Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Ostia

For one person, living is cheaper in Ostia: $1,756 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 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
85

Cost of Living Index in Ostia
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Ostia Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Ostia

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,756

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Ostia

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $1,756 in Ostia.

Lisbon $2,223
Ostia $1,756

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $2,594 in Ostia.

Lisbon $3,271
Ostia $2,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $3,432 in Ostia.

Lisbon $4,319
Ostia $3,432

Living in Lisbon is roughly 27% more expensive than in Ostia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 65% above, Ostia 30% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$16.51 €14.69

-0.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$66.0 €58.7

-7.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$11.36 €10.10

-0.79%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.25 €2.00

36.00%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$2.33 €2.07

-3.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.20 €1.06

44.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$5.46 €4.86

-37.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$4.80 €4.27

-29.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.67 €1.48

-32.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.16 €1.92

-13.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$3.00 €2.67

-49.00%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$4.54 €4.04

-12.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$14.92 €13.27

-14.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$12.49 €11.11

-36.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$19.61 €17.44

-13.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.59 €2.30

-12.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.06 €1.84

-15.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.33 €2.07

-20.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$2.38 €2.11

7.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.44 €1.28

29.17%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.60 €1.42

26.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.32 €1.17

9.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.51 €0.46

60.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$6.63 €5.90

-1.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$5.42 €4.82

3.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.56 €1.39

-17.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$2.50 €2.22

-17.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.65 €1.47

42.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$39.01 €34.70

13.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$4.42 €3.93

-9.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.24 €1.11

-12.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$23.16 €20.60

-28.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$2.15 €1.91

6.05%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$35.3K €31.4K

-4.53%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$35.4K €31.5K

10.95%

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

$167 €149

$197 €175

-14.82%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$9.61 €8.55

95.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$31.13 €27.69

6.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$56.1 €49.93

-18.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$11.20 €9.96

71.34%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$11.07 €9.85

-11.11%

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

$677 €602

$449 €400

50.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$8,805 €7,832

92.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$72.2 €64.2

40.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$36.65 €32.60

24.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$84.6 €75.2

18.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$125 €111

-1.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$853 €759

89.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$673 €599

77.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$1,130 €1,005

153.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$990 €881

101.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$1,992 €1,772

-20.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.5

10.00%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Ostia: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Ostia

$673 38.3% 43.8% $524

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Ostia

$324 18.4% 20.1% $54

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Ostia

$244 13.9% 0.8% $2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Ostia

$237 13.5% 8.2% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Ostia

$143 8.2% 14% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Ostia

$78 4.5% 19.2% $13

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Ostia

$56 3.2% 10.7% $6.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $853 in Ostia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ostia pays 25% 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 $66.0 in Ostia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $324 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇮🇹 Ostia

🕒 Local time

03:50 3:50 AM

04:50 4:50 AM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

79,400

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Ostia 1,840 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Ostia

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.

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Lisbon vs Ostia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Ostia differ by about 27% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $1,756 including rent). Ostia is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 25% lower in Ostia. 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 $853 in Ostia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $449 in Ostia. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 20% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,756 in Ostia versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Ostia but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Ostia 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 Ostia 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 Ostia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 27% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.