Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Monastir

For one person, living is cheaper in Monastir: $706 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $18,000 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Monastir
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Monastir Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monastir

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$706

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Monastir

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $706 in Monastir.

Lisbon $2,210
Monastir $706

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,131 in Monastir.

Lisbon $3,275
Monastir $1,131

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,555 in Monastir.

Lisbon $4,341
Monastir $1,555

Living in Lisbon is roughly 213% more expensive than in Monastir, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Monastir is 48% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$5.01 TND 15.08

232.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$22.48 TND 67.7

174.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$6.15 TND 18.51

84.72%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$1.19 TND 3.59

149.58%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.74 TND 2.23

209.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.36 TND 1.09

383.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$1.63 TND 4.92

108.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$1.63 TND 4.91

103.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$0.44 TND 1.32

163.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$0.17 TND 0.51

1023.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.68 TND 5.05

-10.12%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.58 TND 4.75

154.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$13.71 TND 41.29

-5.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$6.15 TND 18.52

26.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$14.60 TND 43.97

21.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$2.01 TND 6.07

14.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$4.40 TND 13.25

-60.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.20 TND 3.60

55.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$0.80 TND 2.40

223.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$0.87 TND 2.63

109.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.72 TND 2.17

173.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.44 TND 1.33

234.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.33 TND 1.01

118.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$3.74 TND 11.27

75.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$5.70 TND 17.18

-1.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.21 TND 3.65

12.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.32 TND 3.97

62.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.32 TND 0.95

628.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$11.01 TND 33.17

305.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$0.29 TND 0.87

1227.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.29 TND 0.86

268.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$1.77 TND 5.34

829.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$0.83 TND 2.49

165.06%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$39.7K TND 119.6K

-13.87%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$35.9K TND 108.3K

7.75%

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

$161 €145

$61.5 TND 185

161.98%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$10.56 TND 31.82

74.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$20.06 TND 60.4

63.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$23.67 TND 71.3

88.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$6.63 TND 19.97

188.08%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$6.03 TND 18.17

59.20%

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

$668 €600

$94.4 TND 284

607.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$3,205 TND 9,656

449.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$46.92 TND 141

117.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$67.5 TND 203

-34.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$111 TND 335

-11.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$97.2 TND 293

27.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$203 TND 610

693.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$121 TND 363

887.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$354 TND 1,067

694.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$233 TND 703

762.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$1,219 TND 3,671

543.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$619 TND 1,864

639.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$347 TND 1,044

354.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

-65.00%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Monastir: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Monastir

$121 17.1% 89.9% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Monastir

$210 29.7% 22.9% $62

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Monastir

$89 12.6% 63.5% $154

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Monastir

$92 13.1% 56.6% $120

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Monastir

$145 20.6% 12.4% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Monastir

$36 5.1% 43.9% $28

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Monastir

$14 2% 77.9% $49

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $203 in Monastir. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 4.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $22 in Monastir for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $210 per month, with Monastir cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇹🇳 Monastir

🕒 Local time

15:27 3:27 PM

16:27 4:27 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

104,535

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 TND = 0.332 USD

1 TND = 0.298 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Monastir 1,790 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

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Lisbon
Monastir

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 Monastir: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Monastir differ by about 213% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $706 including rent). Monastir is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 4.5 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 $203 in Monastir. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $94 in Monastir. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $706 in Monastir versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Monastir but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Monastir 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 Monastir 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 Monastir gentler on the wallet – expenses run 68% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.