Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Plovdiv

For one person, living is cheaper in Plovdiv: $1,227 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Plovdiv
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Plovdiv Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Plovdiv

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,227

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Plovdiv

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,227 in Plovdiv.

Lisbon $2,210
Plovdiv $1,227

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,874 in Plovdiv.

Lisbon $3,275
Plovdiv $1,874

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,522 in Plovdiv.

Lisbon $4,341
Plovdiv $2,522

Living in Lisbon is roughly 80% more expensive than in Plovdiv, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Plovdiv is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$9.16 BGN 16.12

81.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$45.67 BGN 80.4

35.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$9.43 BGN 16.60

20.47%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.86 BGN 5.04

3.85%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.76 BGN 3.10

30.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.58 BGN 2.79

10.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.54 BGN 4.47

33.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$4.35 BGN 7.65

-23.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.81 BGN 3.19

-35.91%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.22 BGN 2.14

56.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.23 BGN 3.93

-32.29%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$3.77 BGN 6.63

6.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$11.62 BGN 20.45

11.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$8.55 BGN 15.05

-9.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$14.32 BGN 25.20

24.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.62 BGN 2.86

41.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.84 BGN 3.24

-5.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.93 BGN 3.39

-3.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$2.63 BGN 4.63

-1.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.09 BGN 1.92

66.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.04 BGN 1.83

89.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.16 BGN 2.04

26.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.71 BGN 1.24

1.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$3.90 BGN 6.86

68.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$6.03 BGN 10.61

-6.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.16 BGN 2.04

17.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.98 BGN 3.49

8.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.60 BGN 1.05

288.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$29.11 BGN 51.2

53.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$1.29 BGN 2.27

198.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.61 BGN 1.08

75.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$10.46 BGN 18.40

57.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.70 BGN 2.99

29.41%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$30.3K BGN 53.4K

12.69%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$24.6K BGN 43.3K

57.30%

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

$161 €145

$113 BGN 198

42.96%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$18.40 BGN 32.39

0.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$15.41 BGN 27.11

112.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$41.91 BGN 73.8

6.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$20.61 BGN 36.28

-7.33%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$9.31 BGN 16.39

3.11%

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

$668 €600

$599 BGN 1,053

11.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,404 BGN 9,510

225.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$67.3 BGN 118

51.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$41.80 BGN 73.6

6.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$96.9 BGN 171

1.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$102 BGN 179

21.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$553 BGN 974

190.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$420 BGN 738

183.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$880 BGN 1,548

219.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$663 BGN 1,167

203.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$2,228 BGN 3,921

251.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$1,512 BGN 2,661

202.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$1,162 BGN 2,044

35.59%

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 Plovdiv: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Plovdiv

$420 34.2% 64.7% $771

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Plovdiv

$255 20.8% 6.3% $17

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Plovdiv

$171 13.9% 29.6% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Plovdiv

$147 12% 31% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Plovdiv

$139 11.3% 16.5% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Plovdiv

$61 4.9% 5% $3.2

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Plovdiv

$36 2.9% 43.3% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $553 in Plovdiv. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 36% 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 Plovdiv for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $255 per month, with Plovdiv cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇧🇬 Plovdiv

🕒 Local time

23:45 11:45 PM

01:45 1:45 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

368,983

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 BGN = 0.568 USD

1 BGN = 0.51 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Plovdiv 2,870 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Plovdiv: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,227 in Plovdiv, so Plovdiv is about 44% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 36% 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 $553 in Plovdiv. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $599 in Plovdiv. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 7% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,227 in Plovdiv versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Plovdiv but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Plovdiv the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Plovdiv is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Lisbon, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Lisbon and Plovdiv are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Plovdiv gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.