Spaniards tip little, and frequently nothing. Leaving coins after a meal is common; leaving a percentage is not, and no one will think less of you for rounding to the nearest euro.
Tipping is genuinely optional here — welcome, but not assumed. Tipping is not a strong tradition. Small tips for good service are appreciated but never expected.
Service charge: Service charge is not included. IVA (tax) is included in menu prices.
Amounts are quoted in EUR. These are customs rather than rules — they vary by city, by venue and by how the place is used to being paid, and no authority publishes them.
| Situation | Typical expectation |
|---|---|
| Restaurants | 5-10% (optional) — Round up or leave €1-2 at casual places. Up to 10% at fine dining. |
| Tapas bars | Round up — Leave small change. €0.50-1 is generous. |
| Taxis | Round up — To nearest €1. Not expected. |
| Hotels | €1-2 — For porters. Housekeeping not expected. |
Spain tips less than almost anywhere else in western Europe. Leaving the coins from your change is common; leaving nothing after a coffee or a beer is entirely unremarkable; a percentage tip is a visitor habit rather than a local one.
Tourist-facing restaurants in Barcelona, Madrid and Seville see more tipping than the rest of the country. That is a consequence of who eats in them, not a different Spanish custom.
Much of Spanish eating happens standing at a bar, ordering as you go and settling at the end. There is no tipping expectation attached to that at all — the coins from your change on the counter is the whole of the custom.
Tipping customs are not published rules, and they move. They differ between a city and a small town, between a tourist district and a neighbourhood restaurant, and between a place that takes cards and one that does not.
In Spain a service charge is not usually added, so what you leave is what the staff receive — but check the bill anyway, since tourist areas increasingly add one.
Where you can, watch what people around you do. It is a better signal than any guide, including this one.
Lightly, and optionally. Small change or rounding up is the norm. Tourist-facing restaurants in Barcelona and Madrid see more tipping than the rest of the country, which is a visitor effect rather than a local custom.
Round up, or leave a euro or two per person after a full meal. Five to ten per cent is at the generous end and is not expected.
Usually just the coins from your change, left on the bar. Standing at the bar is the normal way to eat tapas and comes with no tipping expectation at all.
Usually not added as a separate charge, so what you leave goes to the staff. Check the bill in tourist districts, where a service line is becoming more common.
A euro or two per bag for porters is normal. Housekeeping tipping is far less established than in North America.