Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Marsta

For one person, living is cheaper in Marsta: $1,657 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

Lisbon, Portugal
Marsta, Sweden
Lisbon
🇵🇹 Portugal
$2,210
/mo nomad
Marsta
🇸🇪 Sweden
$1,657
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Marsta

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,657 in Marsta.

  • Lisbon $2,210
  • Marsta $1,657

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $2,563 in Marsta.

  • Lisbon $3,275
  • Marsta $2,563

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $3,468 in Marsta.

  • Lisbon $4,341
  • Marsta $3,468

Living in Lisbon is roughly 33% more expensive than in Marsta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, Marsta 22% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Lisbon
Marsta
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$16.65 €14.92
$13.29 SEK 130
25.28%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$61.7 €55.3
$64.3 SEK 632
-4.04%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.36 €10.18
$10.28 SEK 101
10.51%
Cappuccino
$2.97 €2.66
$4.31 SEK 42.30
-31.09%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.29 €2.05
$2.00 SEK 19.68
14.50%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.74 €1.56
$1.83 SEK 17.95
-4.92%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.40 €3.05
$6.88 SEK 67.6
-50.58%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.31 €2.97
$6.94 SEK 68.1
-52.31%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Lisbon
Marsta
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.16 €1.04
$1.72 SEK 16.85
-32.56%
White Bread (500g)
$1.91 €1.71
$3.15 SEK 30.93
-39.37%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.51 €1.36
$5.73 SEK 56.3
-73.65%
Eggs
$4.02 €3.60
$3.67 SEK 36.06
9.54%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$12.94 €11.59
$13.27 SEK 130
-2.49%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.77 €6.97
$9.05 SEK 88.8
-14.14%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$17.76 €15.92
$16.91 SEK 166
5.03%
Apples (1kg)
$2.30 €2.06
$2.93 SEK 28.80
-21.50%
Banana (1kg)
$1.73 €1.55
$2.68 SEK 26.36
-35.45%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.86 €1.66
$2.08 SEK 20.39
-10.58%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.59 €2.32
$3.67 SEK 36.01
-29.43%
Potato (1kg)
$1.82 €1.63
$1.43 SEK 14.09
27.27%
Onion (1kg)
$1.97 €1.76
$1.48 SEK 14.54
33.11%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.47 €1.32
$1.99 SEK 19.58
-26.13%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.72 €0.65
$1.91 SEK 18.78
-62.30%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.58 €5.90
$6.96 SEK 68.4
-5.46%
Wine (Bottle)
$5.61 €5.02
$10.01 SEK 98.3
-43.96%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.36 €1.22
$1.97 SEK 19.33
-30.96%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.14 €1.91
$2.15 SEK 21.14
-0.47%
🚌 Getting Around
Lisbon
Marsta
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.33 €2.09
$3.39 SEK 33.33
-31.27%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$44.68 €40.04
$77.3 SEK 759
-42.18%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.85 €3.45
$13.37 SEK 131
-71.20%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.07 €0.96
$2.07 SEK 20.29
-48.31%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$16.46 €14.75
$56.9 SEK 558
-71.06%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.20 €1.97
$1.77 SEK 17.37
24.29%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$34.2K €30.6K
$33.7K SEK 330.7K
1.51%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$38.7K €34.7K
$33.8K SEK 332.3K
14.44%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lisbon
Marsta
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$161 €144
$61.2 SEK 601
163.43%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$18.41 €16.50
$28.72 SEK 282
-35.90%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$32.74 €29.34
$40.48 SEK 397
-19.12%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Lisbon
Marsta
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$44.55 €39.92
$37.42 SEK 367
19.05%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$19.10 €17.11
$26.31 SEK 258
-27.40%
Cinema Ticket
$9.60 €8.60
$16.10 SEK 158
-40.37%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Lisbon
Marsta
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$668 €598
$219 SEK 2,149
205.03%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$17.6K €15.8K
$4,996 SEK 49.1K
252.58%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Lisbon
Marsta
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$102 €91.4
$50.5 SEK 496
101.98%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$44.46 €39.85
$29.77 SEK 292
49.34%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$98.5 €88.3
$91.2 SEK 895
8.06%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$124 €111
$103 SEK 1,009
20.36%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Lisbon
Marsta
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,608 €1,441
$811 SEK 7,959
98.44%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,190 €1,066
$615 SEK 6,039
93.51%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,812 €2,520
$1,380 SEK 13.6K
103.77%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,013 €1,804
$1,006 SEK 9,879
100.12%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$7,839 €7,025
$4,040 SEK 39.7K
94.02%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$4,576 €4,100
$2,789 SEK 27.4K
64.07%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Lisbon
Marsta
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,575 €1,411
$4,609 SEK 45.3K
-65.83%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.85
2.8
37.50%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Marsta: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Lisbon
$1.2K
Marsta
$615 48.3% $575
Groceries & Markets
Lisbon
$272
Marsta
$352 29.2% $79
Eating Out
Lisbon
$243
Marsta
$252 4.1% $9.8
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lisbon
$212
Marsta
$130 38.6% $82
Clothing & Footwear
Lisbon
$166
Marsta
$123 25.6% $43
Sport & Entertainment
Lisbon
$64
Marsta
$70 9.2% $5.9
Getting Around
Lisbon
$63
Marsta
$115 81.3% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $811 in Marsta. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Marsta pays about 2.9 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $64 in Marsta for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $352 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇵🇹 Lisbon
🇸🇪 Marsta
🕒 Local time
09:19 9:19 AM
10:19 10:19 AM
1 h ahead of Lisbon
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
545,923 Capital
24,068
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.82 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 SEK (100 SEK = 9.13 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Lisbon Marsta 3,000 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Lisbon
  • Marsta

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 Marsta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Lisbon and in Marsta?
Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,657 in Marsta, so Marsta is about 25% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city has better-paying jobs?
On paper, salaries run 66% 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.
How do apartment prices compare in Lisbon and in Marsta?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $811 in Marsta. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Lisbon and Marsta?
Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $219 in Marsta. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 23% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.
How far does $2,500 go in Lisbon compared to Marsta?
Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Marsta gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.
How does quality of life compare between Lisbon and Marsta?
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.
Is Lisbon or Marsta safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Lisbon and Marsta are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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