Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Rome

For one person, living is cheaper in Rome: $1,998 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
97

Cost of Living Index in Rome
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Rome Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Rome

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,998

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Rome

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $1,998 in Rome.

Lisbon $2,223
Rome $1,998

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $3,117 in Rome.

Lisbon $3,271
Rome $3,117

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $4,236 in Rome.

Lisbon $4,319
Rome $4,236

Living in Lisbon is roughly 11% more expensive than in Rome, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 65% above, Rome 48% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$16.69 €14.84

-1.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$65.8 €58.5

-6.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$11.08 €9.85

1.71%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.10 €1.87

45.71%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$2.91 €2.59

-22.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.48 €1.32

16.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$5.62 €5.00

-39.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$6.68 €5.94

-49.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.72 €1.53

-34.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.27 €2.02

-18.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$2.99 €2.66

-48.83%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$4.75 €4.23

-16.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$14.53 €12.92

-12.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$12.63 €11.24

-37.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$19.86 €17.67

-14.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.64 €2.35

-14.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.28 €2.03

-23.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.46 €2.19

-24.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$2.42 €2.15

6.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.38 €1.22

34.78%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.55 €1.38

30.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.32 €1.17

9.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.55 €0.49

49.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$7.31 €6.50

-10.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$5.44 €4.84

3.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.58 €1.40

-18.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$2.62 €2.33

-20.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.63 €1.45

44.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$39.26 €34.92

12.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$6.51 €5.79

-38.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.68 €1.50

-35.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$33.24 €29.57

-49.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$2.17 €1.93

5.07%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$35.3K €31.4K

-4.73%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$35.4K €31.5K

10.92%

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

$167 €149

$203 €181

-17.48%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$11.50 €10.22

63.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$32.03 €28.49

3.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$65.9 €58.6

-30.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$22.89 €20.36

-16.16%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$11.23 €9.99

-12.38%

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

$677 €602

$484 €430

40.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$16.5K €14.7K

2.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$71.0 €63.1

42.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$36.51 €32.47

25.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$84.9 €75.5

17.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$122 €108

0.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$1,222 €1,087

32.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$881 €784

35.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$2,537 €2,257

12.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$1,721 €1,530

15.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$8,274 €7,360

-8.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$3,084 €2,743

39.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$1,942 €1,728

-18.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.52

9.38%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Rome: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Rome

$881 44.1% 26.4% $316

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Rome

$329 16.5% 22.2% $60

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Rome

$251 12.6% 3.6% $8.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Rome

$246 12.3% 12.4% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Rome

$141 7.1% 15% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Rome

$88 4.4% 34.5% $23

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Rome

$61 3% 3.6% $2.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $1,222 in Rome. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rome pays 22% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $66.0 in Rome for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $329 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇮🇹 Rome

🕒 Local time

11:47 11:47 AM

12:47 12:47 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

2,848,084 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Rome 1,860 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

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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 Rome: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Rome differ by about 11% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $1,998 including rent). Rome is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 22% lower in Rome. 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $1,222 in Rome. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $484 in Rome. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 22% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,998 in Rome versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rome but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Rome 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 Rome 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 Rome gentler on the wallet – expenses run 11% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.