Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Bursa

For one person, living is cheaper in Bursa: $1,047 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 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
51

Cost of Living Index in Bursa
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Bursa Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Bursa

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,047

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Bursa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,047 in Bursa.

Lisbon $2,210
Bursa $1,047

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,654 in Bursa.

Lisbon $3,275
Bursa $1,654

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,260 in Bursa.

Lisbon $4,341
Bursa $2,260

Living in Lisbon is roughly 111% more expensive than in Bursa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Bursa is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$9.79 ₺488

70.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$30.03 ₺1,496

105.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$7.75 ₺386

46.58%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$3.65 ₺182

-18.63%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.06 ₺52.7

116.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.38 ₺18.70

357.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.29 ₺114

48.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.93 ₺146

12.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$0.96 ₺47.91

20.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$0.80 ₺39.98

138.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.26 ₺112

-33.19%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.28 ₺114

76.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$10.26 ₺511

26.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$4.90 ₺244

58.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$18.96 ₺945

-6.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.66 ₺83.0

38.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.96 ₺97.7

-11.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.04 ₺52.0

78.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.30 ₺64.7

99.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$0.58 ₺28.79

213.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.39 ₺19.64

405.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.73 ₺36.47

101.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.72 ₺35.85

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$2.07 ₺103

217.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$14.15 ₺705

-60.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.08 ₺103

-34.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.25 ₺112

-4.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.98 ₺48.93

137.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$36.23 ₺1,805

23.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$1.03 ₺51.2

273.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.87 ₺43.12

22.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$6.89 ₺343

138.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.37 ₺68.2

60.58%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$44.3K ₺2.2M

-22.80%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$38.9K ₺1.9M

-0.54%

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

$161 €145

$75.9 ₺3,785

112.30%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$10.92 ₺544

68.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$14.81 ₺738

121.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$61.2 ₺3,048

-27.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$23.04 ₺1,148

-17.10%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$5.88 ₺293

63.27%

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

$668 €600

$548 ₺27.3K

21.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$10.9K ₺542.8K

61.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$44.43 ₺2,214

129.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$34.51 ₺1,720

28.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$78.4 ₺3,907

25.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$92.6 ₺4,615

33.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$401 ₺20.0K

301.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$310 ₺15.5K

283.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$723 ₺36.1K

288.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$607 ₺30.2K

231.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$1,191 ₺59.4K

557.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$1,217 ₺60.6K

276.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$1,028 ₺51.2K

53.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

42.67

-90.98%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Bursa: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Bursa

$310 29.6% 73.9% $880

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Bursa

$236 22.5% 13.4% $36

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Bursa

$168 16.1% 30.6% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Bursa

$102 9.7% 52.1% $111

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Bursa

$112 10.7% 32.2% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Bursa

$73 7% 14.4% $9.2

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Bursa

$46 4.4% 28% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $401 in Bursa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 53% 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 $30 in Bursa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $236 per month, with Bursa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇹🇷 Bursa

🕒 Local time

17:39 5:39 PM

20:39 8:39 PM

3 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

3,238,618

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 TRY = 2.01 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Bursa 3,260 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Bursa

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 Bursa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bursa is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and groceries. The 111% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 53% 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $401 in Bursa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Bursa – a meal for two runs $30 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,047 in Bursa versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bursa but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Bursa 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 Bursa 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 Bursa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 53% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.