Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and As Samawah

For one person, living is cheaper in As Samawah: $651 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $18,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in As Samawah
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As Samawah Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

As Samawah

🇮🇶 Iraq

$651

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in As Samawah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $651 in As Samawah.

Lisbon $2,206
As Samawah $651

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,052 in As Samawah.

Lisbon $3,276
As Samawah $1,052

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,452 in As Samawah.

Lisbon $4,346
As Samawah $1,452

Living in Lisbon is roughly 239% more expensive than in As Samawah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, As Samawah is 52% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.04

$4.66 IQD 7,041

261.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.5

$26.87 IQD 40.6K

127.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.80

$6.63 IQD 10.0K

65.61%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.72

$2.82 IQD 4,266

8.16%

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

$2.28 €2.04

$0.35 IQD 522

551.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$0.19 IQD 281

784.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.07

$3.36 IQD 5,079

2.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$3.24 IQD 4,889

20.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$0.90 IQD 1,367

27.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$0.63 IQD 951

200.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.31 IQD 1,978

14.50%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.67

$1.61 IQD 2,436

155.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.60

$1.34 IQD 2,019

870.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.18

$4.02 IQD 6,070

100.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.96

$11.86 IQD 17.9K

50.84%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.03

$0.96 IQD 1,455

136.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.92 IQD 1,383

89.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$0.83 IQD 1,256

119.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.40

$0.40 IQD 606

572.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.58

$0.52 IQD 784

240.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.56 IQD 851

246.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.59 IQD 892

147.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.58 IQD 878

31.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.94

$1.69 IQD 2,548

294.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.03

$6.66 IQD 10.1K

-15.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.97 IQD 2,973

-34.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.89 IQD 2,854

13.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$0.34 IQD 517

576.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.26

$19.98 IQD 30.2K

120.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.55

$1.96 IQD 2,968

103.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$1.28 IQD 1,940

-50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.88

$2.61 IQD 3,937

625.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$0.57 IQD 866

300.00%

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

$33.4K €29.8K

$16.7K IQD 25.3M

99.40%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$16.6K IQD 25.1M

131.56%

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

$158 €141

$69.4 IQD 104.9K

127.97%

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

$17.54 €15.64

$16.69 IQD 25.2K

5.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.82

$16.78 IQD 25.3K

85.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.82

$36.45 IQD 55.1K

22.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.93

$16.68 IQD 25.2K

13.79%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.54

$7.81 IQD 11.8K

22.66%

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

$674 €601

$49.72 IQD 75.1K

1254.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$1,297 IQD 2.0M

1344.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.2

$25.54 IQD 38.6K

300.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.94

$33.33 IQD 50.4K

37.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.2

$58.9 IQD 89.0K

73.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$41.08 IQD 62.1K

196.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,463

$209 IQD 316.2K

683.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,059

$137 IQD 207.7K

763.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,519

$168 IQD 254.1K

1579.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,800

$309 IQD 467.1K

552.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,989

$867 IQD 1.3M

804.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,193

$496 IQD 750.1K

847.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,505

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

4.12

-7.28%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for As Samawah: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

As Samawah

$137 21.1% 88.4% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

As Samawah

$141 21.7% 48.5% $133

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

As Samawah

$116 17.9% 52.5% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

As Samawah

$103 15.8% 50.3% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

As Samawah

$71 11% 57.3% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

As Samawah

$52 8% 18.4% $12

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

As Samawah

$30 4.6% 50.8% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,641 in Lisbon and $209 in As Samawah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $27 in As Samawah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $141 per month, with As Samawah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇮🇶 As Samawah

🕒 Local time

08:56 8:56 AM

11:56 11:56 AM

3 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

250,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.9 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IQD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,694 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.9 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon As Samawah 4,950 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

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Lisbon
As Samawah

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

Lisbon vs As Samawah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

As Samawah is about 70% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $3,309 in Lisbon and $977 in As Samawah to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $209 in As Samawah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in As Samawah runs roughly 55% less than in Lisbon. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $50 in As Samawah. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $651 in As Samawah versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in As Samawah but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes As Samawah 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.

Expats usually find As Samawah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 70% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.