Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Roskilde

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,210 a month against $2,518 in Roskilde, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. The total is higher in Roskilde despite lower rent and utilities.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
121

Cost of Living Index in Roskilde
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Roskilde Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Roskilde

🇩🇰 Denmark

$2,518

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Roskilde

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $2,518 in Roskilde.

Lisbon $2,210
Roskilde $2,518

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $3,879 in Roskilde.

Lisbon $3,275
Roskilde $3,879

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $5,241 in Roskilde.

Lisbon $4,341
Roskilde $5,241

Living in Lisbon costs roughly 12% less than in Roskilde, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, Roskilde 85% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$18.08 DKK 121

-7.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$111 DKK 744

-44.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$14.66 DKK 98.2

-22.51%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$7.19 DKK 48.14

-58.69%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$4.32 DKK 28.91

-46.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$3.41 DKK 22.85

-48.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$8.43 DKK 56.5

-59.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$8.37 DKK 56.1

-60.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.94 DKK 12.96

-40.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$3.94 DKK 26.38

-51.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.29 DKK 15.34

-34.06%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$4.92 DKK 32.94

-18.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$14.48 DKK 97.0

-10.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$11.17 DKK 74.8

-30.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$18.20 DKK 122

-2.42%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.65 DKK 17.76

-13.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$2.84 DKK 19.04

-39.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.10 DKK 14.05

-11.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$4.00 DKK 26.81

-35.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.73 DKK 11.62

5.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.38 DKK 9.25

42.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.38 DKK 9.25

6.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.67 DKK 4.50

7.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$9.06 DKK 60.7

-27.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$7.27 DKK 48.71

-22.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.97 DKK 13.17

-30.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.54 DKK 17.03

-15.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

$75.8 DKK 508

-41.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$5.94 DKK 39.80

-35.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.72 DKK 11.55

-37.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$60.9 DKK 408

-72.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$2.27 DKK 15.19

-3.08%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$53.0K DKK 355.1K

-35.50%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$53.1K DKK 355.7K

-27.08%

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

$161 €144

$215 DKK 1,440

-25.03%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$15.49 DKK 104

18.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$43.42 DKK 291

-24.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$60.9 DKK 408

-26.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$16.63 DKK 111

-42.27%

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

$668 €598

$368 DKK 2,466

81.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,944 DKK 39.8K

196.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$104 DKK 697

-2.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$47.54 DKK 318

-6.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$152 DKK 1,019

-35.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$189 DKK 1,267

-34.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$1,278 DKK 8,558

25.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$1,122 DKK 7,514

6.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$2,552 DKK 17.1K

10.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$1,986 DKK 13.3K

1.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$6,679 DKK 44.7K

17.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$5,952 DKK 39.9K

-23.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$4,196 DKK 28.1K

-62.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.67

4.90%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Roskilde: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Roskilde

$1.1K 44.5% 5.7% $68

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Roskilde

$351 14% 29% $79

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Roskilde

$365 14.5% 50.3% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Roskilde

$274 10.9% 29% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Roskilde

$222 8.8% 33.7% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Roskilde

$94 3.7% 47.6% $30

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Roskilde

$90 * 3.6% 43% $27

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 $1,278 in Roskilde. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Roskilde pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $111 in Roskilde for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $351 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇩🇰 Roskilde

🕒 Local time

13:05 1:05 PM

14:05 2:05 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

50,781

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Danish Krone DKK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 DKK = 0.149 USD

1 DKK = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Roskilde 2,450 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Roskilde

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 Roskilde: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $2,518 in Roskilde, so Lisbon is about 12% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 62% 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 $1,278 in Roskilde. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $368 in Roskilde. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 29% higher in Roskilde. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Lisbon gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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

It comes down to priorities – Lisbon wins on affordability, Roskilde on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.