City comparison
Madrid vs Palma de Mallorca: which is better to live in?
Quick verdict
Palma de Mallorca is the cheaper of the two: our estimate for a single person is about €100 a month less than Madrid, mostly because of rent. Palma de Mallorca has the milder winter (about 16°C vs 11°C average highs in Dec to Feb). Both are in Spain, so the visa rules, taxes and healthcare system are the same: the choice comes down to cost, climate and lifestyle.
Choose Madrid for
- Public transport
- Culture
- Nightlife
- Flights home
Choose Palma de Mallorca for
- Beach life
- Nature & green space
- Sunny, warm climate
- English-friendliness
- Lower living costs
Madrid vs Palma de Mallorca at a glance
| Madrid | Palma de Mallorca | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | Spain | Spain |
| Single budget / month | €2,000 | €1,900 |
| Couple budget / month | €2,950 | €2,750 |
| 1-bed rent, center | €1,300 | €1,100 |
| Winter highs (Dec to Feb) | 11°C / 52°F | 16°C / 61°F |
| Summer highs (Jun to Aug) | 31°C / 88°F | 29°C / 84°F |
| Sunshine (hours/yr) | 2,744 | 2,858 |
| City size | Capital / metropolis | Large city |
| Coastal | No | Yes |
| Direct flights to the US | Yes | Yes |
| Affordability | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Sunny, warm climate | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| English-friendliness | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Safety | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Walkability | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Public transport | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Nature & green space | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Beach life | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Mountains nearby | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Culture | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Nightlife | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Family life | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Remote-work scene | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Expat community | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Flights home | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Calm, slower pace | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
Cost of living: Madrid or Palma de Mallorca?
By our estimates, a comfortable mid-range life costs about €2,000 a month for one person in Madrid and €1,900 in Palma de Mallorca, rent included. For a couple it’s €2,950 vs €2,750, and for a family of four €4,400 vs €4,100.
Rent drives most of the gap: a one-bedroom in the center runs about €1,300 in Madrid against €1,100 in Palma de Mallorca, while a monthly transit pass costs €33 vs -. Want to plug in your own lifestyle? Use the cost of living calculator.
Climate and weather
Winters average highs of about 11°C (52°F) in Madrid and 16°C (61°F) in Palma de Mallorca. In summer it’s roughly 31°C vs 29°C. Madrid gets about 2,744 hours of sunshine a year and Palma de Mallorca about 2,858.
2,744 hours of sunshine a year · 416 mm of rain a year · Source: AEMET 1991-2020 normals (Madrid, Buen Retiro), sunshine 1981-2010, via the Wikipedia climate table
Monthly temperatures in °C and °F
| Month | Avg high | Avg low |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10°C / 50°F | 3°C / 37°F |
| Feb | 12°C / 54°F | 4°C / 39°F |
| Mar | 16°C / 61°F | 6°C / 43°F |
| Apr | 19°C / 66°F | 8°C / 47°F |
| May | 23°C / 74°F | 12°C / 53°F |
| Jun | 29°C / 84°F | 17°C / 62°F |
| Jul | 33°C / 91°F | 20°C / 67°F |
| Aug | 32°C / 90°F | 19°C / 67°F |
| Sep | 27°C / 80°F | 16°C / 60°F |
| Oct | 20°C / 67°F | 11°C / 52°F |
| Nov | 14°C / 56°F | 6°C / 44°F |
| Dec | 10°C / 51°F | 4°C / 39°F |
2,858 hours of sunshine a year · 470 mm of rain a year · Source: Palma port 1991-2020 provisional normals (AEMET OpenData) via the Wikipedia climate table
Monthly temperatures in °C and °F
| Month | Avg high | Avg low |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16°C / 60°F | 9°C / 47°F |
| Feb | 16°C / 60°F | 8°C / 47°F |
| Mar | 18°C / 64°F | 10°C / 50°F |
| Apr | 20°C / 67°F | 12°C / 54°F |
| May | 23°C / 73°F | 16°C / 60°F |
| Jun | 27°C / 81°F | 19°C / 67°F |
| Jul | 30°C / 85°F | 22°C / 72°F |
| Aug | 30°C / 86°F | 23°C / 73°F |
| Sep | 27°C / 81°F | 20°C / 68°F |
| Oct | 24°C / 75°F | 17°C / 62°F |
| Nov | 20°C / 67°F | 12°C / 54°F |
| Dec | 17°C / 62°F | 10°C / 50°F |
Daily life
Madrid is a capital / metropolis; Palma de Mallorca is a large city on the coast. Madrid is Spain's capital and its best-connected city: world-class museums, a superb metro, big-city jobs and nonstops to much of the US. It is landlocked, hot in summer and cold in winter, and rents sit near the top of the Spanish range. Palma is a real year-round city with an international community, a handsome old town and the Tramuntana mountains and coves of Mallorca around it. Housing is expensive and scarce, so it suits higher budgets best.
Living in Madrid: the upsides and downsides
- Excellent metro, commuter trains and high-speed rail hub
- Largest job market and corporate base in Spain
- Dry, sunny weather with mountains about an hour away
- Downside: Rents are high: about EUR 23 per square meter citywide in September 2026
- Downside: No beach; the sea is 4 to 5 hours away by road
Living in Palma de Mallorca: the upsides and downsides
- Big English- and German-speaking community
- Beaches, sailing and mountain hiking within minutes
- Flights to most of Europe, many of them year-round
- Downside: Some of the highest rents in Spain
- Downside: Summer crowds and tourist pressure
Visas and residency
Both cities are in Spain, so you’d use the same residence routes either way:
- Spain Digital Nomad Visa (Telework Visa) - Digital nomad visa, open, €2,442/mo income
- Spain Entrepreneur Visa - Entrepreneur route, open, €600/mo income
- Spain Golden Visa (Closed 2025) - Golden visa, closed, €500,000 investment
- Spain Non-Lucrative Visa (Residence Without Work) - Retirement visa, open, €2,400/mo income
Read the full guides: living in Madrid and living in Palma de Mallorca.
Related comparisons
- Madrid vs Barcelona
- Madrid vs Valencia
- Lisbon vs Madrid
- Madrid vs Seville
- Madrid vs Malaga
- Palma de Mallorca vs Valencia
- Barcelona vs Palma de Mallorca
- Malaga vs Palma de Mallorca
- Palma de Mallorca vs Seville
- Palma de Mallorca vs San Sebastian
Costs are our estimates for a comfortable mid-range lifestyle; scores are editorial, relative to the 56 cities we cover. Methodology.