Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ilmenau and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Ilmenau: $2,071 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

100

Cost of Living Index in Ilmenau
Learn more

Ilmenau Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

Jump to prices

Ilmenau

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,071

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,071 in Ilmenau versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Ilmenau $2,071
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,525 in Ilmenau versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Ilmenau $2,525
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,980 in Ilmenau versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Ilmenau $2,980
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Ilmenau costs roughly 7% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.96 €9.75

$16.50 €14.67

-33.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 €59.2

$61.3 €54.5

8.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.02

$11.27 €10.03

Cappuccino

$3.41 €3.04

$3.06 €2.72

11.44%

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

$4.26 €3.79

$2.26 €2.01

88.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.97 €7.09

$1.73 €1.54

360.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.41 €3.92

$3.39 €3.02

30.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.99 €4.44

$3.40 €3.02

46.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 €1.01

$1.12 €1.00

0.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.86 €1.65

15.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.24 €2.88

$1.53 €1.36

111.76%

Eggs

$3.23 €2.87

$3.96 €3.53

-18.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.33 €12.75

$12.76 €11.35

12.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.24 €9.11

$7.90 €7.02

29.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.79

$16.97 €15.09

4.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$2.27 €2.02

26.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 €1.24

$1.75 €1.55

-20.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 €3.11

$1.85 €1.64

89.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.82 €3.40

$2.57 €2.28

48.64%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.86 €1.65

13.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 €1.21

$2.02 €1.80

-32.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 €1.45

$1.44 €1.28

13.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.78

$0.82 €0.73

7.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.22 €8.20

$6.56 €5.83

40.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 €5.53

$5.62 €5.00

10.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 €0.99

$1.28 €1.14

-13.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 €1.32

$2.07 €1.84

-28.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.3 €58.1

$44.18 €39.30

47.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.23 €4.65

$3.99 €3.55

31.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.21 €3.75

$1.09 €0.97

286.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$43.78 €38.94

$16.64 €14.81

163.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 €1.90

$2.28 €2.03

-6.14%

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

$32.3K €28.7K

$33.7K €30.0K

-4.21%

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

$37.8K €33.6K

$39.3K €35.0K

-3.89%

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

$675 €600

$167 €149

302.91%

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

$27.38 €24.36

$18.80 €16.72

45.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.08 €30.32

$33.09 €29.43

2.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.13 €42.81

$46.01 €40.93

4.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$13.20 €11.74

$9.84 €8.75

34.15%

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

$454 €404

$677 €602

-32.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.0 €82.8

$101 €90.1

-8.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.50 €28.02

$45.76 €40.70

-31.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 €107

$100.0 €88.9

20.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 €101

$123 €109

-7.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$471 €419

$1,614 €1,436

-70.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$455 €404

$1,197 €1,065

-62.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$828 €737

$2,862 €2,545

-71.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,254 €2,894

$1,588 €1,412

104.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.95

3.85

2.60%

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

Last update for Ilmenau: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ilmenau

$736 35.6%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 70.2% $517

Accommodation & Living

Ilmenau

$455 22%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 163% $742

Groceries & Markets

Ilmenau

$309 14.9%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 12.8% $40

Eating Out

Ilmenau

$243 11.8%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 0.5% $1.2

Clothing & Footwear

Ilmenau

$161 7.8%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 3.1% $5.1

Getting Around

Ilmenau

$92 * 4.4%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 31.2% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Ilmenau

$75 3.6%

Lisbon

$66 3% 11.9% $8.8

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 $471 in Ilmenau and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ilmenau pays 105% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67.0 in Ilmenau vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $309 vs $269 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Ilmenau

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

18:45 6:45 PM

17:45 5:45 PM

1 h behind Ilmenau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

39,000

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ilmenau Lisbon 2,060 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Ilmenau
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

Ilmenau vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ilmenau and Lisbon differ by about 7% in total monthly costs ($2,071 vs $2,223 including rent). Ilmenau is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 105% higher in Ilmenau, 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: $471 in Ilmenau versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,071 per month in Ilmenau versus $2,223 in Lisbon – a 7% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Ilmenau runs roughly 48% less than in Lisbon. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $2,071 in Ilmenau versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Ilmenau but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Ilmenau 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, Ilmenau 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 Ilmenau gentler on the wallet – expenses run 7% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.