Cost of Living: City vs City
Side-by-side comparison of two cities on the things property buyers actually care about: sale price, monthly rent, household income, and what one euro of salary buys in housing terms.
Inputs
Results
A — sale price (median)
€534,667
B — sale price (median)
€398,863
Sale price gap (A vs B)
+34.0%
A — monthly rent (median)
€1,805
B — monthly rent (median)
€795
Rent gap (A vs B)
+127.0%
A — household income
€49,916
B — household income
€0
Income gap (A vs B)
+0.0%
A — gross yield
4.05%
B — gross yield
2.39%
Yield difference (A − B)
1.66%
Sale prices in madrid are 34% more expensive than in berlin.
Yield favours city A by 1.66 percentage points — a meaningful gap for buy-to-let.
Data: Madrid · 2026-05-30
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the cheapest big city in Western Europe to buy an apartment?
Among the cities we cover, Porto, Naples, Genoa and several inland Spanish cities run lowest — typically €1500-2500/m² for a median apartment. Berlin and Hamburg are mid-range; Paris, Munich and Geneva top the list.
Are Spanish cities cheaper than French ones?
On apartment €/m² Spain is generally cheaper outside Madrid and Barcelona. But the rent gap is smaller, so Spanish gross yields are typically higher — that's why Spain attracts more foreign buy-to-let.