Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Salalah

For one person, living is cheaper in Salalah: $1,059 a month against $2,203 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

108

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Salalah
Learn more

Salalah Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,203

/mo nomad

Salalah

🇴🇲 Oman

$1,059

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Salalah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,203 in Lisbon versus $1,059 in Salalah.

Lisbon $2,203
Salalah $1,059

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,237 in Lisbon versus $1,599 in Salalah.

Lisbon $3,237
Salalah $1,599

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,272 in Lisbon versus $2,138 in Salalah.

Lisbon $4,272
Salalah $2,138

Living in Lisbon is roughly 108% more expensive than in Salalah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 64% above, Salalah is 21% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.01 €15.18

$5.31 OMR 2.05

220.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.7 €56.0

$26.43 OMR 10.17

137.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.42 €10.19

$12.97 OMR 4.99

-11.95%

Cappuccino

$3.09 €2.76

$6.09 OMR 2.34

-49.26%

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

$2.37 €2.11

$0.90 OMR 0.35

163.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 €1.48

$0.25 OMR 0.10

564.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.46 €3.09

$9.33 OMR 3.59

-62.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 €2.93

$10.30 OMR 3.96

-68.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.93 OMR 0.74

-39.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.23 OMR 0.47

52.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.52 €1.36

$2.66 OMR 1.03

-42.86%

Eggs

$3.88 €3.46

$1.82 OMR 0.70

113.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 €11.49

$4.58 OMR 1.76

181.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.94 €7.08

$4.62 OMR 1.78

71.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.63 €15.73

$6.61 OMR 2.55

166.72%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.91 OMR 0.74

18.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 €1.57

$1.87 OMR 0.72

-5.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 €1.68

$2.12 OMR 0.82

-11.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 €2.20

$1.87 OMR 0.72

32.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.52 OMR 0.59

22.37%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.03 OMR 0.40

100.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.04 OMR 0.40

33.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 €0.73

$0.48 OMR 0.18

68.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.89 €6.15

$5.84 OMR 2.25

17.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.53 €4.93

$19.73 OMR 7.60

-71.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 €1.19

$3.81 OMR 1.47

-65.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 €1.93

$4.76 OMR 1.83

-54.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.24 €2.00

$1.32 OMR 0.51

69.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.14 €40.29

$55.3 OMR 21.27

-18.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.00 €3.57

$2.31 OMR 0.89

73.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.95

$1.32 OMR 0.51

-18.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.53 €14.75

$11.49 OMR 4.42

43.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.26 €2.02

$0.61 OMR 0.23

270.49%

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

$33.5K €29.9K

$20.8K OMR 8,004

61.18%

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

$40.5K €36.1K

$18.3K OMR 7,048

121.15%

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

$164 €146

$78.1 OMR 30.07

109.44%

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

$18.54 €16.55

$49.55 OMR 19.08

-62.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.21 €29.64

$74.3 OMR 28.59

-55.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €41.06

$39.58 OMR 15.24

16.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.80 €16.78

$26.22 OMR 10.10

-28.30%

Cinema Ticket

$9.47 €8.45

$7.81 OMR 3.01

21.25%

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

$690 €615

$106 OMR 40.78

551.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.0K

$1,942 OMR 747

768.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$105 €93.4

$28.74 OMR 11.06

264.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.27 €40.40

$30.76 OMR 11.84

47.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.0 €88.3

$57.8 OMR 22.23

71.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$46.20 OMR 17.79

168.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,583 €1,413

$251 OMR 96.5

531.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,209 €1,079

$205 OMR 79.0

489.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,833 €2,528

$642 OMR 247

341.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,964 €1,753

$382 OMR 147

413.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,643 €6,821

$1,981 OMR 763

285.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,431 €3,954

$1,240 OMR 477

257.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,573 €1,403

$1,771 OMR 682

-11.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.79

4.58

-17.25%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 4, 2026

Last update for Salalah: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 54%

Salalah

$205 19.3% 83% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.1%

Salalah

$229 21.6% 15.7% $43

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11%

Salalah

$226 21.3% 8.5% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.6%

Salalah

$202 19% 6.2% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.5%

Salalah

$74 6.9% 56.2% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 2.9%

Salalah

$55 5.2% 15% $9.8

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Salalah

$69 6.6% 9.5% $6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,583 in Lisbon and $251 in Salalah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Salalah pays 13% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $63.0 in Lisbon vs $26.00 in Salalah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $229 per month, with Salalah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇴🇲 Salalah

🕒 Local time

06:11 6:11 AM

09:11 9:11 AM

3 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

178,469

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.32 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Salalah 6,530 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

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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 Salalah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Salalah differ by about 108% in total monthly costs ($2,203 vs $1,059 including rent). Salalah is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 13% lower in Salalah. 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: $1,583 in Lisbon versus $251 in Salalah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $690 in Lisbon versus $106 in Salalah. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,059 in Salalah versus $2,203 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Salalah but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Salalah 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 Salalah 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 Salalah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 108% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.