Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Mecca

For one person, living is cheaper in Mecca: $936 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,400 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
45

Cost of Living Index in Mecca
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Mecca Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Mecca

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Mecca

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $936 in Mecca.

Lisbon $2,223
Mecca $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $1,453 in Mecca.

Lisbon $3,271
Mecca $1,453

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $1,970 in Mecca.

Lisbon $4,319
Mecca $1,970

Living in Lisbon is roughly 138% more expensive than in Mecca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Mecca is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$4.57 SAR 17.14

261.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$26.89 SAR 101

127.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$7.07 SAR 26.52

59.41%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.55 SAR 5.81

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 SAR 5.61

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.61 SAR 9.79

17.24%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$0.67 SAR 2.51

237.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.23 SAR 0.86

652.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.75 SAR 6.57

-36.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.03 SAR 3.85

80.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$2.11 SAR 7.91

-27.49%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$2.52 SAR 9.46

57.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$5.92 SAR 22.20

115.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$8.08 SAR 30.33

-2.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$12.95 SAR 48.59

31.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.09 SAR 7.84

8.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.58 SAR 5.94

10.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.61 SAR 6.05

14.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$1.47 SAR 5.52

74.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.12 SAR 4.21

66.07%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.30 SAR 4.87

55.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.05 SAR 3.94

37.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.50 SAR 1.86

64.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.06 SAR 15.24

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 SAR 6.95

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 SAR 5.97

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$6.81 SAR 25.56

-3.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.34 SAR 5.03

75.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$2.43 SAR 9.11

64.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.75 SAR 6.57

-37.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$13.15 SAR 49.33

26.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$0.63 SAR 2.38

261.90%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$47.5K SAR 178.2K

-29.08%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$21.1K SAR 79.3K

85.99%

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

$167 €149

$66.9 SAR 251

150.51%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$35.35 SAR 133

-46.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$63.2 SAR 237

-47.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$80.7 SAR 303

-43.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$42.52 SAR 160

-54.87%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$11.96 SAR 44.88

-17.73%

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

$677 €602

$775 SAR 2,907

-12.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$16.2K SAR 60.8K

4.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$13.57 SAR 50.9

646.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$56.9 SAR 214

-19.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$39.67 SAR 149

152.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$53.3 SAR 200

130.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$533 SAR 2,001

202.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$290 SAR 1,088

312.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$830 SAR 3,114

244.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$523 SAR 1,963

280.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$6,375 SAR 23.9K

18.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$2,298 SAR 8,624

87.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$1,083 SAR 4,063

46.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.25

-26.67%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Mecca: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Mecca

$290 31% 75.8% $907

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Mecca

$193 20.6% 28.3% $76

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Mecca

$93 9.9% 61.8% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Mecca

$165 17.7% 24.6% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Mecca

$74 7.9% 55.8% $93

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Mecca

$105 11.2% 59.3% $39

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Mecca

$17 * 1.8% 73.7% $46

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 $1,614 in Lisbon and $533 in Mecca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 47% 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: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $27.00 in Mecca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $193 per month, with Mecca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇸🇦 Mecca

🕒 Local time

03:52 3:52 AM

05:52 5:52 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,675,368

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Mecca 5,020 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Mecca

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 Mecca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Mecca differ by about 138% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $936 including rent). Mecca is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 47% 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $533 in Mecca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 39% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,223 per month in Lisbon versus $936 in Mecca – a 138% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $936 in Mecca versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Mecca but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Mecca 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 Mecca 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 Mecca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 138% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.