Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Mashhad, Iraq

For one person, living is cheaper in Mashhad: $756 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $17,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
36

Cost of Living Index in Mashhad
Learn more

Mashhad Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Mashhad

🇮🇶 Iraq

$756

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Mashhad

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $756 in Mashhad.

Lisbon $2,206
Mashhad $756

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,119 in Mashhad.

Lisbon $3,276
Mashhad $1,119

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,481 in Mashhad.

Lisbon $4,346
Mashhad $1,481

Living in Lisbon is roughly 192% more expensive than in Mashhad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Mashhad is 44% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.04

$4.49 IQD 6,781

275.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.5

$26.73 IQD 40.4K

128.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.80

$6.73 IQD 10.2K

63.15%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.72

$2.71 IQD 4,100

12.55%

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

$2.28 €2.04

$0.36 IQD 542

533.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$0.20 IQD 302

740.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.07

$3.37 IQD 5,090

2.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$3.39 IQD 5,126

15.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$0.91 IQD 1,368

26.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$0.73 IQD 1,106

158.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.32 IQD 1,997

13.64%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.67

$0.82 IQD 1,242

402.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.60

$3.41 IQD 5,157

281.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.18

$1.98 IQD 2,985

306.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.96

$2.95 IQD 4,463

506.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.03

$1.03 IQD 1,556

120.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.91 IQD 1,377

91.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$0.87 IQD 1,321

109.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.40

$0.64 IQD 971

320.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.58

$0.59 IQD 898

200.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.56 IQD 840

246.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.31 IQD 474

370.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.21 IQD 321

261.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.94

$0.77 IQD 1,168

764.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.03

$11.82 IQD 17.9K

-52.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.92 IQD 2,898

-32.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.87 IQD 2,832

14.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$0.34 IQD 520

576.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.26

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.55

$1.96 IQD 2,965

103.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$1.31 IQD 1,972

-51.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.88

$6.42 IQD 9,699

194.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$0.54 IQD 810

322.22%

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

$33.4K €29.8K

$16.8K IQD 25.4M

98.74%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$16.5K IQD 25.0M

133.03%

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

$158 €141

$191 IQD 288.5K

-17.16%

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

$17.54 €15.64

$19.44 IQD 29.4K

-9.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.82

$38.59 IQD 58.3K

-19.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.82

$36.79 IQD 55.6K

21.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.93

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.54

$9.69 IQD 14.6K

-1.14%

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

$674 €601

$143 IQD 215.6K

372.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$3,191 IQD 4.8M

486.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.2

$25.57 IQD 38.6K

299.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.94

$34.03 IQD 51.4K

34.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.2

$58.7 IQD 88.8K

73.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$42.44 IQD 64.1K

187.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,463

$212 IQD 319.9K

674.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,059

$139 IQD 210.6K

751.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,519

$378 IQD 571.7K

646.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,800

$319 IQD 482.6K

531.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,989

$862 IQD 1.3M

809.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,193

$491 IQD 742.5K

856.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,505

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

4.12

-7.28%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Mashhad: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Mashhad

$139 18.4% 88.3% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Mashhad

$115 15.2% 58.1% $160

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Mashhad

$115 15.1% 53.3% $131

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Mashhad

$249 32.9% 20.3% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Mashhad

$72 9.6% 56.8% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Mashhad

$56 7.4% 12% $7.6

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Mashhad

$9.9 * 1.3% 83.7% $51

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,641 in Lisbon and $212 in Mashhad. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $27 in Mashhad for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $115 per month, with Mashhad cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇮🇶 Mashhad

🕒 Local time

08:02 8:02 AM

11:02 11:02 AM

3 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

13,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.9 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IQD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,694 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.9 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Mashhad 4,520 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Mashhad

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 Mashhad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $756 in Mashhad, so Mashhad is about 66% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,309 in Lisbon and $1,134 in Mashhad to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $212 in Mashhad. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 139% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,206 per month in Lisbon versus $756 in Mashhad – Mashhad is about 66% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $756 in Mashhad versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Mashhad but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Mashhad 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 Mashhad are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.