Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Medea

For one person, living is cheaper in Medea: $453 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $21,100 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
22

Cost of Living Index in Medea
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Medea Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Medea

🇩🇿 Algeria

$453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Medea

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $453 in Medea.

Lisbon $2,210
Medea $453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $778 in Medea.

Lisbon $3,275
Medea $778

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,103 in Medea.

Lisbon $4,341
Medea $1,103

Living in Lisbon is roughly 388% more expensive than in Medea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Medea is 67% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.87

$1.91 DZD 258

771.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.2

$28.37 DZD 3,835

117.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.14

$3.80 DZD 514

198.95%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.65

$0.36 DZD 49.22

725.00%

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

$2.29 €2.04

$0.43 DZD 58.2

432.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.21 DZD 27.71

728.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.04

$2.19 DZD 296

55.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$2.18 DZD 295

51.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.03

$0.88 DZD 119

31.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.08 DZD 10.18

2287.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.10 DZD 148

37.27%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.59

$1.19 DZD 161

237.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.56

$7.91 DZD 1,069

63.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.94

$3.93 DZD 531

97.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.86

$14.49 DZD 1,959

22.57%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.04 DZD 275

12.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$2.77 DZD 374

-37.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.07 DZD 144

73.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.31

$0.60 DZD 80.7

331.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.62 DZD 83.2

193.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.49 DZD 66.0

302.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$0.81 DZD 110

81.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.27 DZD 36.52

166.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.88

$2.16 DZD 292

204.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.01

$6.84 DZD 924

-17.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.28 DZD 172

6.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.87 DZD 253

14.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.08

$0.23 DZD 30.49

913.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €39.91

$6.89 DZD 932

548.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.44

$0.54 DZD 73.6

612.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.46 DZD 62.3

132.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.70

$5.55 DZD 750

196.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$0.32 DZD 43.89

587.50%

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

$34.2K €30.5K

$19.7K DZD 2.7M

73.71%

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

$38.7K €34.6K

$34.4K DZD 4.7M

12.44%

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

$161 €144

$18.29 DZD 2,472

781.47%

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

$18.41 €16.44

$7.51 DZD 1,015

145.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.24

$12.12 DZD 1,638

170.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.79

$22.61 DZD 3,056

97.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.06

$1.89 DZD 256

910.58%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.57

$3.27 DZD 442

193.58%

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

$668 €596

$39.39 DZD 5,325

1595.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$6,300 DZD 851.5K

179.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.1

$19.54 DZD 2,641

422.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.72

$31.20 DZD 4,216

42.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.0

$31.23 DZD 4,221

215.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €110

$54.9 DZD 7,414

125.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,437

$141 DZD 19.1K

1037.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,063

$91.6 DZD 12.4K

1198.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,512

$268 DZD 36.2K

950.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,798

$197 DZD 26.7K

919.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,002

$990 DZD 133.7K

692.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,087

$1,059 DZD 143.1K

332.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,407

$311 DZD 42.1K

405.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

-23.00%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Medea: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Medea

$92 20.3% 92.3% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Medea

$173 38.2% 36.6% $100

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Medea

$49 10.8% 79.8% $194

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Medea

$38 8.4% 82.1% $174

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Medea

$62 13.6% 62.9% $104

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Medea

$29 6.4% 54.3% $35

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Medea

$11 2.4% 83.2% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $141 in Medea. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 5.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $28 in Medea for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $173 per month, with Medea cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇩🇿 Medea

🕒 Local time

08:24 8:24 AM

09:24 9:24 AM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

138,355

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Algerian Dinar DZD د.ج

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 DZD = 7.4 USD

1,000 DZD = 6.61 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DZD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Algerian Dinar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 135 DZD (1,000 DZD = 7.4 USD). 1 EUR = 151 DZD (1,000 DZD = 6.61 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Medea 1,080 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Medea

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 Medea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $453 in Medea, so Medea is about 80% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 5.1 times higher, 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $141 in Medea. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $39 in Medea. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 58% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $453 in Medea versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Medea but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Medea 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 Medea are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Medea gentler on the wallet – expenses run 80% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.