Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Interlaken and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,206 a month against $3,869 in Interlaken, rent and utilities included – about $20,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

186

Cost of Living Index in Interlaken
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Interlaken Living Index
106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Interlaken

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,869

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,869 in Interlaken versus $2,206 in Lisbon.

Interlaken $3,869
Lisbon $2,206

Estimated couple costs with rent: $6,127 in Interlaken versus $3,276 in Lisbon.

Interlaken $6,127
Lisbon $3,276

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $8,385 in Interlaken versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Interlaken $8,385
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Interlaken is roughly 75% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Interlaken 186% above, Lisbon 63% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.68 CHF 25.10

$16.86 €15.02

81.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$99.4 CHF 81.3

$61.0 €54.4

62.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.09 CHF 14.80

$10.98 €9.78

64.75%

Cappuccino

$5.46 CHF 4.47

$3.05 €2.72

79.02%

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

$5.61 CHF 4.58

$2.28 €2.03

146.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.77 CHF 3.08

$1.68 €1.50

124.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.01 CHF 6.56

$3.44 €3.06

132.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.35 CHF 4.37

$3.91 €3.48

36.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 CHF 1.36

$1.15 €1.02

45.22%

White Bread (500g)

$3.67 CHF 3.00

$1.89 €1.68

94.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.47 CHF 3.65

$1.50 €1.34

198.00%

Eggs

$7.45 CHF 6.09

$4.12 €3.67

80.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$31.40 CHF 25.68

$13.01 €11.59

141.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.83 CHF 23.58

$8.04 €7.17

258.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$41.69 CHF 34.10

$17.89 €15.94

133.04%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 CHF 3.25

$2.27 €2.02

74.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 CHF 1.27

$1.74 €1.55

-10.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.79 CHF 2.28

$1.82 €1.62

53.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.09 CHF 2.53

$2.69 €2.39

14.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.32 CHF 1.08

$1.77 €1.57

-25.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 CHF 1.42

$1.94 €1.73

-10.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.17 CHF 1.78

$1.46 €1.30

48.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 CHF 0.94

$0.76 €0.68

51.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.84 CHF 8.87

$6.66 €5.93

62.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.44 CHF 10.18

$5.64 €5.02

120.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.15 CHF 1.76

$1.29 €1.15

66.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 CHF 2.59

$2.14 €1.91

48.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.04 CHF 3.31

$2.30 €2.05

75.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$202 CHF 165

$44.02 €39.21

358.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.68 CHF 3.83

$3.98 €3.55

17.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$6.28 CHF 5.14

$0.64 €0.57

881.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$60.0 CHF 49.10

$18.93 €16.86

217.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.33 CHF 1.90

$2.28 €2.03

2.19%

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

$38.6K CHF 31.6K

$33.4K €29.7K

15.76%

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

$39.5K CHF 32.3K

$38.5K €34.3K

2.47%

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

$363 CHF 297

$158 €141

129.50%

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

$29.27 CHF 23.94

$17.54 €15.62

66.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$73.7 CHF 60.3

$31.18 €27.78

136.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 CHF 80.7

$44.64 €39.77

120.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.91

Cinema Ticket

$22.26 CHF 18.21

$9.58 €8.53

132.36%

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

$1,548 CHF 1,266

$674 €600

129.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.8K CHF 20.3K

$18.7K €16.7K

32.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$161 CHF 132

$102 €91.0

57.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$121 CHF 99.2

$45.90 €40.89

164.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$199 CHF 163

$102 €91.0

94.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$334 CHF 274

$122 €109

174.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,928 CHF 1,577

$1,641 €1,461

17.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,593 CHF 1,303

$1,187 €1,058

34.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,403 CHF 2,783

$2,825 €2,516

20.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,450 CHF 2,822

$2,018 €1,798

70.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$12.2K CHF 10.0K

$7,836 €6,980

56.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,408 CHF 6,877

$4,701 €4,188

78.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$7,375 CHF 6,032

$1,687 €1,503

337.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.36

3.82

-38.22%

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

Last update for Interlaken: November 1, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Interlaken

$1.6K 41.2%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 25.5% $406

Groceries & Markets

Interlaken

$592 15.3%

Lisbon

$275 12.5% 53.6% $318

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Interlaken

$466 12%

Lisbon

$207 9.4% 55.6% $259

Eating Out

Interlaken

$454 11.7%

Lisbon

$245 11.1% 45.9% $208

Clothing & Footwear

Interlaken

$367 9.5%

Lisbon

$168 7.6% 54.4% $200

Getting Around

Interlaken

$254 6.6%

Lisbon

$60 2.7% 76.2% $194

Sport & Entertainment

Interlaken

$143 3.7%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 55.4% $79

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,928 in Interlaken and $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Interlaken pays about 4.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $99 in Interlaken vs $61 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $592 vs $275 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Interlaken

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

23:25 11:25 PM

22:25 10:25 PM

1 h behind Interlaken

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,600

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.818 CHF (1 CHF = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.918 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Interlaken Lisbon 1,640 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Interlaken
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

Interlaken vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon is about 43% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Interlaken is about 4.4 times higher, 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: $1,928 in Interlaken versus $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $3,869 per month in Interlaken versus $2,206 in Lisbon – Lisbon is about 43% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Lisbon runs roughly 78% less than in Interlaken. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $2,206 in Lisbon versus $3,869 in Interlaken, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in Interlaken. The gap between the two cities makes Lisbon 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, Interlaken and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Lisbon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 43% less than in Interlaken. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.