Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Podgorica

For one person, living is cheaper in Podgorica: $1,328 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 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
65

Cost of Living Index in Podgorica
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Podgorica Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Podgorica

🇲🇪 Montenegro

$1,328

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Podgorica

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $1,328 in Podgorica.

Lisbon $2,223
Podgorica $1,328

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $2,094 in Podgorica.

Lisbon $3,271
Podgorica $2,094

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $2,860 in Podgorica.

Lisbon $4,319
Podgorica $2,860

Living in Lisbon is roughly 67% more expensive than in Podgorica, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Podgorica is 2% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$11.37 €10.12

45.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$44.91 €39.95

36.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$10.41 €9.26

8.26%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.23 €1.98

37.22%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$2.57 €2.29

-12.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.41 €1.25

22.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$3.14 €2.79

7.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$3.39 €3.02

0.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.31 €1.16

-14.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.93 €0.83

100.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.98 €1.76

-22.73%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$3.53 €3.14

12.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$8.84 €7.86

44.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$8.09 €7.19

-2.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$11.95 €10.63

42.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.56 €1.39

45.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.63 €1.45

7.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.78 €1.59

3.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$2.38 €2.11

7.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.95 €0.84

95.79%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.02 €0.90

98.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.45 €1.29

-0.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.78 €0.69

5.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$4.26 €3.79

53.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$5.72 €5.08

-1.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.08 €0.96

18.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.69 €1.51

22.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.01 €0.90

132.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$33.57 €29.86

31.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$0.77 €0.68

418.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.76 €0.67

43.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$11.32 €10.07

47.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.86 €1.66

22.58%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$30.9K €27.5K

9.07%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$25.9K €23.0K

51.90%

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

$167 €149

$126 €112

32.90%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$18.89 €16.80

-0.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$31.22 €27.77

5.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$48.05 €42.74

-4.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$13.53 €12.03

41.83%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$6.34 €5.64

55.21%

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

$677 €602

$335 €298

101.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$7,336 €6,525

130.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$86.8 €77.2

16.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$46.78 €41.61

-2.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$98.4 €87.5

1.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$107 €95.0

14.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$647 €576

149.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$485 €431

146.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$1,317 €1,172

117.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$979 €871

103.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$2,975 €2,646

154.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$2,252 €2,003

91.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$1,162 €1,034

36.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.22

-26.25%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Podgorica: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Podgorica

$485 36.5% 59.5% $712

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Podgorica

$224 16.9% 16.8% $45

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Podgorica

$187 14.1% 22.6% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Podgorica

$176 13.3% 19.7% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Podgorica

$152 11.5% 8.4% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Podgorica

$61 4.6% 7.6% $5

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Podgorica

$42 3.2% 33% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $647 in Podgorica. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 37% 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: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $45.00 in Podgorica for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $224 per month, with Podgorica cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇪 Podgorica

🕒 Local time

09:25 9:25 AM

10:25 10:25 AM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

150,799 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Podgorica 2,420 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

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Lisbon
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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 Podgorica: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Podgorica differ by about 67% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $1,328 including rent). Podgorica is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 37% 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $647 in Podgorica. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $335 in Podgorica. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,328 in Podgorica versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Podgorica but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Podgorica 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 Podgorica 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 Podgorica gentler on the wallet – expenses run 67% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.