Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Miercurea Ciuc

For one person, living is cheaper in Miercurea Ciuc: $735 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $17,900 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Miercurea Ciuc
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Miercurea Ciuc Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Miercurea Ciuc

🇷🇴 Romania

$735

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Miercurea Ciuc

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $735 in Miercurea Ciuc.

Lisbon $2,223
Miercurea Ciuc $735

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $1,172 in Miercurea Ciuc.

Lisbon $3,271
Miercurea Ciuc $1,172

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $1,609 in Miercurea Ciuc.

Lisbon $4,319
Miercurea Ciuc $1,609

Living in Lisbon is roughly 202% more expensive than in Miercurea Ciuc, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Miercurea Ciuc is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$6.29 RON 29.78

162.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$20.86 RON 98.7

193.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$6.10 RON 28.85

84.75%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$1.72 RON 8.14

77.91%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$1.61 RON 7.63

40.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.39 RON 6.55

24.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$2.02 RON 9.56

67.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$1.94 RON 9.18

75.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.36 RON 6.45

-17.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.14 RON 5.41

63.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.33 RON 6.28

15.04%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$3.39 RON 16.03

16.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$7.97 RON 37.72

60.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$4.57 RON 21.61

72.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$7.97 RON 37.72

112.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$0.71 RON 3.37

219.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.49 RON 7.05

17.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.49 RON 7.04

24.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$2.48 RON 11.75

3.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.66 RON 3.10

181.82%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$0.66 RON 3.10

206.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.40 RON 1.91

260.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.66 RON 3.11

24.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$5.08 RON 24.05

29.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$5.18 RON 24.52

8.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$0.95 RON 4.49

34.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.28 RON 6.04

61.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.83 RON 3.91

183.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$21.11 RON 99.9

109.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$0.97 RON 4.59

311.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.85 RON 4.03

28.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$8.57 RON 40.54

94.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.68 RON 7.96

35.71%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$24.9K RON 117.8K

35.20%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$24.6K RON 116.4K

59.75%

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

$167 €149

$114 RON 540

46.69%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$5.37 RON 25.39

250.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$5.08 RON 24.05

551.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$31.21 RON 148

47.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$10.57 RON 50.0

81.55%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$4.77 RON 22.55

106.29%

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

$677 €602

$446 RON 2,109

51.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$6,729 RON 31.8K

151.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$42.42 RON 201

138.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$16.62 RON 78.6

175.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$68.6 RON 325

45.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$82.9 RON 392

48.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$185 RON 878

770.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$155 RON 731

674.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$414 RON 1,957

591.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$370 RON 1,750

438.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$1,476 RON 6,982

413.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$1,363 RON 6,447

216.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$691 RON 3,270

129.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

6.85

-43.80%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Miercurea Ciuc: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Miercurea Ciuc

$155 21% 87.1% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Miercurea Ciuc

$176 23.9% 34.7% $94

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Miercurea Ciuc

$115 15.7% 52.4% $127

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Miercurea Ciuc

$125 17% 43.2% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Miercurea Ciuc

$95 12.9% 43% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Miercurea Ciuc

$41 5.5% 38% $25

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Miercurea Ciuc

$30 4% 52.9% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $185 in Miercurea Ciuc. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 130% 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 $21.00 in Miercurea Ciuc for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $176 per month, with Miercurea Ciuc cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇷🇴 Miercurea Ciuc

🕒 Local time

15:47 3:47 PM

17:47 5:47 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

38,966

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Lisbon Miercurea Ciuc 2,960 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Lisbon vs Miercurea Ciuc: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Miercurea Ciuc differ by about 202% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $735 including rent). Miercurea Ciuc is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 130% 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 $185 in Miercurea Ciuc. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $446 in Miercurea Ciuc. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 53% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $735 in Miercurea Ciuc versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Miercurea Ciuc but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Miercurea Ciuc 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 Miercurea Ciuc 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 Miercurea Ciuc gentler on the wallet – expenses run 202% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.