Spain

Spain's grocery market is unusually concentrated around a handful of highly efficient domestic and discount chains: Mercadona, Carrefour (ES) and Lidl account for a large share of everyday shopping, priced in EUR. Spanish shelf prices already include VAT, so the totals on this site are what you'd actually pay at the register — no separate tax line to add.

Daily or near-daily shopping trips for fresh bread, produce, and seafood are still common, often supplemented by neighborhood mercados alongside the big chains for anything you want extra-fresh. Olive oil, jamón, and fresh seafood are genuine points of national pricing strength — Spain is a producer, not an importer, for all three — while anything shipped in from outside the EU (specialty Asian or Latin American ingredients) carries a real import premium.

Utility costs sit in the middle of this site's country range: 0.27 EUR/kWh for electricity and 0.1 EUR/kWh-equivalent for gas. Spanish electricity prices have been historically volatile and time-of-day dependent in real life, so treat the rate used here as a flat estimate rather than a bill you can bank on.

Scroll down to compare the same recipe across the three chains — the discount tier (Lidl) typically undercuts the mainstream hypermarket options on packaged staples, while fresh items narrow the gap considerably.