Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Ploiesti

For one person, living is cheaper in Ploiesti: $1,151 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,700 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
55

Cost of Living Index in Ploiesti
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Ploiesti Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Ploiesti

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,151

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Ploiesti

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,151 in Ploiesti.

Lisbon $2,210
Ploiesti $1,151

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,697 in Ploiesti.

Lisbon $3,275
Ploiesti $1,697

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,242 in Ploiesti.

Lisbon $4,341
Ploiesti $2,242

Living in Lisbon is roughly 92% more expensive than in Ploiesti, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Ploiesti is 15% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.96

$11.30 RON 54.3

47.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$45.76 RON 220

34.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$7.77 RON 37.36

46.20%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.90 RON 13.92

2.41%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$2.10 RON 10.10

9.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$2.06 RON 9.90

-15.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.44 RON 11.75

39.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.26 RON 15.68

1.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.56 RON 7.51

-25.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.17 RON 5.63

63.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.47 RON 7.08

2.72%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$3.19 RON 15.34

26.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$7.87 RON 37.85

64.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.99

$6.87 RON 33.04

13.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.96

$9.55 RON 45.93

85.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.29 RON 6.19

78.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.62 RON 7.80

6.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.39 RON 6.68

33.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$2.02 RON 9.72

28.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$0.73 RON 3.53

149.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.71 RON 3.41

177.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.67 RON 3.22

119.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.81 RON 3.89

-11.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.92

$6.31 RON 30.36

4.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$6.74 RON 32.43

-16.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.93 RON 4.47

46.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.40 RON 6.72

52.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.85 RON 4.11

174.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$21.66 RON 104

106.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$0.65 RON 3.11

492.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.65 RON 3.11

64.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$6.12 RON 29.40

168.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.86 RON 8.93

18.28%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$29.0K RON 139.4K

17.93%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$25.3K RON 121.8K

52.90%

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

$161 €145

$164 RON 789

-1.74%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$6.15 RON 29.55

199.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$8.85 RON 42.55

269.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.03

$44.51 RON 214

0.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$20.53 RON 98.7

-6.97%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$8.22 RON 39.54

16.79%

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

$668 €600

$373 RON 1,795

78.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,824 RON 28.0K

202.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.7

$72.0 RON 346

41.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.95

$41.75 RON 201

6.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$92.6 RON 445

6.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$95.2 RON 458

29.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$529 RON 2,545

203.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$361 RON 1,737

229.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,527

$630 RON 3,029

346.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,809

$483 RON 2,321

316.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,043

$1,972 RON 9,479

297.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,111

$1,325 RON 6,368

245.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$996 RON 4,786

58.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

7.85

-50.96%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Ploiesti: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Ploiesti

$361 31.4% 69.6% $829

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Ploiesti

$201 17.5% 26% $71

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Ploiesti

$184 16% 24.2% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Ploiesti

$179 15.6% 15.7% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Ploiesti

$136 11.8% 18.2% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Ploiesti

$61 5.3% 4.4% $2.8

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Ploiesti

$29 2.5% 54.2% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $529 in Ploiesti. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 58% 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 $46 in Ploiesti for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $201 per month, with Ploiesti cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇷🇴 Ploiesti

🕒 Local time

15:47 3:47 PM

17:47 5:47 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

224,406

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Ploiesti 2,970 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Ploiesti

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 Ploiesti: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Ploiesti differ by about 92% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $1,151 including rent). Ploiesti is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 58% 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 $529 in Ploiesti. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $373 in Ploiesti. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Ploiesti is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Ploiesti 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 Ploiesti gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.