,918 to be safe (the digital nomad guide explains the two readings).

In Madrid a single person’s budget (€2,314) is €86 below the non-lucrative requirement and €535 below the digital nomad one. A couple’s budget (€3,693) is €693 above the non-lucrative minimum, so the couple would spend more than the income the visa asks them to show, and €224 below the digital nomad minimum. Barcelona’s couple budget (€3,345) also exceeds the non-lucrative minimum, so the income test does not guarantee you can afford an average big-city lifestyle.

What can move your number

• Flat size and area. The €23.4 is a city figure. Each extra 10 m² adds €234 a month.
• Sharing. Two flatmates splitting a 70 m² flat (€1,638) pay €819 each.
• Spending profile. INE averages blend all ages. A single working adult who eats out often will exceed the €198 leisure line.
• Regional, not city, spending. The Comunidad de Madrid average covers the region, not only the capital.

For the five-city table and the national picture, read cost of living in Spain.

Sources and limits

Rent: idealista/news, 1 October 2026, September 2026 data. Spending: INE Household Budget Survey 2025, final results published 25 June 2026 (tables 73991 and 73993). Official rent statistics from INE or the housing ministry were not collected. Checked 7 October 2026.