Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Popovo

For one person, living is cheaper in Popovo: $916 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Popovo
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Popovo Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Popovo

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$916

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Popovo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $916 in Popovo.

Lisbon $2,206
Popovo $916

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,382 in Popovo.

Lisbon $3,276
Popovo $1,382

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,848 in Popovo.

Lisbon $4,346
Popovo $1,848

Living in Lisbon is roughly 141% more expensive than in Popovo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Popovo is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €14.98

$8.60 BGN 15.04

96.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.2

$28.66 BGN 50.2

112.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.75

$6.72 BGN 11.76

63.39%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$1.12 BGN 1.96

172.32%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$0.77 BGN 1.36

196.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.49

$1.52 BGN 2.66

10.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.05

$2.52 BGN 4.41

36.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.47

$4.20 BGN 7.34

-6.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.52 BGN 2.65

-24.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.03 BGN 1.81

83.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.33

$2.22 BGN 3.89

-32.43%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$2.56 BGN 4.49

60.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.55

$6.97 BGN 12.20

86.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.15

$8.01 BGN 14.02

0.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.89

$14.19 BGN 24.83

26.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.47 BGN 2.56

54.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.45 BGN 2.54

20.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.41 BGN 2.46

29.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$2.21 BGN 3.87

21.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$1.06 BGN 1.85

66.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$1.05 BGN 1.84

84.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.22 BGN 2.14

19.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.70 BGN 1.23

8.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.91

$4.05 BGN 7.08

64.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.01

$6.31 BGN 11.05

-10.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$0.88 BGN 1.55

46.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$2.03 BGN 3.56

5.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.04

$0.90 BGN 1.57

155.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.10

$25.79 BGN 45.13

70.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.54

$0.55 BGN 0.96

623.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.54 BGN 0.95

18.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.81

$7.90 BGN 13.82

139.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.02

$1.56 BGN 2.72

46.15%

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

$33.4K €29.6K

$28.0K BGN 49.0K

19.23%

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

$38.5K €34.2K

$21.6K BGN 37.9K

78.03%

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

$158 €141

$113 BGN 197

40.36%

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

$17.54 €15.58

$18.10 BGN 31.67

-3.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.70

$15.58 BGN 27.26

100.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.66

$19.80 BGN 34.65

125.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.86

$17.16 BGN 30.03

10.61%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.51

$6.12 BGN 10.71

56.54%

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

$674 €598

$509 BGN 892

32.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.6K

$5,443 BGN 9,526

244.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.8

$50.6 BGN 88.6

101.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.77

$39.95 BGN 69.9

14.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €90.8

$67.5 BGN 118

51.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €108

$45.19 BGN 79.1

169.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,457

$338 BGN 591

385.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,055

$260 BGN 455

356.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,509

$554 BGN 970

409.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,793

$403 BGN 705

400.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,960

$1,323 BGN 2,314

492.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,176

$1,083 BGN 1,896

334.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,499

$1,266 BGN 2,215

33.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

3.1

23.23%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Popovo: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Popovo

$260 28.4% 78.1% $927

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Popovo

$221 24.1% 19.6% $54

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Popovo

$133 14.5% 46% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Popovo

$146 16% 29.3% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Popovo

$91 10% 45.4% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Popovo

$32 3.5% 49.8% $32

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Popovo

$33 3.6% 46% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,641 in Lisbon and $338 in Popovo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 33% 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 in Lisbon vs $29 in Popovo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $221 per month, with Popovo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇧🇬 Popovo

🕒 Local time

13:42 1:42 PM

15:42 3:42 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

15,878

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.13 USD

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.51 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Popovo 2,990 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Popovo

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 Popovo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $916 in Popovo, so Popovo is about 58% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 33% 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: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $338 in Popovo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $509 in Popovo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 24% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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 Popovo are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Popovo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 58% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.