Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Montana

For one person, living is cheaper in Montana: $829 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,600 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Montana
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Montana Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Montana

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$829

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Montana

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $829 in Montana.

Lisbon $2,210
Montana $829

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,329 in Montana.

Lisbon $3,275
Montana $1,329

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,830 in Montana.

Lisbon $4,341
Montana $1,830

Living in Lisbon is roughly 167% more expensive than in Montana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Montana is 39% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$8.92 BGN 15.61

86.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$35.11 BGN 61.5

75.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$9.78 BGN 17.11

16.16%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$1.44 BGN 2.52

106.25%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.39 BGN 2.43

64.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.12 BGN 1.95

55.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$1.33 BGN 2.33

155.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$1.00 BGN 1.75

231.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.68 BGN 2.93

-30.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.06 BGN 1.85

80.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.12 BGN 3.71

-28.77%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.71 BGN 4.74

48.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$9.60 BGN 16.79

34.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$3.24 BGN 5.67

139.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$12.34 BGN 21.60

43.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.21 BGN 2.13

90.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.84 BGN 3.22

-5.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.69 BGN 2.96

10.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$2.54 BGN 4.44

1.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.71 BGN 1.25

156.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.88 BGN 1.54

123.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.86 BGN 1.51

70.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.52 BGN 0.91

38.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.57 BGN 6.25

84.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$6.04 BGN 10.57

-7.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.90 BGN 1.57

51.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.15 BGN 2.02

86.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.84 BGN 1.47

177.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

$25.73 BGN 45.02

73.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$0.61 BGN 1.07

531.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.44 BGN 0.78

143.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$10.40 BGN 18.20

58.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.57 BGN 2.75

40.13%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$19.4K BGN 33.9K

76.27%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$24.2K BGN 42.4K

59.77%

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

$161 €144

$100 BGN 175

61.22%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$18.53 BGN 32.42

-0.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$8.68 BGN 15.19

277.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$31.54 BGN 55.2

41.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$16.76 BGN 29.33

13.96%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$5.49 BGN 9.60

74.86%

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

$668 €598

$604 BGN 1,057

10.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,536 BGN 9,688

218.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$67.0 BGN 117

52.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$41.29 BGN 72.3

7.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$96.3 BGN 169

2.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$102 BGN 179

20.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$210 BGN 368

665.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$155 BGN 270

670.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$405 BGN 708

595.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$294 BGN 515

584.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$1,341 BGN 2,347

484.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$1,115 BGN 1,951

310.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$983 BGN 1,719

60.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.1

24.19%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Montana: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Montana

$155 18.7% 87% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Montana

$198 23.9% 27.4% $75

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Montana

$137 16.5% 43.7% $106

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Montana

$127 15.4% 40.1% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Montana

$138 16.7% 16.7% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Montana

$43 5.1% 33.3% $21

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Montana

$32 3.9% 49.5% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $210 in Montana. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 60% 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: $62 in Lisbon vs $35 in Montana for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $198 per month, with Montana cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇧🇬 Montana

🕒 Local time

07:32 7:32 AM

09:32 9:32 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

44,502

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Montana 2,740 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
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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 Montana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $829 in Montana, so Montana is about 63% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 60% 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $210 in Montana. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $604 in Montana. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 38% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $829 in Montana versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Montana but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Montana 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.

Expats usually find Montana gentler on the wallet – expenses run 63% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.