Every guide to Madrid quotes the Metro fare as €1.50. That figure is only correct for journeys of five stations or fewer.
The single Metro fare in zone A is not one price but a scale based on the number of stations travelled. It costs €1.50 for up to five stations, adds €0.10 for each station between the sixth and the ninth, and settles at €2.00 from the tenth onwards. A 10-trip Metrobús costs €7.30, which puts the journey at €0.73 and beats a single ticket from the fifth trip on. Both prices come from the Consorcio Regional de Transportes, not from Metro de Madrid.
How much is a Madrid Metro ticket? A zone A single costs €1.50 for journeys of up to 5 stations. From the sixth to the ninth it adds €0.10 per station, so a 7-station trip costs €1.70. From 10 stations it stays at €2.00, the maximum. A 10-trip Metrobús costs €7.30, which works out at €0.73 a journey.
That scale is why published figures for the Madrid Metro fare rarely agree with each other. How it compares with the other tickets is in which Madrid transport ticket to buy.
Buy the 10-trip ticket and the scale stops mattering
In the same fare table the Metro sets the Metrobús at €7.30 for 10 journeys, or €0.73 each, which is less than half the cheapest single fare and barely a third of the most expensive. Once you hold one, the station count becomes irrelevant.
Working out when it pays for itself takes seconds. Against a €1.50 single it breaks even on the 5th journey; against a €2.00 single, on the 4th. A 2-day visit clears that without trying, and unlike a single it does not expire that night.
It also works on EMT buses and on Metro Ligero line ML1, not only on the Metro de Madrid network, so one ticket covers city buses and underground without recalculating anything. It loads onto a Tarjeta Transporte Público Multi, the same anonymous card the tourist passes use.
Where the scale does not apply at all
Three cases sit outside it. Metro Ligero lines ML2 and ML3 charge a flat €2.00 with no station scale. The combined ticket valid on Metro and on Metro Ligero ML1, ML2, ML3 and TFM costs €3.00. EMT city buses charge a flat €1.50 for any urban journey.
The airport stations are the fourth exception and the most expensive one, because they require a €3 supplement bought separately from the fare. Which tickets have to pay it and which are exempt is covered in the Madrid airport Metro supplement.
Put together, four flat fares sit outside the station scale entirely:
- Metro Ligero ML2 and ML3. €2.00 however far you travel.
- The combined Metro and Metro Ligero ticket. €3.00, valid on ML1, ML2, ML3 and TFM.
- EMT city buses. €1.50 for any urban journey.
- The airport supplement. €3.00 on top of whatever fare you already hold.
The scale, station by station
The €1.50 band covers short hops and gets quoted as though it were the general fare. From the sixth station it climbs in ten-cent steps until it caps.
| Journey length | Single fare |
|---|---|
| Up to 5 stations | €1.50 |
| 6 stations | €1.60 |
| 7 stations | €1.70 |
| 8 stations | €1.80 |
| 9 stations | €1.90 |
| 10 stations or more | €2.00 |
Between the two ends there is €0.50, which sounds trivial until it is multiplied by the 14 journeys of an ordinary week. There is also a useful consequence at the top: past the tenth station the price stops rising, so crossing half the city costs exactly what crossing all of it does.
What to buy for the length of your trip
Under 5 journeys singles are fine, especially on trips below 6 stations at €1.50. Above 5, the €7.30 Metrobús is the obvious buy: 10 journeys at €0.73 against the €7.50 those same 5 loose tickets would cost.
If the trip starts and ends at the airport the arithmetic shifts again, because the tourist pass absorbs both €3 supplements and lowers its own break-even to 6 journeys. That comparison is worked through in when the tourist pass is the wrong buy.
The machine counts by the shortest route
The passenger does not do the arithmetic. You select the destination station and, according to the Consorcio Regional de Transportes de Madrid, the machine counts the stations by the shortest possible route and applies whichever of the 6 bands fits.
The fare therefore has nothing to do with the route taken. Going the long way, changing lines 3 times or boarding the wrong platform all cost what the shortest route cost, with no penalty for interchanges.
One limit catches visitors out: a single ticket must be used on the day it is bought, while the €7.30 Metrobús does not expire that night.
One title escapes the whole scale. The Abono Joven costs €10 a month across every zone from A to E2 for anyone aged 15 up to the day they turn 26, and it runs on residency rather than nationality.
Frequently asked questions about Madrid Metro fares
How much is a Metro ticket in Madrid?
A single ticket in zone A costs €1.50 for journeys of up to 5 stations. From the sixth to the ninth station it rises by €0.10 each, and from 10 stations onwards it stays fixed at €2.00, which is the maximum.
Is the 10-trip ticket worth it in Madrid?
The Metrobús costs €7.30 for 10 journeys, which is €0.73 each, less than half the cheapest single fare. It pays for itself on the fifth journey against a €1.50 single, and on the fourth against a €2.00 one.
Does a Madrid single Metro ticket expire?
Yes. A single ticket has to be used on the day it is bought, so buying several in advance for later days of a trip does not work. The 10-trip ticket carries no such limit and can be spread across the whole stay.
Where do I buy a Madrid Metro ticket?
Every station has automatic machines, which ask for the destination and calculate the fare band themselves. The €7.30 Metrobús loads onto a Tarjeta Transporte Público Multi, and the €3 airport supplement is sold at the same machines as a separate purchase.
Can two people share one Madrid Metro ticket?
A single ticket covers one journey for one passenger. The 10-trip Metrobús is loaded onto an anonymous Tarjeta Transporte Público Multi, and the airport supplement of €3 has to be bought separately whichever of the two you are holding.
The Metro fare is not a number, it is a ladder. Above the tenth station, distance stops counting.