🇪🇸 Spain · Utilities
Spain utilities
What it actually costs to live there.
€280
Monthly utilities (5 items + extras)
Average per household, official sources.
| Item | Avg / month | Range | Social mirror |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity | €75 | €30—€200 | Spain runs a dual system — PVPC (CNMC-regulated, hourly-linked to the wholesale market) or the free market (fixed-rate contracts). PVPC stopped being cheap in 2022; now the question is predictability, not price. |
| Natural gas | €55 | €20—€150 | Naturgy dominates gas the way Iberdrola dominates electricity. The regulated TUR tariff remains the reference for small households. |
| Water + sewer | €28 | €12—€60 | Water managed at the autonomous community or municipality level. Madrid (Canal Isabel II) is fully public; Barcelona uses a mixed model. Tariffs can vary 3× between cities. |
| Mobile phone | €22 | €5—€60 | Four majors (Movistar, Orange-MásMóvil, Vodafone, Digi) after the 2024 merger. Digi arrived from Romania with €6/mo plans and forced everyone to cut. Disruption, imported. |
| Internet (fiber) | €38 | €20—€70 | Spain has Europe's highest fiber coverage — 90% of households. Gigabit at €30/mo is real, not a promise. |
| Community fees (HOA) ★ | €60 | €30—€200 | Comunidad fees cover the elevator, doorman, cleaning, gardens, pool. The 1960 Horizontal Property Law is still the basis — a code that organizes Spanish urban coexistence. |
By household type
Single · 4-person family · elderly couple.
| Household | Size | Avg total / month |
|---|---|---|
| single | 1 | €165 |
| family4 | 4 | €280 |
| elder | 2 | €215 |
Share of income (households × income tiers)
9-cell matrix: how much of your salary goes to utilities.
| low €1,200 | median €2,500 | high €5,500 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| single | 13.8% | 6.6% | 3.0% |
| family4 | 23.3% | 11.2% | 5.1% |
| elder | 17.9% | 8.6% | 3.9% |
📚 Go deeper
Compare providers · Cultural context.