Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Bitola

For one person, living is cheaper in Bitola: $859 a month against $2,223 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Bitola
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Bitola Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Bitola

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$859

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Bitola

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $859 in Bitola.

Lisbon $2,223
Bitola $859

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $1,287 in Bitola.

Lisbon $3,271
Bitola $1,287

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $1,714 in Bitola.

Lisbon $4,319
Bitola $1,714

Living in Lisbon is roughly 159% more expensive than in Bitola, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Bitola is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$5.25 MKD 286

214.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$27.59 MKD 1,505

122.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$5.28 MKD 288

113.45%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$1.89 MKD 103

61.90%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$1.78 MKD 97.0

26.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.38 MKD 75.4

25.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$2.23 MKD 122

52.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$2.55 MKD 139

33.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.32 MKD 72.1

-15.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.65 MKD 35.45

186.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.66 MKD 90.8

-7.83%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$2.01 MKD 110

97.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$9.70 MKD 529

31.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$7.16 MKD 391

10.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$12.95 MKD 706

31.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.00 MKD 54.6

127.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.39 MKD 75.8

25.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.20 MKD 65.7

54.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$1.59 MKD 86.7

61.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.90 MKD 49.03

106.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.28 MKD 70.0

57.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.55 MKD 30.20

161.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.53 MKD 28.98

54.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$3.20 MKD 175

105.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$6.08 MKD 331

-7.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$0.95 MKD 51.9

34.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.84 MKD 100

12.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.56 MKD 30.79

319.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$16.02 MKD 874

175.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$1.08 MKD 58.9

269.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.62 MKD 33.65

75.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$6.29 MKD 343

164.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.49 MKD 81.3

53.02%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$30.9K MKD 1.7M

8.97%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$32.3K MKD 1.8M

21.60%

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

$167 €149

$146 MKD 7,982

14.47%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$14.27 MKD 778

31.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$12.60 MKD 687

162.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$21.67 MKD 1,182

112.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$6.20 MKD 338

209.52%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$4.49 MKD 245

119.15%

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

$677 €602

$212 MKD 11.6K

219.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$1,142 MKD 62.3K

1382.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$75.1 MKD 4,095

34.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$47.48 MKD 2,590

-3.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$72.3 MKD 3,943

38.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$108 MKD 5,909

13.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$258 MKD 14.0K

526.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$188 MKD 10.3K

535.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$397 MKD 21.7K

620.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$290 MKD 15.8K

586.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$1,665 MKD 90.8K

355.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$1,163 MKD 63.4K

270.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$748 MKD 40.8K

112.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

6.45

-40.31%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Bitola: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Bitola

$188 21.9% 84.3% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Bitola

$199 23.1% 26.2% $71

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Bitola

$109 12.7% 54.8% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Bitola

$173 20.2% 21.1% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Bitola

$136 15.9% 18% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Bitola

$31 3.6% 53.3% $35

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Bitola

$22 2.6% 64.4% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $258 in Bitola. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 112% 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: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $28.00 in Bitola for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $199 per month, with Bitola cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇰 Bitola

🕒 Local time

15:35 3:35 PM

16:35 4:35 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

74,550

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MKD = 1.83 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MKD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 54.55 MKD (100 MKD = 1.83 USD). 1 EUR = 61.33 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Bitola 2,600 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Bitola

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 Bitola: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Bitola differ by about 159% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $859 including rent). Bitola is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 112% higher in Lisbon, 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $258 in Bitola. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 36% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Bitola – a meal for two runs $28.00 versus $61.0 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $859 in Bitola versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bitola but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Bitola 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 Bitola 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 Bitola gentler on the wallet – expenses run 159% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.