Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Pogradec

For one person, living is cheaper in Pogradec: $820 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Pogradec
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Pogradec Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Pogradec

🇦🇱 Albania

$820

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Pogradec

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $820 in Pogradec.

Lisbon $2,210
Pogradec $820

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,353 in Pogradec.

Lisbon $3,275
Pogradec $1,353

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,887 in Pogradec.

Lisbon $4,341
Pogradec $1,887

Living in Lisbon is roughly 170% more expensive than in Pogradec, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Pogradec is 40% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.91

$9.62 ALL 781

73.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$39.12 ALL 3,177

57.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.17

$7.30 ALL 593

55.62%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$1.58 ALL 129

87.97%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.81 ALL 147

26.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.68 ALL 55.6

155.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$1.49 ALL 121

128.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$2.66 ALL 216

24.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.97 ALL 160

-41.12%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.91 ALL 73.8

109.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$2.05 ALL 167

-26.34%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.28 ALL 186

76.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$8.19 ALL 665

58.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.96

$4.36 ALL 354

78.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.91

$14.35 ALL 1,166

23.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.27 ALL 103

81.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$2.35 ALL 191

-26.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.50 ALL 122

24.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.26 ALL 102

105.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.97 ALL 79.0

87.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.02 ALL 83.1

93.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.02 ALL 82.6

44.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.84 ALL 68.4

-14.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$4.28 ALL 348

53.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$7.80 ALL 634

-28.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.25 ALL 102

8.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.82 ALL 148

17.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.51 ALL 41.08

356.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.01

$18.76 ALL 1,524

138.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$3.64 ALL 296

5.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.86 ALL 151

-42.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.74

$18.50 ALL 1,503

-11.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$2.28 ALL 185

-3.51%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$33.1K ALL 2.7M

3.39%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$24.3K ALL 2.0M

59.27%

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

$161 €144

$61.3 ALL 4,976

163.13%

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

$18.41 €16.49

$16.66 ALL 1,353

10.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.32

$17.47 ALL 1,419

87.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.90

$36.29 ALL 2,947

22.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.10

$18.73 ALL 1,521

1.98%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$8.62 ALL 700

11.37%

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

$668 €598

$99.8 ALL 8,105

569.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$49.22 ALL 3,998

107.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.82

$56.0 ALL 4,549

-20.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.2

$96.9 ALL 7,871

1.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$149 ALL 12.1K

-17.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,440

$185 ALL 15.1K

767.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$126 ALL 10.2K

847.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,519

$366 ALL 29.7K

669.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,803

$251 ALL 20.4K

701.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,021

$1,626 ALL 132.1K

382.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,098

$1,499 ALL 121.8K

205.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$478 ALL 38.9K

229.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

-23.00%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Pogradec: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Pogradec

$126 15.3% 89.4% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Pogradec

$213 26% 21.8% $59

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Pogradec

$141 17.2% 42% $102

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Pogradec

$95 11.6% 55.1% $117

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Pogradec

$158 19.3% 4.7% $7.8

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Pogradec

$54 6.5% 16% $10

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Pogradec

$34 4.1% 46.6% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $185 in Pogradec. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 3.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $39 in Pogradec for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $213 per month, with Pogradec cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇦🇱 Pogradec

🕒 Local time

08:11 8:11 AM

09:11 9:11 AM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

20,848

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ALL = 1.23 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Lisbon Pogradec 2,540 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Lisbon vs Pogradec: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $820 in Pogradec, so Pogradec is about 63% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 3.3 times higher, 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 $185 in Pogradec. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $100 in Pogradec. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 28% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Pogradec 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.

Expats usually find Pogradec gentler on the wallet – expenses run 63% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.