# Lisbon vs Madrid

> On balanced weights, Lisbon comes out ahead: 66 against 61 out of 100, mostly on research output and nice days. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/lisbon-pt-vs-madrid-es/

Scores out of 100: Lisbon 66, Madrid 61. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=lisbon-pt,madrid-es

## Line by line

| Line | Lisbon | Madrid |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | €3,204 take-home a month | €3,515 take-home a month |
| Cost of living | Add your rent | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 114 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 73 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 9 h 27 min | 9 h 17 min |
| Sunshine | 2,869 h a year (Meteostat climate normals) | 2,929 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) |
| Dry days | 82 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 76 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 7.6 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 10.3 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 0.7 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 0.7 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 82.4 years (World Development Indicators) | 83.9 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €62 a month (World Development Indicators) | €48 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 37 weeks (mother 22, father 15) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 32 weeks (mother 16, father 16) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | 7.30 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) | 7.20 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) |
| Research output | 76 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 58 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 6 km (OurAirports airports) | 14 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | 34 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | no data |
| Rail and metro stations | 72 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 239 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | 33 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 31 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Cycle network | 0.82 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 1.11 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 100 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 99 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | 8.8 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | no data |
| Quick way out by bike | 10.7 km, about 43 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 2.8 km, about 11 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 2 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 303 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 172 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 43 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 23.1 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 22.9 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 38 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 56 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 27 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 24 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | 17.3 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 26.1 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Doctors | 5.9 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 4.3 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 6.2 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 10.4 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 43.3 % of adults (Population by educational attainment and NUTS 2 region (edat_lfse_04)) | 48.4 % of adults (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Developers around | 40.3 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 13.2 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 0.77 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 0.65 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | centre-right, 6.2 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) | no data |
| Abortion law | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | no chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 37 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 50 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 11 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 29 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 22 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 40 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 54 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 47 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 338 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 324 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 11 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 86 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 91 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 10 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 44 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 31 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 53 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### Is it cheaper to live in Lisbon or Madrid?

Everyday prices are lower in Portugal: 64.9 against 68.7 on the World Bank price level index (United States = 100, 2025). Open rent data is missing for Lisbon and Madrid, so the full monthly cost needs your own rent.

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Lisbon and in Madrid?

About €38,447 a year in Lisbon (Portugal 2026 tax rules) and €42,184 in Madrid (Spain 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Lisbon or Madrid?

Lisbon is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 21.8 °C against 21.6 °C in Madrid (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, Lisbon or Madrid?

Lisbon has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 7.6 µg/m³ against 10.3 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2024 and 2024).

### Can a citizen of Portugal live and work in Madrid without a visa?

Yes. EU and EEA free movement rules let citizens of Portugal live and work in Spain without a visa.

## Cite

Borgo, "Lisbon vs Madrid", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/lisbon-pt-vs-madrid-es/, figures as of 2026-11-05.