Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Pohang

For one person, living is cheaper in Pohang: $1,365 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Pohang
Learn more

Pohang Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Pohang

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,365

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Pohang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,365 in Pohang.

Lisbon $2,210
Pohang $1,365

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $2,214 in Pohang.

Lisbon $3,275
Pohang $2,214

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $3,063 in Pohang.

Lisbon $4,341
Pohang $3,063

Living in Lisbon is roughly 62% more expensive than in Pohang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.91

$6.08 ₩8,121

173.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$22.35 ₩29.8K

176.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.17

$6.45 ₩8,615

76.12%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$3.09 ₩4,120

-3.88%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.47 ₩1,969

55.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.50 ₩667

248.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$3.67 ₩4,903

-7.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$3.82 ₩5,097

-13.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$2.30 ₩3,065

-49.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$3.17 ₩4,235

-39.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.53 ₩2,044

-1.31%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.76 ₩3,679

45.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$11.07 ₩14.8K

16.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.96

$10.61 ₩14.2K

-26.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.91

$24.68 ₩33.0K

-28.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.20 ₩2,944

4.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$3.60 ₩4,808

-51.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$7.98 ₩10.7K

-76.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$3.11 ₩4,147

-16.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$5.13 ₩6,842

-64.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$3.43 ₩4,577

-42.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$2.22 ₩2,964

-33.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.33 ₩1,777

-45.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.43 ₩4,579

91.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$6.90 ₩9,218

-18.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.52 ₩2,034

-10.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$3.44 ₩4,597

-37.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$1.18 ₩1,581

97.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.01

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$3.42 ₩4,565

12.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.63 ₩839

69.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.74

$16.86 ₩22.5K

-2.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.30 ₩1,734

69.23%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$29.5K ₩39.4M

15.98%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$29.4K ₩39.3M

31.56%

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

$161 €144

$101 ₩135.1K

59.34%

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

$18.41 €16.49

$37.06 ₩49.5K

-50.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.32

$27.13 ₩36.2K

20.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.90

$29.93 ₩40.0K

48.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.10

$14.02 ₩18.7K

36.23%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$11.14 ₩14.9K

-13.82%

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

$668 €598

$635 ₩848.0K

5.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$22.0K ₩29.3M

-19.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$104 ₩139.4K

-2.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.82

$66.8 ₩89.2K

-33.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.2

$92.8 ₩123.9K

6.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$113 ₩150.4K

9.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,440

$484 ₩646.7K

232.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$440 ₩587.2K

170.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,519

$1,256 ₩1.7M

123.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,803

$1,032 ₩1.4M

95.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,021

$8,173 ₩10.9M

-4.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,098

$5,538 ₩7.4M

-17.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$2,203 ₩2.9M

-28.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

4.22

-8.77%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Pohang: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Pohang

$440 32.2% 63% $750

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Pohang

$388 28.4% 42.3% $115

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Pohang

$139 10.2% 42.7% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Pohang

$165 12.1% 22.1% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Pohang

$170 12.4% 2.2% $3.6

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Pohang

$52 3.8% 18.1% $12

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Pohang

$11 * 0.8% 82.1% $52

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $484 in Pohang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pohang pays 40% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $22 in Pohang. Groceries flip the comparison at $272 vs $388, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇰🇷 Pohang

🕒 Local time

08:42 8:42 AM

17:42 5:42 PM

9 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

514,869

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 KRW = 7.49 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.71 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 1,335 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.49 USD). 1 EUR = 1,491 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.71 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Pohang 10,680 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Pohang

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 Pohang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,365 in Pohang, so Pohang is about 38% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 29% lower in Lisbon. 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $484 in Pohang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 30% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $1,365 in Pohang – Pohang is about 38% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Pohang 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 Pohang are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.