Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Cugir

For one person, living is cheaper in Cugir: $866 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Cugir
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Cugir Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Cugir

🇷🇴 Romania

$866

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Cugir

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

A single person spends $2,206 per month in Lisbon vs $866 in Cugir, rent included.

Lisbon $2,206
Cugir $866

A couple spends around $3,276 per month in Lisbon vs $1,273 in Cugir, rent included.

Lisbon $3,276
Cugir $1,273

A family of three spends $4,346 per month in Lisbon vs $1,680 in Cugir, rent included.

Lisbon $4,346
Cugir $1,680

Lisbon costs about 155% more than Cugir, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Lisbon sits 63% above the global median, while Cugir is 36% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.00

$5.71 RON 27.13

195.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.3

$21.29 RON 101

186.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.77

$7.28 RON 34.61

50.82%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$1.50 RON 7.13

103.33%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$1.37 RON 6.50

66.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$1.16 RON 5.52

44.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$1.43 RON 6.81

140.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$2.13 RON 10.14

83.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.25 RON 5.94

-8.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.19 RON 5.68

58.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.77 RON 8.41

-15.25%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$2.66 RON 12.63

54.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.57

$7.30 RON 34.69

78.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.16

$4.69 RON 22.27

71.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.92

$10.39 RON 49.40

72.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.67 RON 7.92

35.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.77 RON 8.44

-1.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.72 RON 8.16

5.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.40 RON 6.64

92.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$0.80 RON 3.78

121.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$0.87 RON 4.12

122.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.20 RON 5.70

21.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.81 RON 3.86

-6.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.92

$5.22 RON 24.79

27.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.02

$5.75 RON 27.35

-1.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.23 RON 5.86

4.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.74 RON 8.28

22.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$0.71 RON 3.39

223.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.17

$21.52 RON 102

104.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.54

$0.54 RON 2.56

637.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.54 RON 2.57

18.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.84

$5.26 RON 25.02

259.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.37 RON 6.51

66.42%

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

$33.4K €29.7K

$28.2K RON 133.9K

18.49%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$25.2K RON 119.9K

52.66%

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

$158 €141

$122 RON 581

29.48%

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

$17.54 €15.61

$8.30 RON 39.47

111.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.75

$7.09 RON 33.69

339.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.73

$32.70 RON 155

36.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.89

$22.90 RON 109

-17.12%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.52

$5.28 RON 25.08

81.44%

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

$674 €599

$156 RON 742

331.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$3,898 RON 18.5K

380.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.9

$31.54 RON 150

224.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.85

$8.46 RON 40.22

442.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.0

$70.1 RON 333

45.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$73.4 RON 349

66.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,460

$420 RON 1,997

290.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,057

$277 RON 1,316

328.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,514

$684 RON 3,249

313.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,796

$422 RON 2,007

378.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,973

$2,155 RON 10.2K

263.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,183

$1,188 RON 5,647

295.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,501

$531 RON 2,525

217.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

7.35

-48.03%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Cugir: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Cugir

$277 32% 76.7% $910

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Cugir

$191 22.1% 30.3% $83

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Cugir

$107 12.4% 56.4% $138

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Cugir

$138 15.9% 33.5% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Cugir

$83 9.5% 50.7% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Cugir

$43 5% 32.2% $21

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Cugir

$28 3.2% 54.3% $33

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,641 in Lisbon versus $420 in Cugir. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Lisbon are about 3.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Lisbon versus $21 in Cugir. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $275 vs $191 – making Cugir the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇷🇴 Cugir

🕒 Local time

01:49 1:49 AM

03:49 3:49 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

28,780

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Cugir 2,770 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Cugir

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 Cugir: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Lisbon is pricier by about 155%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,309 per month in Lisbon and $1,299 in Cugir. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cugir, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $420 there versus $1,641 in Lisbon.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Lisbon and $21 in Cugir. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $866 in Cugir. That makes Cugir about 61% cheaper.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cugir, where all-in costs run around $866, than in Lisbon at $2,206. In Cugir it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lisbon it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Cugir – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Cugir. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Lisbon makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.