Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Assela

For one person, living is cheaper in Assela: $845 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Assela
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Assela Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Assela

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

$845

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Assela

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 Assela actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $845 in Assela.

Lisbon $2,210
Assela $845

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,216 in Assela.

Lisbon $3,275
Assela $1,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,586 in Assela.

Lisbon $4,341
Assela $1,586

Living in Lisbon is roughly 161% more expensive than in Assela, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Assela is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$4.05 ETB 652

311.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$42.56 ETB 6,847

45.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$6.55 ETB 1,054

73.44%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$0.88 ETB 142

237.50%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$0.59 ETB 94.7

288.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.67 ETB 108

159.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$0.78 ETB 125

335.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.24 ETB 360

47.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.05 ETB 169

10.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.17 ETB 189

63.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.13 ETB 342

-29.11%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$1.75 ETB 282

129.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$7.57 ETB 1,217

70.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$10.25 ETB 1,649

-24.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$9.44 ETB 1,518

88.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$5.30 ETB 853

-56.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$0.63 ETB 102

174.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.23 ETB 358

-16.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$0.70 ETB 113

270.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.50 ETB 80.5

264.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.04 ETB 168

89.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.64 ETB 104

129.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.61 ETB 97.6

18.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$7.91 ETB 1,273

-16.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$5.60 ETB 901

0.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.71 ETB 115

91.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.22 ETB 197

75.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$1.31 ETB 210

193.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.27 ETB 43.25

296.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$2.01 ETB 324

718.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$0.89 ETB 142

147.19%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$55.3K ETB 8.9M

-38.20%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$55.0K ETB 8.8M

-29.53%

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

$161 €144

$207 ETB 33.3K

-22.16%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$7.35 ETB 1,183

150.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$211 ETB 34.0K

-84.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$3.72 ETB 598

158.06%

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

$668 €598

$635 ETB 102.1K

5.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$29.9K ETB 4.8M

-41.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$32.84 ETB 5,285

210.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$71.7 ETB 11.5K

-37.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$79.8 ETB 12.8K

23.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$82.6 ETB 13.3K

49.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

18.5

-79.19%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Assela: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Assela

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Assela

$213 25.2% 21.6% $59

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Assela

$76 9% 68.6% $167

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Assela

$426 50.4% 101% $213

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Assela

$120 14.2% 27.6% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Assela

$7.4 * 0.9% 88.3% $56

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Assela

$2.7 * 0.3% 95.8% $61

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $43 in Assela for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $213 per month, with Assela cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇪🇹 Assela

🕒 Local time

04:30 4:30 AM

07:30 7:30 AM

3 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

139,500

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Ethiopian Birr ETB Br

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD

1,000 ETB = 5.57 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ETB, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Ethiopian Birr exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 161 ETB (1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD). 1 EUR = 180 ETB (1,000 ETB = 5.57 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Assela 5,900 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Assela

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 Assela: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Assela is about 62% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $3,315 in Lisbon and $1,268 in Assela 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.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $635 in Assela. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Assela – a meal for two runs $43 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $845 in Assela versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Assela but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Assela 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, Lisbon and Assela are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.