Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Elbasan

For one person, living is cheaper in Elbasan: $891 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,800 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Elbasan
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Elbasan Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Elbasan

🇦🇱 Albania

$891

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Elbasan

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

A single person spends $2,210 per month in Lisbon vs $891 in Elbasan, rent included.

Lisbon $2,210
Elbasan $891

A couple spends around $3,275 per month in Lisbon vs $1,407 in Elbasan, rent included.

Lisbon $3,275
Elbasan $1,407

A family of three spends $4,341 per month in Lisbon vs $1,924 in Elbasan, rent included.

Lisbon $4,341
Elbasan $1,924

Lisbon costs about 148% more than Elbasan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Lisbon sits 62% above the global median, while Elbasan is 35% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$10.08 ALL 814

65.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$36.61 ALL 2,957

68.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$6.96 ALL 562

63.22%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$1.78 ALL 143

66.85%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.40 ALL 113

63.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.69 ALL 55.5

152.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.11 ALL 171

61.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.85 ALL 230

16.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.98 ALL 160

-41.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$0.94 ALL 76.0

103.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.58 ALL 128

-4.43%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.60 ALL 210

54.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$10.14 ALL 819

27.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$5.96 ALL 482

30.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$11.74 ALL 948

51.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.21 ALL 97.7

90.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$2.27 ALL 184

-23.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.40 ALL 113

32.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.09 ALL 88.1

137.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.03 ALL 83.5

76.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.06 ALL 85.3

85.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.79 ALL 63.7

86.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.65 ALL 52.6

10.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$4.42 ALL 357

48.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$7.83 ALL 633

-28.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.04 ALL 83.6

30.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.79 ALL 145

19.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.51 ALL 41.15

356.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$19.70 ALL 1,591

126.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$3.62 ALL 292

6.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.44 ALL 116

-25.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$14.87 ALL 1,201

10.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$2.18 ALL 176

0.92%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$30.0K ALL 2.4M

13.82%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$29.5K ALL 2.4M

31.34%

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

$161 €145

$62.4 ALL 5,040

158.41%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$15.72 ALL 1,269

17.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$12.18 ALL 984

168.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$56.7 ALL 4,577

-21.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$17.27 ALL 1,395

10.60%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$4.28 ALL 345

124.30%

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

$668 €600

$141 ALL 11.3K

375.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$1,879 ALL 151.8K

837.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$72.7 ALL 5,869

40.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$45.27 ALL 3,656

-1.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$94.3 ALL 7,613

4.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$97.5 ALL 7,878

26.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$305 ALL 24.7K

426.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$203 ALL 16.4K

485.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$448 ALL 36.2K

528.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$313 ALL 25.3K

543.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$1,349 ALL 109.0K

480.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$877 ALL 70.8K

422.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$552 ALL 44.6K

185.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

6.1

-36.89%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Elbasan: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Elbasan

$203 22.8% 82.9% $987

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Elbasan

$213 23.9% 21.9% $60

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Elbasan

$147 16.6% 39.2% $95

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Elbasan

$90 10.1% 57.5% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Elbasan

$139 15.7% 16% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Elbasan

$65 7.3% 2.3% $1.5

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Elbasan

$33 3.7% 48.5% $31

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,608 in Lisbon versus $305 in Elbasan. 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 2.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62 in Lisbon versus $37 in Elbasan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $272 vs $213 – making Elbasan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇦🇱 Elbasan

🕒 Local time

17:39 5:39 PM

18:39 6:39 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

78,703

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 ALL = 1.24 USD

100 ALL = 1.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ALL, 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).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 80.77 ALL (100 ALL = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 89.91 ALL (100 ALL = 1.11 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Elbasan 2,490 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Elbasan

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 Elbasan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Lisbon is pricier by about 148%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,315 per month in Lisbon and $1,336 in Elbasan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Elbasan, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $305 there versus $1,608 in Lisbon.

Groceries cost about 28% more in Lisbon, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62 in Lisbon and $37 in Elbasan. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Elbasan, where all-in costs run around $891, than in Lisbon at $2,210. In Elbasan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lisbon it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Elbasan – 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 Elbasan. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Lisbon makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.