Apps for living in Spain: taxis, mobile, banking and public services

In your first weeks in Spain, half of everyday tasks are handled by phone: calling a taxi, buying a SIM card, sending money to a friend, booking an appointment with a public office or a doctor. Below are the apps people in Spain use every day, and the key things to know about them in advance: some of them require an NIE, a Spanish bank account or municipal registration, so it is best to install them in the right order.

Taxis: which apps work in Spain

Spanish cities have two types of ride services. An ordinary licensed taxi can be hailed on the street — a free car shows a green light — or called through an app. VTC means cars with a driver booked in advance; Cabify, Uber and Bolt operate this way.

• FreeNow — for calling an ordinary licensed taxi in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and other large cities.
• Cabify — a Spanish VTC service that operates in most large cities.
• Uber and Bolt — operate in Madrid, Barcelona and a number of other cities, but coverage depends on local rules.

Taxis in Barcelona. The rules for VTC in Barcelona and the surrounding area are stricter than in Madrid: such a car cannot be hailed on the street, rides are booked in advance and there are fewer cars. That is why in Barcelona people more often use ordinary taxis — through FreeNow or straight from a taxi rank. Taxis in Madrid are simpler: licensed taxis and VTC services are equally available.

In all these apps you can pay with a card from any country except Russia: cards issued by Russian banks do not work in Spain.

Mobile: SIM cards, operators and topping up

Spain’s largest mobile operators are Movistar, Vodafone, MásOrange (Orange and MásMóvil, merged in 2024) and Digi; they also run budget brands such as Lowi, Simyo and Yoigo. Prepaid SIM cards are sold in operators’ shops, supermarkets and kiosks.

There are no anonymous SIM cards in Spain: under Law 25/2007 the operator must record the owner’s details even for a prepaid card, so you need a passport when buying one. For a monthly contract you are usually also asked for an NIE and a Spanish bank account.

A prepaid balance (recarga) is topped up in the operator’s app — Mi Vodafone, Mi Orange, Mi Movistar — on its website by bank card, in a phone shop or at a supermarket till. The same app shows your balance and remaining data.

Home internet

Fibre is available almost everywhere in Spain: according to a report by the Ministry for Digital Transformation, at 30 June 2025 FTTH was available to 95.92% of households (88.95% in rural areas), and 1 Gbps speeds to 94.90%. The market is shared by the same companies as mobile: according to CNMC data for December 2025, Movistar, Vodafone and MásOrange together hold 81% of fixed connections, and 94.2% together with Digi.

Banks and transfers

Spain’s main payment app is Bizum: it lets you send money by phone number in seconds, split a restaurant bill and pay in some shops. Bizum is built into Spanish banks’ apps, so you need an account with a Spanish bank linked to a Spanish phone number. How to open an account with a Spanish bank as a non-resident or resident is covered separately.

At first many people use online banking apps with a European IBAN, but for rent, utility bills and taxes an account with a Spanish bank is more convenient.

Public services and documents

• Cl@ve — the government login system for online services: tax, social security, pensions, appointments with public offices. You need an NIE to register.
• FNMT digital certificate — an electronic signature used to file applications and documents online, including immigration ones; how to get one with an NIE is explained in the guide digital certificate in Spain.
• Mi Carpeta Ciudadana — an app that brings together your data held by public bodies, notifications and documents.
• miDGT — the app of the Directorate-General for Traffic: your driving licence and vehicle documents on your phone.
• Agencia Tributaria — the tax agency’s app for tax returns and notifications.

Start with getting an NIE in Spain and municipal registration (empadronamiento): without them most public services will not work.

Social media and messengers: does VK work in Spain

VKontakte. There is no decision to block the vk.com website in Spain or the EU. But since 13 July 2026 VK has been under EU sanctions: the company was added to the list by Regulation 2026/1708, and the sanctions prohibit making funds and economic resources available to it — paying VK from the EU, for example for advertising, is not allowed. According to press reports, the VK apps disappeared from the App Store on 25 June 2026 and from Google Play on 16 July 2026. Apps that are already installed still work, according to VK itself, but no longer receive updates from the stores.

Telegram. It works. In March 2024 a judge of Spain’s National High Court (Audiencia Nacional) ordered it to be temporarily blocked following a piracy complaint by TV broadcasters, but three days later suspended the block and then revoked it as excessive and disproportionate (statement by the General Council of the Judiciary). Russian-speaking city chats are found within Telegram itself; communities and the diaspora are covered in the article Russians in Spain.

What Spaniards use. According to the IAB Spain 2026 study, 86% of internet users aged 12 to 75 use social media — 33.1 million people, on average 7.2 platforms per person and about an hour a day. The advertising audience of the largest platforms in Spain according to DataReportal at the start of 2026:

Advertising audience is the reach a platform reports to advertisers, not an exact number of users.

Healthcare

Each autonomous community has its own health app: you use it to book an appointment with your family doctor and to view prescriptions and test results — for example, La Meva Salut in Catalonia. You can use it once you have received a health card in your region.

Transport, food and everyday life

• Renfe — tickets for trains, including high-speed ones, and commuter rail.
• Glovo, Just Eat, Uber Eats — food and grocery delivery.
• Wallapop — second-hand listings between individuals, handy for furnishing a flat.
• Idealista, Fotocasa, Habitaclia — house-hunting; how to avoid overpaying when moving in is covered in the article how to rent a flat in Spain.

Frequently asked questions

Which taxi app works in Barcelona?

For an ordinary licensed taxi — FreeNow. Cabify, Uber and Bolt also operate, but the rules for such cars in Barcelona are stricter: they cannot be hailed on the street, and rides are booked in advance.

How do you call a taxi in Spain?

Hail a free car with a green light, take a taxi from a rank or call one through an app: FreeNow for an ordinary taxi, Cabify, Uber or Bolt for cars with a driver booked in advance.

Do you need a passport to buy a Spanish SIM card?

Yes. Under Law 25/2007 the operator records the owner’s details even for a prepaid card, so you need a passport when buying one; for a monthly contract you are usually asked for an NIE and a Spanish bank account.

Can you use Bizum without a Spanish bank account?

No. Bizum works through Spanish banks’ apps, so you need an account with a Spanish bank and a Spanish phone number.

Does VKontakte work in Spain?

There is no decision to block the website in Spain. But since 13 July 2026 VK has been under EU sanctions, the VK apps have disappeared from the App Store and Google Play, and paying VK from the EU is not allowed.

Does Telegram work in Spain?

Yes. The temporary block ordered by a judge in March 2024 was suspended three days later and then revoked as disproportionate.

Which government apps do you need in Spain?

Cl@ve for logging in to online public services, Mi Carpeta Ciudadana for documents and notifications, miDGT for your driving licence and vehicle documents, and the tax agency’s app. Most of them require an NIE.

Sources

• Ley 25/2007, de conservación de datos relativos a las comunicaciones electrónicas (data retention law) — identification of prepaid SIM card owners. BOE-A-2007-18243.
• Cl@ve — identification system for online public services.
• Mi Carpeta Ciudadana — portal and app.
• Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1708 — EU sanctions against VK. EUR-Lex.
• IAB Spain — Estudio de Redes Sociales 2026 (social media study); DataReportal — Digital 2026: Spain.