Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Messina

For one person, living is cheaper in Messina: $1,379 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 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
66

Cost of Living Index in Messina
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Messina Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Messina

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,379

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Messina

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,379 in Messina.

Lisbon $2,210
Messina $1,379

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $2,392 in Messina.

Lisbon $3,275
Messina $2,392

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $3,404 in Messina.

Lisbon $4,341
Messina $3,404

Living in Lisbon is roughly 60% more expensive than in Messina, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.91

$16.90 €15.14

-1.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$67.8 €60.7

-8.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.17

$12.41 €11.12

-8.46%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$1.97 €1.77

50.76%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$2.36 €2.11

-2.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.19 €1.07

46.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$4.55 €4.07

-25.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$3.33 €2.98

-0.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.30 €1.17

-10.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.84 €1.65

3.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$2.74 €2.45

-44.89%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.89 €2.58

39.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$14.49 €12.97

-10.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.96

$10.55 €9.45

-26.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.91

$16.82 €15.06

5.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.91 €2.61

-20.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.65 €1.47

4.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.14 €1.02

63.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$3.40 €3.04

-23.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.65 €0.58

180.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.52 €1.36

29.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.42 €1.27

3.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.40 €0.36

80.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$6.87 €6.15

-4.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$5.75 €5.15

-2.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.67 €1.50

-18.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.32 €2.08

-7.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$1.65 €1.47

41.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.01

$41.21 €36.91

8.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$5.72 €5.12

-32.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.14 €1.02

-6.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.74

$38.73 €34.68

-57.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$2.05 €1.84

7.32%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$34.9K €31.3K

-2.15%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$31.2K €28.0K

24.01%

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

$161 €144

$178 €159

-9.29%

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

$18.41 €16.49

$10.17 €9.11

81.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.32

$25.62 €22.94

27.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.90

$46.70 €41.83

-4.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.10

$16.57 €14.84

15.27%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$9.57 €8.58

0.31%

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

$668 €598

$337 €302

98.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,512 €4,936

219.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$71.2 €63.8

43.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.82

$30.95 €27.72

43.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.2

$86.9 €77.8

13.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$125 €112

-1.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,440

$522 €468

207.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$373 €334

218.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,519

$1,199 €1,074

134.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,803

$1,096 €981

83.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,021

$2,011 €1,801

289.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,098

$1,655 €1,482

176.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$1,675 €1,500

-5.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.39

13.57%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Messina: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Messina

$373 27.1% 68.6% $817

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Messina

$287 20.8% 5.2% $14

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Messina

$240 17.4% 1.2% $2.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Messina

$214 15.5% 0.5% $1.2

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Messina

$142 10.3% 14.7% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Messina

$66 4.8% 3.3% $2.1

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Messina

$59 4.3% 6.3% $4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $522 in Messina. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Messina pays 6% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $68 in Messina for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $287 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇮🇹 Messina

🕒 Local time

22:14 10:14 PM

23:14 11:14 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

217,734

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Messina 2,140 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Messina

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 Messina: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,379 in Messina, so Messina is about 38% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 6% lower in Lisbon. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $522 in Messina. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $337 in Messina. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 5% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Messina is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.