Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aalst and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Aalst: $2,067 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

101

Cost of Living Index in Aalst
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Aalst Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Aalst

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,067

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Aalst and in Lisbon

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Aalst and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,067 in Aalst versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Aalst $2,067
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,086 in Aalst versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Aalst $3,086
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,105 in Aalst versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Aalst $4,105
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Aalst costs roughly 7% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Aalst 53% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.53 €20.04

$16.50 €14.67

36.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 €94.0

$61.3 €54.5

72.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.43 €11.95

$11.27 €10.03

19.17%

Cappuccino

$4.43 €3.94

$3.06 €2.72

44.77%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 €3.23

$2.26 €2.01

60.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 €2.82

$1.73 €1.54

83.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.55 €4.94

$3.39 €3.02

63.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 €4.92

$3.40 €3.02

62.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.16

$1.12 €1.00

16.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.81 €2.50

$1.86 €1.65

51.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 €1.89

$1.53 €1.36

39.22%

Eggs

$3.83 €3.41

$3.96 €3.53

-3.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.39 €15.47

$12.76 €11.35

36.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.87 €10.55

$7.90 €7.02

50.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.29 €19.83

$16.97 €15.09

31.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 €2.66

$2.27 €2.02

31.72%

Banana (1kg)

$2.43 €2.16

$1.75 €1.55

38.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 €2.37

$1.85 €1.64

44.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.23 €2.87

$2.57 €2.28

25.68%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 €2.20

$1.86 €1.65

32.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 €1.73

$2.02 €1.80

-3.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.44 €1.28

6.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.82 €0.73

28.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.93 €11.50

$6.56 €5.83

97.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.74 €7.77

$5.62 €5.00

55.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 €1.53

$1.28 €1.14

34.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 €1.85

$2.07 €1.84

0.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.09 €2.75

$2.35 €2.09

31.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 €2.55

$3.99 €3.55

-28.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.09 €0.97

115.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.40 €35.93

$16.64 €14.81

142.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 €1.88

$2.28 €2.03

-7.02%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$34.7K €30.8K

$33.7K €30.0K

2.94%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$32.8K €29.2K

$39.3K €35.0K

-16.49%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$203 €180

$167 €149

21.08%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$21.94 €19.51

$18.80 €16.72

16.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.8 €45.21

$33.09 €29.43

53.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.21 €32.21

$46.01 €40.93

-21.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.03 €18.71

$19.19 €17.07

9.59%

Cinema Ticket

$15.18 €13.50

$9.84 €8.75

54.27%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,605 €1,428

$677 €602

137.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$33.7K €30.0K

$16.9K €15.1K

99.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 €101

$101 €90.1

11.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.17 €41.07

$45.76 €40.70

0.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €90.6

$100.0 €88.9

1.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 €145

$123 €109

33.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$911 €810

$1,614 €1,436

-43.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$808 €718

$1,197 €1,065

-32.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,384 €1,232

$2,862 €2,545

-51.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,104 €982

$1,990 €1,770

-44.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 €3,702

$7,577 €6,740

-45.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,890 €2,571

$4,307 €3,831

-32.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,782 €2,475

$1,588 €1,412

75.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

3.85

-10.13%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Aalst: October 12, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Aalst

$807 39.1%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 48.2% $390

Groceries & Markets

Aalst

$360 17.4%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 25.2% $91

Eating Out

Aalst

$340 16.4%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 28.7% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aalst

$276 13.3%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 20.4% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Aalst

$191 9.2%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 12.9% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Aalst

$67 3.2%

Lisbon

$66 3% 1.3% $0.9

Getting Around

Aalst

$27 * 1.3%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 134% $36

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $911 in Aalst and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aalst pays 75% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $106 in Aalst vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $269 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Aalst

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

23:22 11:22 PM

22:22 10:22 PM

1 h behind Aalst

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,271

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Aalst Lisbon 1,710 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Aalst vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Aalst and Lisbon differ by about 8% in total monthly costs ($2,067 vs $2,223 including rent). Aalst is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 75% higher in Aalst, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $911 in Aalst versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 34% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $2,067 per month in Aalst versus $2,223 in Lisbon – a 8% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,067 in Aalst versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Aalst but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Aalst the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Aalst and Lisbon are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Aalst gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.