Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Gostivar

For one person, living is cheaper in Gostivar: $837 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,500 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Gostivar
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Gostivar Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Gostivar

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Gostivar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $837 in Gostivar.

Lisbon $2,210
Gostivar $837

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,265 in Gostivar.

Lisbon $3,275
Gostivar $1,265

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,693 in Gostivar.

Lisbon $4,341
Gostivar $1,693

Living in Lisbon is roughly 164% more expensive than in Gostivar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Gostivar is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$6.56 MKD 361

153.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$27.78 MKD 1,528

122.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$5.85 MKD 322

94.19%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$1.38 MKD 76.0

115.22%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.32 MKD 72.7

73.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.06 MKD 58.6

64.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$1.31 MKD 72.3

159.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$1.85 MKD 102

78.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.24 MKD 68.1

-6.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.71 MKD 38.81

169.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.43 MKD 78.4

5.59%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.37 MKD 130

69.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$6.29 MKD 346

105.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$5.55 MKD 305

40.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$14.30 MKD 786

24.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.41 MKD 77.5

63.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.41 MKD 77.4

22.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.32 MKD 72.8

40.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.86 MKD 102

39.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.83 MKD 45.51

119.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.75 MKD 41.35

162.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.63 MKD 34.49

133.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.54 MKD 29.49

33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$2.79 MKD 154

135.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$4.44 MKD 244

26.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.94 MKD 51.7

44.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.44 MKD 79.0

48.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.71 MKD 39.02

228.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

$25.74 MKD 1,416

73.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$0.75 MKD 41.47

413.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.31 MKD 17.00

245.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$7.77 MKD 427

111.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.42 MKD 78.2

54.93%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$32.4K MKD 1.8M

5.40%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$26.6K MKD 1.5M

45.61%

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

$161 €144

$129 MKD 7,092

25.03%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$10.81 MKD 595

70.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$18.72 MKD 1,029

74.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$21.69 MKD 1,193

105.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$16.18 MKD 890

18.05%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$7.09 MKD 390

35.40%

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

$668 €598

$368 MKD 20.2K

81.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,800 MKD 319.0K

203.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$36.82 MKD 2,025

177.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$37.07 MKD 2,039

19.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$101 MKD 5,550

-2.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$112 MKD 6,181

10.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$271 MKD 14.9K

494.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$193 MKD 10.6K

517.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$497 MKD 27.3K

466.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$296 MKD 16.3K

580.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$1,515 MKD 83.3K

417.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$1,165 MKD 64.1K

292.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$880 MKD 48.4K

78.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

4.23

-8.98%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Gostivar: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Gostivar

$193 23% 83.8% $997

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Gostivar

$184 21.9% 32.6% $89

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Gostivar

$106 12.7% 56.1% $136

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Gostivar

$158 18.9% 25.4% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Gostivar

$129 15.4% 22.1% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Gostivar

$36 4.3% 43.7% $28

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Gostivar

$31 3.7% 51.1% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $271 in Gostivar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 79% 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 $28 in Gostivar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $184 per month, with Gostivar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇰 Gostivar

🕒 Local time

08:06 8:06 AM

09:06 9:06 AM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

36,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MKD = 1.82 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 55 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.38 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Gostivar 2,560 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Gostivar

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 Gostivar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gostivar wins on cost – living expenses run 62% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Gostivar the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 79% 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 $271 in Gostivar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $837 in Gostivar – Gostivar is about 62% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Gostivar runs roughly 42% less than in Lisbon. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Gostivar is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

Expats usually find Gostivar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.