Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cluj-Napoca and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Cluj-Napoca: $1,423 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

68

Cost of Living Index in Cluj-Napoca
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Cluj-Napoca Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,423

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cluj-Napoca 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 Cluj-Napoca and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,423 in Cluj-Napoca versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Cluj-Napoca $1,423
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,126 in Cluj-Napoca versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Cluj-Napoca $2,126
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,830 in Cluj-Napoca versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Cluj-Napoca $2,830
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Cluj-Napoca costs roughly 36% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cluj-Napoca 5% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.58 RON 60.1

$16.65 €14.91

-24.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.8 RON 262

$61.7 €55.3

-11.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.59 RON 45.85

$11.36 €10.17

-15.58%

Cappuccino

$3.78 RON 18.05

$2.97 €2.66

27.27%

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

$2.30 RON 11.01

$2.29 €2.05

0.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 RON 10.62

$1.74 €1.56

27.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 RON 15.85

$3.40 €3.05

-2.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.20 RON 20.06

$3.31 €2.96

26.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 RON 7.66

$1.16 €1.04

37.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 RON 6.89

$1.91 €1.71

-24.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 RON 8.09

$1.51 €1.35

11.92%

Eggs

$3.76 RON 17.95

$4.02 €3.60

-6.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.07 RON 43.33

$12.94 €11.59

-29.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.14 RON 34.11

$7.77 €6.96

-8.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.46 RON 54.7

$17.76 €15.91

-35.47%

Apples (1kg)

$1.39 RON 6.62

$2.30 €2.06

-39.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 RON 7.55

$1.73 €1.55

-8.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 RON 8.99

$1.86 €1.66

1.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.37 RON 11.32

$2.59 €2.32

-8.49%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 RON 4.40

$1.82 €1.63

-49.45%

Onion (1kg)

$0.90 RON 4.29

$1.97 €1.76

-54.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 RON 4.32

$1.47 €1.32

-38.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 RON 4.81

$0.72 €0.65

40.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.42 RON 30.68

$6.58 €5.90

-2.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.41 RON 35.42

$5.61 €5.02

32.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 RON 5.95

$1.36 €1.22

-8.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 RON 8.27

$2.14 €1.91

-19.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 RON 3.63

$2.33 €2.09

-67.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.23 RON 211

$44.68 €40.01

-1.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.84 RON 3.99

$3.85 €3.45

-78.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.96 RON 4.60

$1.07 €0.96

-10.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.27 RON 39.51

$16.46 €14.74

-49.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.94 RON 9.26

$2.20 €1.97

-11.82%

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

$28.3K RON 135.4K

$34.2K €30.6K

-17.14%

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

$24.7K RON 118.2K

$38.7K €34.7K

-36.12%

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

$151 RON 721

$161 €144

-6.43%

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

$8.44 RON 40.32

$18.41 €16.49

-54.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.16 RON 43.79

$32.74 €29.32

-72.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.36 RON 226

$44.55 €39.90

6.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.01 RON 105

$19.10 €17.10

15.24%

Cinema Ticket

$9.35 RON 44.70

$9.60 €8.60

-2.60%

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

$577 RON 2,758

$668 €598

-13.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,450 RON 45.2K

$17.6K €15.8K

-46.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 RON 416

$102 €91.4

-14.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.26 RON 211

$44.46 €39.82

-0.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.8 RON 472

$98.5 €88.2

0.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 RON 510

$124 €111

-13.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$668 RON 3,193

$1,608 €1,440

-58.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$536 RON 2,560

$1,190 €1,066

-54.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 RON 5,861

$2,812 €2,519

-56.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$807 RON 3,859

$2,013 €1,803

-59.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,568 RON 21.8K

$7,839 €7,021

-41.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,342 RON 16.0K

$4,576 €4,098

-26.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,241 RON 5,928

$1,575 €1,411

-21.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.65

3.85

72.73%

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

Last update for Cluj-Napoca: October 25, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cluj-Napoca

$536 37.7%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 122% $654

Groceries & Markets

Cluj-Napoca

$230 16.2%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 18.4% $42

Eating Out

Cluj-Napoca

$218 15.3%

Lisbon

$243 11% 11.4% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cluj-Napoca

$168 11.8%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 26.1% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Cluj-Napoca

$152 10.7%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 9.4% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Cluj-Napoca

$66 4.6%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 3.5% $2.3

Getting Around

Cluj-Napoca

$53 3.7%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 19.4% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $668 in Cluj-Napoca and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 27% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $55 in Cluj-Napoca vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $230 vs $272 per month, with Cluj-Napoca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

01:58 1:58 AM

23:58 11:58 PM

2 h behind Cluj-Napoca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

324,576

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to RON in detail →

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Between locations

Cluj-Napoca Lisbon 2,800 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Cluj-Napoca
Lisbon

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

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

Cluj-Napoca vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cluj-Napoca is about 36% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, utilities, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 21% lower in Cluj-Napoca. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $668 in Cluj-Napoca versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $577 in Cluj-Napoca versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Cluj-Napoca – a meal for two runs $55 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

For families, Cluj-Napoca is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Lisbon, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cluj-Napoca and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Cluj-Napoca wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.