Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Muscat

For one person, living is cheaper in Muscat: $1,556 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Muscat
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Muscat Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Muscat

🇴🇲 Oman

$1,556

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Muscat

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $1,556 in Muscat.

Lisbon $2,223
Muscat $1,556

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $2,299 in Muscat.

Lisbon $3,271
Muscat $2,299

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $3,042 in Muscat.

Lisbon $4,319
Muscat $3,042

Living in Lisbon is roughly 43% more expensive than in Muscat, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 65% above, Muscat 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$5.33 OMR 2.05

209.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$39.12 OMR 15.06

56.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$7.76 OMR 2.99

45.23%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$4.93 OMR 1.90

-37.93%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$0.85 OMR 0.33

165.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.27 OMR 0.10

540.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$12.87 OMR 4.95

-73.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$13.07 OMR 5.03

-73.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$2.31 OMR 0.89

-51.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.24 OMR 0.48

50.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.87 OMR 0.72

-18.18%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$3.02 OMR 1.16

31.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$7.23 OMR 2.78

76.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$6.91 OMR 2.66

14.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$10.57 OMR 4.07

60.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$3.51 OMR 1.35

-35.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.01 OMR 0.77

-12.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.33 OMR 0.90

-20.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$1.26 OMR 0.49

103.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.16 OMR 0.44

60.34%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.28 OMR 0.49

57.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.79 OMR 0.69

-19.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.68 OMR 0.26

20.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$6.62 OMR 2.55

-0.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$15.83 OMR 6.09

-64.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$6.03 OMR 2.32

-78.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$10.33 OMR 3.98

-79.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.33 OMR 0.51

76.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$77.9 OMR 30.00

-43.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$3.18 OMR 1.23

25.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$2.62 OMR 1.01

-58.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$7.83 OMR 3.01

112.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$0.60 OMR 0.23

280.00%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$25.9K OMR 9,986

29.83%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$22.4K OMR 8,624

75.41%

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

$167 €149

$176 OMR 67.9

-4.98%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$28.30 OMR 10.90

-33.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$70.9 OMR 27.28

-53.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$62.7 OMR 24.14

-26.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$29.94 OMR 11.53

-35.91%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$10.52 OMR 4.05

-6.46%

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

$677 €602

$283 OMR 109

139.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$10.6K OMR 4,070

60.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$56.6 OMR 21.79

78.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$43.33 OMR 16.68

5.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$91.1 OMR 35.08

9.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$86.4 OMR 33.28

42.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$674 OMR 260

139.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$461 OMR 177

159.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$1,324 OMR 510

116.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$813 OMR 313

144.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$2,871 OMR 1,105

163.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$1,614 OMR 621

166.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$1,650 OMR 635

-3.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.25

-26.67%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Muscat: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Muscat

$461 29.6% 61.5% $737

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Muscat

$292 18.8% 8.4% $23

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Muscat

$220 14.1% 9.2% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Muscat

$275 17.7% 25.6% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Muscat

$125 8% 25% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Muscat

$84 5.4% 27.5% $18

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Muscat

$100 6.4% 58% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $674 in Muscat. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Muscat pays 4% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $39.00 in Muscat. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $292, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇴🇲 Muscat

🕒 Local time

06:30 6:30 AM

09:30 9:30 AM

3 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,090,797 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.31 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Muscat 6,500 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Muscat

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 Muscat: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Muscat differ by about 43% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $1,556 including rent). Muscat is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 4% lower in Muscat. 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $674 in Muscat. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $283 in Muscat. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,556 in Muscat versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Muscat but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Muscat 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 Muscat 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 Muscat gentler on the wallet – expenses run 43% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.