Euskadi vs Madrid: which is better for Airbnb investment? (2026)

Bottom line

Euskadi and Madrid score similarly on the metrics that matter most for short-term rental returns. The right pick depends on whether you optimise for yield (lower regulation risk, higher RevPAR) or capital growth.

Head-to-head metrics

	Euskadi	Madrid
Median occupancy	36%	36%
Median daily rate	£108	£94
Median RevPAR	£20	£27
Active listings	5,060	16,015
YoY occupancy	—	—
YoY daily rate	—	—
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Euskadi vs Madrid

There is no clean winner between Euskadi and Madrid. Euskadi posts 36% occupancy and £20 RevPAR; Madrid posts 36% occupancy and £27 RevPAR. Weighted together with regulation risk the two finish inside the margin we are willing to call, which is the honest answer rather than an evasive one — a scoring gap this small would flip on the next data refresh. When markets are this close the decision stops being about the market and starts being about the deal: what you pay, what it costs to run, and how quickly you could exit.

Euskadi takes both halves of the yield equation, which is less common than it sounds. It charges more per night — £108 against £94 — and still fills more of the year, 36% against 36%. A market that leads on price and utilisation at once is normally one where demand has outrun supply, rather than one where hosts are discounting to keep the calendar busy. RevPAR reflects the double advantage at £27 against £20.

A tie does not mean the two are interchangeable — it means each holds something the other does not. Euskadi is the less crowded of the two — 5,060 active listings to 16,015 — so a well-run property has fewer near-identical rivals to out-rank. Across a full year the median Madrid listing grosses £9,792 against £7,242 in Euskadi. Pick the one whose advantage matches how you intend to operate, because the composite score will not do that job for you.

Neither Euskadi nor Madrid currently has a verified short-term rental regulation record in our register, so the comparison above is a yield comparison only. Regulation is the single largest source of downside in this asset class — an unverified market is an unpriced risk, not an absent one.

The two calendars also behave differently. Euskadi peaks in August at 61.4% and bottoms in December at 33.9%; Madrid runs from 71.3% in September down to 45.5% in February. Both swing by a similar amount across the year, so neither offers meaningfully steadier cash flow than the other.

Who each suits, then. Euskadi suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry and who can hold rate through the shoulder season rather than discounting to fill the calendar. Madrid answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal: it is the market for an owner whose economics survive high turnover — more bookings, more cleans, more guest contact per pound of revenue. Every figure above comes from the same Inside Airbnb snapshot pipeline on both sides, dated 2025-09, filtered to listings with at least one booking in the last twelve months. Occupancy medians are drawn from 3,306 active Euskadi listings and 7,469 in Madrid.

Frequently asked questions

Is Euskadi or Madrid better for Airbnb investment?

Neither pulls clearly ahead. Euskadi runs 36% occupancy and £108 a night; Madrid runs 36% occupancy and £94 a night. Once occupancy, revenue per available night and regulation risk are weighted together the two finish within a couple of points of each other, so the decision turns on purchase price, how far you are willing to travel, and which rulebook you would rather work under.

Which has higher occupancy, Euskadi or Madrid?

Effectively neither — they are level. Euskadi sits at 36% and Madrid at 36%, a 0-point difference that is inside the noise of a median drawn from a listings snapshot.

Which has higher nightly rates, Euskadi or Madrid?

Euskadi, at £108 a night against £94 in Madrid — roughly 14.4% more. The nightly rate is not the whole story, though. On revenue per available night — rate multiplied by how often the room actually sells — Madrid comes out ahead at £27 against £20, so Madrid's cheaper nights are more than repaid by how often they fill.

Which is the bigger Airbnb market, Euskadi or Madrid?

Madrid, with 16,015 active listings against 5,060 in Euskadi. Size cuts both ways: a deep market gives you comparables, contractors and an exit, while a thinner one means fewer near-identical rivals competing for the same search results.

How much can you earn from an Airbnb in Euskadi vs Madrid?

Madrid earns more: roughly £9,792 a year for a median listing against £7,242 in Euskadi. Those are gross booking revenues before cleaning, management, platform fees, furnishing amortisation and tax — budget for a meaningful share of them, and note that a median listing is a median operator, not a good one.

What is the best time of year to rent out an Airbnb in Euskadi or Madrid?

Euskadi peaks in August at 61.4% occupancy and troughs in December at 33.9%; Madrid peaks in September at 71.3% and troughs in February at 45.5%. Because the peaks fall in different months, the two markets are partly complementary — a portfolio holding one of each has a flatter combined calendar than either alone.

Go deeper on each city

Market guide

Airbnb in Euskadi →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Madrid →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Ready to buy?

Get a full investment report on either city

Property-level financials, stress tests, and an AI verdict — £19 each.

Euskadi report →Madrid report →

From the same team

Already hosting? Meet HostPal

An AI concierge that answers your guests on WhatsApp 24/7 — in 50+ languages, from your own guidebook and house rules. Emergencies get escalated to you; the WiFi password doesn't. Live in under 10 minutes.

Try HostPal free for 7 days →