Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Ba'qubah

For one person, living is cheaper in Ba’qubah: $511 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $20,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Ba'qubah
Learn more

Ba'qubah Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Ba'qubah

🇮🇶 Iraq

$511

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Ba'qubah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $511 in Ba’qubah.

Lisbon $2,210
Ba'qubah $511

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $819 in Ba’qubah.

Lisbon $3,275
Ba'qubah $819

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,128 in Ba’qubah.

Lisbon $4,341
Ba'qubah $1,128

Living in Lisbon is roughly 333% more expensive than in Ba’qubah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Ba’qubah is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$4.16 IQD 6,289

300.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$13.19 IQD 19.9K

368.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$5.46 IQD 8,250

108.06%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$1.03 IQD 1,555

188.35%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.48 IQD 726

377.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.16 IQD 246

987.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$1.60 IQD 2,421

112.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$4.04 IQD 6,101

-18.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$0.95 IQD 1,432

22.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$0.52 IQD 780

267.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$0.95 IQD 1,438

58.95%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.24 IQD 1,873

224.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$1.96 IQD 2,966

560.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$2.11 IQD 3,183

268.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$9.04 IQD 13.7K

96.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$0.87 IQD 1,310

164.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$0.96 IQD 1,456

80.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$0.82 IQD 1,237

126.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$0.49 IQD 737

428.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$0.52 IQD 791

250.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.60 IQD 901

228.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.43 IQD 649

241.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.19 IQD 287

278.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$2.13 IQD 3,216

208.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$10.90 IQD 16.5K

-48.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.42 IQD 2,153

-4.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.84 IQD 2,782

16.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.32 IQD 477

628.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$1.69 IQD 2,550

127.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.56 IQD 2,358

-31.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$4.58 IQD 6,926

259.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$0.29 IQD 431

658.62%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$16.5K IQD 24.9M

107.64%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$17.2K IQD 26.0M

124.83%

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

$161 €145

$50.2 IQD 75.9K

220.90%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$12.09 IQD 18.3K

52.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$22.87 IQD 34.6K

43.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$16.35 IQD 24.7K

172.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$3.38 IQD 5,107

184.02%

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

$668 €600

$23.01 IQD 34.8K

2801.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$550 IQD 831.0K

3103.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$16.83 IQD 25.4K

506.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$16.36 IQD 24.7K

171.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$59.4 IQD 89.8K

65.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$23.44 IQD 35.4K

427.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$205 IQD 309.3K

685.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$137 IQD 206.9K

769.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$381 IQD 576.1K

637.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$348 IQD 525.6K

478.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$860 IQD 1.3M

811.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$489 IQD 738.4K

836.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$626 IQD 946.4K

151.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

2.53

52.17%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Ba'qubah: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Ba'qubah

$137 26.8% 88.5% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Ba'qubah

$122 23.9% 55.1% $150

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Ba'qubah

$81 15.8% 66.7% $162

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Ba'qubah

$85 16.7% 59.9% $127

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Ba'qubah

$52 10.2% 68.5% $114

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Ba'qubah

$23 4.5% 63.7% $41

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Ba'qubah

$11 * 2.1% 83% $52

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 $1,608 in Lisbon and $205 in Ba’qubah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.5 times 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: $62 in Lisbon vs $13 in Ba’qubah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $122 per month, with Ba’qubah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇮🇶 Ba'qubah

🕒 Local time

20:34 8:34 PM

23:34 11:34 PM

3 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

268,866

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IQD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,682 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Ba'qubah 4,790 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Ba'qubah

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 Ba'qubah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ba’qubah is about 77% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.5 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $205 in Ba’qubah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $23 in Ba’qubah. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ba’qubah – a meal for two runs $13 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $511 in Ba’qubah versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ba’qubah but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Ba’qubah 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.

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