Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Keflavik

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,210 a month against $3,018 in Keflavik, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
145

Cost of Living Index in Keflavik
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Keflavik Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Keflavik

🇮🇸 Iceland

$3,018

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Keflavik

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $3,018 in Keflavik.

Lisbon $2,210
Keflavik $3,018

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $4,529 in Keflavik.

Lisbon $3,275
Keflavik $4,529

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $6,041 in Keflavik.

Lisbon $4,341
Keflavik $6,041

Living in Lisbon costs roughly 27% less than in Keflavik, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, Keflavik 122% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$24.11 ISK 2,927

-30.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$121 ISK 14.7K

-49.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$20.25 ISK 2,458

-43.90%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$4.22 ISK 513

-29.62%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$3.36 ISK 408

-31.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$3.03 ISK 368

-42.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$8.25 ISK 1,001

-58.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$8.15 ISK 990

-59.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$2.11 ISK 256

-45.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$4.21 ISK 512

-54.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.50 ISK 303

-39.60%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$6.55 ISK 796

-38.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$19.70 ISK 2,391

-34.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$23.90 ISK 2,902

-67.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$41.71 ISK 5,063

-57.42%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.44 ISK 296

-5.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$2.41 ISK 292

-28.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.50 ISK 303

-25.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$4.16 ISK 504

-37.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$3.12 ISK 378

-41.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.64 ISK 199

20.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$3.62 ISK 440

-59.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.81 ISK 219

-60.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$13.85 ISK 1,681

-52.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$16.32 ISK 1,981

-65.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$3.73 ISK 453

-63.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.81 ISK 341

-23.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$3.68 ISK 447

-36.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

$77.2 ISK 9,366

-42.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$6.35 ISK 771

-39.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$2.59 ISK 314

-58.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$80.2 ISK 9,738

-79.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$2.00 ISK 243

10.00%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$68.2K ISK 8.3M

-49.85%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$55.2K ISK 6.7M

-29.85%

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

$161 €144

$95.8 ISK 11.6K

68.36%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$32.13 ISK 3,900

-42.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$84.5 ISK 10.3K

-61.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$76.7 ISK 9,316

-41.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$19.58 ISK 2,377

-50.97%

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

$668 €598

$406 ISK 49.3K

64.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$26.4K ISK 3.2M

-33.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$148 ISK 18.0K

-31.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$66.8 ISK 8,104

-33.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$184 ISK 22.4K

-46.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$190 ISK 23.1K

-34.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$1,862 ISK 226.0K

-13.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$1,359 ISK 165.0K

-12.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$2,527 ISK 306.7K

11.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$2,040 ISK 247.7K

-1.33%

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

$3,819 ISK 463.6K

-58.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

8.81

-56.30%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Keflavik: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Keflavik

$1.4K 45% 14.2% $169

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Keflavik

$566 18.8% 108% $294

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Keflavik

$387 12.8% 59.7% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Keflavik

$212 7% 0% $0

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Keflavik

$265 8.8% 59.8% $99

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Keflavik

$116 3.8% 81.8% $52

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Keflavik

$111 3.7% 75.9% $48

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $1,862 in Keflavik. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Keflavik pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $121 in Keflavik for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $566 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇮🇸 Keflavik

🕒 Local time

08:00 8:00 AM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

15,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Icelandic Króna ISK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 ISK = 8.24 USD

1,000 ISK = 7.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ISK, 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).

Icelandic Króna exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 121 ISK (1,000 ISK = 8.24 USD). 1 EUR = 135 ISK (1,000 ISK = 7.38 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Keflavik 2,950 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Keflavik

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 Keflavik: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon wins on cost – living expenses run 27% lower than in Keflavik. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Lisbon the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 59% lower in Lisbon. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $1,862 in Keflavik. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

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

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $406 in Keflavik. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $2,210 in Lisbon versus $3,018 in Keflavik, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in Keflavik. The gap between the two cities makes Lisbon 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 Keflavik are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Lisbon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 27% less than in Keflavik. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.