Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Cahul

For one person, living is cheaper in Cahul: $627 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $19,000 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Cahul
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Cahul Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Cahul

🇲🇩 Moldova

$627

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Cahul

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $627 in Cahul.

Lisbon $2,210
Cahul $627

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $917 in Cahul.

Lisbon $3,275
Cahul $917

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,207 in Cahul.

Lisbon $4,341
Cahul $1,207

Living in Lisbon is roughly 252% more expensive than in Cahul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Cahul is 54% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$8.19 MDL 146

103.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$23.41 MDL 417

163.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$10.36 MDL 185

9.65%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$1.69 MDL 30.11

75.74%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.11 MDL 19.82

106.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.53 MDL 9.53

228.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.01 MDL 35.81

69.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$1.76 MDL 31.45

88.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.20 MDL 21.36

-3.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.49 MDL 8.72

289.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.60 MDL 28.45

-5.63%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.24 MDL 39.89

79.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$6.51 MDL 116

98.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$4.54 MDL 80.9

71.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$6.17 MDL 110

187.84%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$0.98 MDL 17.39

134.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$2.19 MDL 39.09

-21.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.81 MDL 32.25

2.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$2.37 MDL 42.33

9.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.76 MDL 13.54

139.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.52 MDL 9.22

278.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.43 MDL 7.74

241.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.53 MDL 9.50

35.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.39 MDL 60.5

94.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$4.38 MDL 78.1

28.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.41 MDL 25.19

-3.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.97 MDL 35.06

8.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.27 MDL 4.81

762.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$2.87 MDL 51.1

34.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.24 MDL 4.27

345.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$5.44 MDL 97.0

202.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.56 MDL 27.74

41.03%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$33.3K MDL 593.4K

2.73%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$24.4K MDL 435.5K

58.54%

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

$161 €144

$221 MDL 3,948

-27.19%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$7.65 MDL 136

140.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$11.03 MDL 197

196.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$7.62 MDL 136

25.98%

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

$668 €598

$110 MDL 1,964

506.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,249 MDL 93.6K

235.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$45.08 MDL 804

126.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$56.4 MDL 1,005

74.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$51.0 MDL 909

142.63%

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

$507 MDL 9,048

210.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

-51.88%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Cahul: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Cahul

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Cahul

$161 25.7% 40.8% $111

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Cahul

$137 21.8% 43.5% $106

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Cahul

$240 38.3% 13.1% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Cahul

$69 * 10.9% 58.7% $97

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Cahul

$15 * 2.4% 76.1% $49

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Cahul

$5.1 * 0.8% 91.9% $58

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

Cost Breakdown

Lisbon pays about 3.1 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 $23 in Cahul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $161 per month, with Cahul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇩 Cahul

🕒 Local time

02:23 2:23 AM

04:23 4:23 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

39,500

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Moldovan Leu MDL L

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MDL = 5.61 USD

100 MDL = 5.02 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MDL, 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).

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 17.83 MDL (100 MDL = 5.61 USD). 1 EUR = 19.91 MDL (100 MDL = 5.02 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Cahul 3,140 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Cahul

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 Cahul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cahul wins on cost – living expenses run 72% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Cahul the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 3.1 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Supermarket bills run roughly 69% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $627 in Cahul – Cahul is about 72% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $627 in Cahul versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $800 budget is realistic in Cahul but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Cahul 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 Cahul are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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