Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Medias

For one person, living is cheaper in Medias: $1,102 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Medias
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Medias Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Medias

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,102

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Medias

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $1,102 in Medias.

Lisbon $2,206
Medias $1,102

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,683 in Medias.

Lisbon $3,276
Medias $1,683

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,263 in Medias.

Lisbon $4,346
Medias $2,263

Living in Lisbon is roughly 100% more expensive than in Medias, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Medias is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.00

$11.14 RON 53.0

51.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.3

$51.8 RON 246

17.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.77

$7.35 RON 34.94

49.39%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$3.70 RON 17.59

-17.57%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$2.46 RON 11.68

-7.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$2.25 RON 10.71

-25.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$3.20 RON 15.20

7.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$3.27 RON 15.55

19.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.23 RON 5.83

-6.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.43 RON 6.77

32.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.73 RON 8.24

-13.29%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$3.59 RON 17.05

14.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.57

$8.65 RON 41.13

50.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.16

$6.69 RON 31.82

20.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.92

$12.89 RON 61.3

38.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.48 RON 7.02

53.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.48 RON 7.04

17.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.55 RON 7.35

17.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$2.58 RON 12.28

4.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$0.77 RON 3.66

129.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$0.75 RON 3.57

158.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.80 RON 3.78

82.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.75 RON 3.57

1.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.92

$6.21 RON 29.50

7.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.02

$7.54 RON 35.85

-25.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.23 RON 5.83

4.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.80 RON 8.56

18.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$0.70 RON 3.32

228.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.17

$23.96 RON 114

83.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.54

$0.66 RON 3.14

503.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.68 RON 3.23

-5.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.84

$6.60 RON 31.35

186.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.38 RON 6.56

65.22%

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

$33.4K €29.7K

$29.0K RON 137.9K

15.02%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$25.2K RON 120.0K

52.54%

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

$158 €141

$180 RON 857

-12.30%

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

$17.54 €15.61

$7.25 RON 34.47

141.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.75

$9.26 RON 43.99

236.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.73

$37.03 RON 176

20.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.89

$20.31 RON 96.6

-6.55%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.52

$6.12 RON 29.10

56.54%

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

$674 €599

$438 RON 2,082

53.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$7,770 RON 36.9K

141.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.9

$52.3 RON 249

95.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.85

$35.51 RON 169

29.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.0

$73.5 RON 349

39.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$90.8 RON 432

34.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,460

$389 RON 1,850

321.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,057

$292 RON 1,389

306.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,514

$602 RON 2,862

369.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,796

$453 RON 2,152

345.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,973

$2,039 RON 9,690

284.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,183

$1,480 RON 7,036

217.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,501

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

7.23

-47.16%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Medias: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Medias

$292 26.5% 75.4% $895

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Medias

$222 20.2% 19.1% $52

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Medias

$197 17.9% 19.7% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Medias

$197 17.9% 4.9% $10

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Medias

$113 10.3% 32.2% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Medias

$49 4.5% 22.8% $15

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Medias

$31 2.8% 49% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,641 in Lisbon and $389 in Medias. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $52 in Medias for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $222 per month, with Medias cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇷🇴 Medias

🕒 Local time

01:49 1:49 AM

03:49 3:49 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

53,564

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Medias 2,850 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Medias: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $1,102 in Medias, so Medias is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,309 in Lisbon and $1,653 in Medias 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 $389 in Medias. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $438 in Medias. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 24% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,102 in Medias versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Medias but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Medias 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 Medias are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Medias gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.