Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Ialoveni

For one person, living is cheaper in Ialoveni: $806 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,800 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Ialoveni
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Ialoveni Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Ialoveni

🇲🇩 Moldova

$806

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Ialoveni

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $806 in Ialoveni.

Lisbon $2,210
Ialoveni $806

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,293 in Ialoveni.

Lisbon $3,275
Ialoveni $1,293

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,780 in Ialoveni.

Lisbon $4,341
Ialoveni $1,780

Living in Lisbon is roughly 174% more expensive than in Ialoveni, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Ialoveni is 41% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.96

$8.34 MDL 149

99.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$29.75 MDL 531

107.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$10.30 MDL 184

10.29%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.20 MDL 39.26

35.00%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.22 MDL 21.70

87.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.80 MDL 14.33

117.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.20 MDL 39.34

54.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.18 MDL 38.87

51.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.26 MDL 22.49

-7.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$0.70 MDL 12.55

172.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$0.65 MDL 11.64

132.31%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.75 MDL 49.09

46.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$6.61 MDL 118

95.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.99

$5.07 MDL 90.4

53.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.96

$4.92 MDL 87.9

260.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$0.97 MDL 17.34

137.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.88 MDL 33.49

-7.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$2.01 MDL 35.91

-7.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$2.37 MDL 42.24

9.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$0.72 MDL 12.86

152.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.56 MDL 10.07

251.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.32 MDL 23.55

11.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.85 MDL 15.17

-15.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.92

$3.33 MDL 59.5

97.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$4.92 MDL 87.8

14.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.22 MDL 21.69

11.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.90 MDL 33.87

12.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.34 MDL 6.14

585.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$6.54 MDL 117

583.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$2.29 MDL 40.87

68.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.24 MDL 4.28

345.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$5.08 MDL 90.7

224.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.55 MDL 27.67

41.94%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$29.0K MDL 516.9K

18.08%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$23.9K MDL 425.7K

62.36%

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

$161 €145

$190 MDL 3,388

-15.06%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$9.50 MDL 170

93.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$11.22 MDL 200

191.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.03

$27.86 MDL 497

59.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$11.01 MDL 197

73.48%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.50 MDL 134

28.00%

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

$668 €600

$112 MDL 2,008

493.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,225 MDL 93.3K

237.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.7

$44.64 MDL 797

128.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.95

$28.06 MDL 501

58.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$84.5 MDL 1,508

16.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$93.7 MDL 1,672

32.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$169 MDL 3,009

854.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$113 MDL 2,015

954.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,527

$358 MDL 6,387

686.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,809

$358 MDL 6,398

461.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,043

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,111

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$585 MDL 10.4K

169.09%

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 Ialoveni: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Ialoveni

$113 14% 90.5% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Ialoveni

$168 20.8% 38.4% $105

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Ialoveni

$147 18.3% 39.2% $95

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Ialoveni

$211 26.1% 0.9% $1.8

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Ialoveni

$113 14% 31.9% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Ialoveni

$43 5.3% 32.8% $21

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Ialoveni

$11 1.4% 81.9% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $169 in Ialoveni. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.7 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 $30 in Ialoveni for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $168 per month, with Ialoveni cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇩 Ialoveni

🕒 Local time

11:57 11:57 AM

13:57 1:57 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

15,300

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Moldovan Leu MDL L

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 MDL = 5.6 USD

100 MDL = 5.03 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Ialoveni 3,190 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

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Lisbon
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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 Ialoveni: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ialoveni wins on cost – living expenses run 64% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Ialoveni the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.7 times higher, 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 $169 in Ialoveni. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Ialoveni runs roughly 85% less than in Lisbon. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $112 in Ialoveni. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Ialoveni 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.

Safety-wise, Lisbon and Ialoveni 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 Ialoveni gentler on the wallet – expenses run 64% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.