Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Roman

For one person, living is cheaper in Roman: $842 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Roman
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Roman Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Roman

🇷🇴 Romania

$842

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Roman

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $842 in Roman.

Lisbon $2,206
Roman $842

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,393 in Roman.

Lisbon $3,276
Roman $1,393

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,944 in Roman.

Lisbon $4,346
Roman $1,944

Living in Lisbon is roughly 162% more expensive than in Roman, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Roman is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.00

$10.46 RON 49.72

61.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.3

$33.05 RON 157

84.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.77

$7.27 RON 34.54

51.03%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$2.54 RON 12.06

20.08%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$1.35 RON 6.41

68.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$1.04 RON 4.94

61.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$2.14 RON 10.17

60.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$2.18 RON 10.36

79.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.18 RON 5.62

-2.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$0.66 RON 3.15

186.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.43 RON 6.82

4.90%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$2.91 RON 13.84

41.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.57

$7.85 RON 37.32

65.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.16

$5.76 RON 27.37

39.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.92

$8.25 RON 39.22

116.85%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.07 RON 5.07

112.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.49 RON 7.11

16.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.39 RON 6.59

30.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.83 RON 8.69

46.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$0.68 RON 3.25

160.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$0.83 RON 3.94

133.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.81 RON 3.86

80.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.73 RON 3.45

4.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.92

$5.32 RON 25.27

25.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.02

$5.38 RON 25.59

4.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$0.96 RON 4.56

34.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.17 RON 5.58

82.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$0.74 RON 3.53

210.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.17

$20.48 RON 97.4

114.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.54

$0.65 RON 3.11

512.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.65 RON 3.08

-1.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.84

$7.36 RON 34.98

157.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.82 RON 8.66

25.27%

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

$33.4K €29.7K

$28.3K RON 134.6K

17.89%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$24.7K RON 117.6K

55.61%

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

$158 €141

$147 RON 699

7.53%

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

$17.54 €15.61

$6.70 RON 31.85

161.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.75

$8.03 RON 38.18

288.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.73

$37.42 RON 178

19.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.89

$17.23 RON 81.9

10.16%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.52

$6.26 RON 29.73

53.04%

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

$674 €599

$290 RON 1,377

132.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$6,433 RON 30.6K

191.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.9

$96.0 RON 456

6.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.85

$25.20 RON 120

82.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.0

$61.6 RON 293

66.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$58.4 RON 278

108.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,460

$213 RON 1,015

668.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,057

$159 RON 754

648.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,514

$611 RON 2,906

361.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,796

$459 RON 2,181

339.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,973

$1,818 RON 8,643

330.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,183

$1,519 RON 7,220

209.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,501

$828 RON 3,935

103.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

7.2

-46.94%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Roman: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Roman

$159 18.8% 86.6% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Roman

$176 20.8% 36.1% $99

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Roman

$161 19.1% 34.5% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Roman

$162 19.2% 21.8% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Roman

$109 12.9% 35.2% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Roman

$50 5.9% 21.7% $14

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Roman

$27 3.3% 54.7% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,641 in Lisbon and $213 in Roman. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2 times 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 $33 in Roman for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $176 per month, with Roman cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇷🇴 Roman

🕒 Local time

01:49 1:49 AM

03:49 3:49 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

80,328

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Roman 3,050 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
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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 Roman: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $842 in Roman, so Roman is about 62% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2 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: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $213 in Roman. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $290 in Roman. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 56% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $842 in Roman versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Roman but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Roman 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.

Expats usually find Roman gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.