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

Bottom line

Madrid edges ahead of Valencia on higher occupancy (37.8% vs 36.2%), stronger RevPAR (£46 vs £37).

Head-to-head metrics

	Madrid	Valencia
Median occupancy	37.8%	36.2%
Median daily rate	£133	£116
Median RevPAR	£46	£37
Active listings	16,115	6,467
YoY occupancy	+6.6 pts	+11.5 pts
YoY daily rate	+40.5%	+33.5%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Madrid vs Valencia

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — Madrid finishes narrowly ahead of Valencia. Madrid turns its rate and occupancy into £46 per available night against £37 in Valencia, a 24.7% edge on the only yield figure that nets the empty nights out. Across a full year the median Madrid listing grosses £16,897 against £13,546 in Valencia. The margin is thin enough that a single strong year in Valencia would close it, so treat the ordering as a lean rather than a verdict.

Madrid takes both halves of the yield equation, which is less common than it sounds. It charges more per night — £133 against £116 — and still fills more of the year, 37.8% against 36.2%. 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 £46 against £37.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Valencia is not simply the weaker market of the two. The twelve-month direction favours Valencia too: occupancy there moved +11.5 points while Madrid moved +6.6 points. Valencia's calendar is the flatter of the two — 25.4 points between its best and worst month against 32.4 in Madrid — which makes debt service easier to underwrite. If your model leans on that dimension, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Madrid nor Valencia 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. Madrid peaks in October at 69.5% and bottoms in February at 37.1%; Valencia runs from 62.2% in September down to 36.8% in December. Valencia is the steadier of the two at 25.4 points peak-to-trough against 32.4 — easier to underwrite against a mortgage — while Madrid concentrates its return into a shorter window and rewards operators who price the peak aggressively instead of holding a flat rate all year.

Who each suits, then. Madrid suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry. Valencia answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal. It is also the momentum side of this pair. Every figure above comes from the same Inside Airbnb snapshot pipeline on both sides, dated 2026-09, filtered to listings with at least one booking in the last twelve months. Occupancy medians are drawn from 16,115 active Madrid listings and 6,467 in Valencia.

Frequently asked questions

Is Madrid or Valencia better for Airbnb investment?

Madrid, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£46 vs £37), higher median annual revenue (£16,897 vs £13,546), and a higher nightly rate (£133 vs £116). Valencia is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on the better occupancy trend (+11.5 points vs +6.6 points year over year).

Which has higher occupancy, Madrid or Valencia?

Madrid, at 37.8% median occupancy against 36.2% in Valencia — a gap of 1.6 points. That is a real but modest edge; a well-run listing in Valencia can close most of it. Over the last twelve months Madrid gained 6.6 points and Valencia gained 11.5 points, so the gap is closing.

Which has higher nightly rates, Madrid or Valencia?

Madrid, at £133 a night against £116 in Valencia — roughly 14.5% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £46 in Madrid against £37, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Madrid or Valencia?

Valencia, on occupancy: +11.5 points over the last twelve months against +6.6 points in Madrid. Nightly rates rose 40.5% in Madrid and rose 33.5% in Valencia over the same window. One year of movement is a direction, not a trend — weigh it against the regulation picture before treating it as momentum.

Which is the bigger Airbnb market, Madrid or Valencia?

Madrid, with 16,115 active listings against 6,467 in Valencia. 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 Madrid vs Valencia?

Madrid earns more: roughly £16,897 a year for a median listing against £13,546 in Valencia. 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.

Go deeper on each city

Market guide

Airbnb in Madrid →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Valencia →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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