Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Nis

For one person, living is cheaper in Nis: $1,033 a month against $2,203 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

108

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Nis
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Nis Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,203

/mo nomad

Nis

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,033

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Nis

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,203 in Lisbon versus $1,033 in Nis.

Lisbon $2,203
Nis $1,033

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,237 in Lisbon versus $1,512 in Nis.

Lisbon $3,237
Nis $1,512

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,272 in Lisbon versus $1,991 in Nis.

Lisbon $4,272
Nis $1,991

Living in Lisbon is roughly 113% more expensive than in Nis, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 64% above, Nis is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.01 €15.17

$8.78 RSD 917

93.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.7 €55.9

$33.92 RSD 3,541

84.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.42 €10.18

$9.57 RSD 999

19.33%

Cappuccino

$3.09 €2.75

$1.97 RSD 206

56.85%

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

$2.37 €2.11

$2.31 RSD 242

2.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 €1.48

$1.74 RSD 182

-4.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.46 €3.08

$3.61 RSD 377

-4.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 €2.93

$4.49 RSD 469

-26.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.14 RSD 120

2.63%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.70 RSD 73.2

167.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.52 €1.35

$1.76 RSD 184

-13.64%

Eggs

$3.88 €3.46

$2.35 RSD 246

65.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 €11.48

$7.65 RSD 799

68.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.94 €7.08

$5.72 RSD 597

38.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.63 €15.72

$10.59 RSD 1,105

66.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.11 RSD 116

103.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 €1.57

$1.68 RSD 175

4.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 €1.68

$1.50 RSD 157

25.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 €2.20

$2.17 RSD 226

13.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$0.78 RSD 81.8

138.46%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.72 RSD 74.7

187.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.39 €1.24

$0.64 RSD 66.6

117.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 €0.72

$0.58 RSD 60.6

39.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.89 €6.15

$4.42 RSD 461

55.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.53 €4.93

$5.78 RSD 604

-4.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 €1.19

$0.72 RSD 75.3

84.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 €1.93

$1.29 RSD 135

68.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.24 €2.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.14 €40.25

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.00 €3.57

$1.84 RSD 192

117.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.95

$0.66 RSD 68.8

62.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.53 €14.74

$8.29 RSD 866

99.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.26 €2.02

$1.89 RSD 198

19.58%

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

$33.5K €29.9K

$30.7K RSD 3.2M

8.98%

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

$40.5K €36.1K

$24.0K RSD 2.5M

68.83%

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

$164 €146

$160 RSD 16.8K

1.94%

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

$18.54 €16.53

$19.03 RSD 1,987

-2.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.21 €29.61

$22.20 RSD 2,318

49.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €41.02

$30.54 RSD 3,188

50.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.80 €16.77

$15.65 RSD 1,634

20.13%

Cinema Ticket

$9.47 €8.44

$4.68 RSD 489

102.35%

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

$690 €615

$252 RSD 26.4K

173.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.0K

$4,989 RSD 520.9K

238.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$105 €93.3

$88.4 RSD 9,234

18.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.27 €40.37

$37.42 RSD 3,906

20.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.0 €88.2

$99.3 RSD 10.4K

-0.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$112 RSD 11.7K

10.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,583 €1,411

$398 RSD 41.5K

298.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,209 €1,078

$277 RSD 28.9K

336.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,833 €2,526

$591 RSD 61.7K

379.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,964 €1,751

$397 RSD 41.5K

394.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,643 €6,815

$2,531 RSD 264.2K

202.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,431 €3,951

$1,884 RSD 196.7K

135.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,573 €1,402

$901 RSD 94.0K

74.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.79

5.12

-25.98%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 4, 2026

Last update for Nis: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 54%

Nis

$277 27.1% 77.1% $932

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.1%

Nis

$182 17.8% 33.2% $90

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11%

Nis

$166 16.2% 32.9% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.6%

Nis

$202 19.7% 6.3% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.5%

Nis

$152 14.8% 9.6% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 2.9%

Nis

$40 3.9% 38.6% $25

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Nis

$5.1 * 0.5% 91.9% $58

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,583 in Lisbon and $398 in Nis. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 75% 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: $63.0 in Lisbon vs $34.00 in Nis for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $182 per month, with Nis cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇷🇸 Nis

🕒 Local time

03:25 3:25 AM

04:25 4:25 AM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

78,470

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Serbian Dinar RSD din

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 RSD = 9.58 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.54 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RSD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Serbian Dinar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 104 RSD (1,000 RSD = 9.58 USD). 1 EUR = 117 RSD (1,000 RSD = 8.54 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Nis 2,640 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

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Lisbon
Nis

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 Nis: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Nis differ by about 113% in total monthly costs ($2,203 vs $1,033 including rent). Nis is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 75% 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: $1,583 in Lisbon versus $398 in Nis. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 50% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,203 per month in Lisbon versus $1,033 in Nis – a 113% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,033 in Nis versus $2,203 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Nis but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Nis 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 Nis 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 Nis gentler on the wallet – expenses run 113% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.