Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Medan

For one person, living is cheaper in Medan: $613 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $19,300 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Medan
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Medan Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Medan

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$613

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Medan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $613 in Medan.

Lisbon $2,223
Medan $613

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $940 in Medan.

Lisbon $3,271
Medan $940

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $1,266 in Medan.

Lisbon $4,319
Medan $1,266

Living in Lisbon is roughly 263% more expensive than in Medan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Medan is 55% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$1.71 Rp 30.8K

864.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$8.30 Rp 149.4K

637.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$2.95 Rp 53.0K

282.03%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$1.53 Rp 27.5K

100.00%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$0.35 Rp 6,215

545.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.25 Rp 4,534

592.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$1.66 Rp 29.9K

104.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

-5.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

0.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

57.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$0.81 Rp 14.7K

88.89%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$1.32 Rp 23.8K

200.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$8.12 Rp 146.2K

57.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

120.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$6.36 Rp 114.5K

166.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.40 Rp 43.1K

-5.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.05 Rp 18.9K

66.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.42 Rp 25.5K

30.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$0.93 Rp 16.7K

176.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.84 Rp 15.1K

121.43%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.80 Rp 32.3K

12.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.38 Rp 6,905

278.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.44 Rp 7,872

86.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$2.87 Rp 51.7K

128.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$15.72 Rp 282.9K

-64.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.83 Rp 32.9K

-30.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$3.01 Rp 54.1K

-31.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.27 Rp 4,816

770.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$5.93 Rp 106.7K

645.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$0.51 Rp 9,186

682.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.19 Rp 3,465

473.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$0.80 Rp 14.4K

185.00%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$24.7K Rp 444.1M

36.50%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$32.2K Rp 579.9M

21.97%

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

$167 €149

$84.8 Rp 1.5M

97.42%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$3.17 Rp 57.0K

493.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$23.57 Rp 424.3K

40.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$16.95 Rp 305.0K

171.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$8.41 Rp 151.5K

128.18%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$3.29 Rp 59.3K

199.09%

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

$677 €602

$112 Rp 2.0M

506.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$1,692 Rp 30.5M

899.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$54.2 Rp 975.9K

86.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$38.53 Rp 693.6K

18.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$108 Rp 1.9M

-7.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$111 Rp 2.0M

10.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$233 Rp 4.2M

593.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$89.8 Rp 1.6M

1233.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$494 Rp 8.9M

478.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$212 Rp 3.8M

839.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$1,158 Rp 20.8M

554.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$560 Rp 10.1M

669.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$215 Rp 3.9M

637.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

9.25

-58.38%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Medan: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Medan

$90 14.6% 92.5% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Medan

$181 29.5% 32.9% $89

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Medan

$59 9.6% 75.8% $184

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Medan

$112 18.2% 49.1% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Medan

$140 22.9% 15.7% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Medan

$24 3.8% 64.2% $42

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Medan

$8.5 1.4% 86.6% $55

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $233 in Medan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 638% 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 $8.00 in Medan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $181 per month, with Medan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇮🇩 Medan

🕒 Local time

11:03 11:03 AM

17:03 5:03 PM

6 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

2,097,610

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Medan 11,280 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Medan

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 Medan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Medan differ by about 263% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $613 including rent). Medan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 638% 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 $233 in Medan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $112 in Medan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 49% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $613 in Medan versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Medan but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Medan 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 Medan 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 Medan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 263% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.