Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Salamanca

For one person, living is cheaper in Salamanca: $1,129 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Salamanca
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Salamanca Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Salamanca

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,129

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Salamanca

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $1,129 in Salamanca.

Lisbon $2,202
Salamanca $1,129

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $1,817 in Salamanca.

Lisbon $3,274
Salamanca $1,817

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,505 in Salamanca.

Lisbon $4,346
Salamanca $2,505

Living in Lisbon is roughly 95% more expensive than in Salamanca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Salamanca is 17% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$10.91 MX$202

56.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$43.23 MX$799

44.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$8.45 MX$156

30.41%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$3.50 MX$64.7

-10.86%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$1.39 MX$25.70

63.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.05 MX$19.49

65.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$2.44 MX$45.16

40.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$3.99 MX$73.7

-6.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.58 MX$29.14

-25.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.57 MX$47.44

-27.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.73 MX$31.94

-10.98%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$2.50 MX$46.17

62.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$8.25 MX$152

56.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$8.36 MX$155

-5.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$11.63 MX$215

51.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$2.76 MX$51.0

-18.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.52 MX$28.18

15.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.95 MX$36.05

-3.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$1.77 MX$32.67

44.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.94 MX$35.89

-4.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.89 MX$34.84

4.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.41 MX$26.08

2.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$1.08 MX$19.98

-28.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$4.28 MX$79.0

56.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$10.50 MX$194

-46.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.83 MX$33.83

-25.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$3.16 MX$58.4

-33.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$0.64 MX$11.77

262.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$2.64 MX$48.77

49.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$1.94 MX$35.86

-45.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$10.84 MX$200

58.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.50 MX$27.66

46.00%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$21.6K MX$399.3K

56.34%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$24.4K MX$450.4K

57.00%

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

$164 €146

$57.5 MX$1,062

185.04%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$23.04 MX$426

-19.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$29.82 MX$551

10.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$33.77 MX$624

35.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$20.34 MX$376

-8.16%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$5.35 MX$98.8

82.24%

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

$684 €608

$221 MX$4,089

209.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$4,578 MX$84.6K

284.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$54.9 MX$1,014

89.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$40.23 MX$743

14.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$99.0 MX$1,830

0.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$90.3 MX$1,668

38.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$604 MX$11.2K

162.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$383 MX$7,073

205.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$1,057 MX$19.5K

169.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$752 MX$13.9K

164.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$1,948 MX$36.0K

300.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$1,141 MX$21.1K

287.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

11.3

-65.93%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Salamanca: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Salamanca

$383 33.9% 67.3% $786

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Salamanca

$264 23.4% 3.3% $9

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Salamanca

$185 16.4% 25.4% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Salamanca

$110 9.8% 48.7% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Salamanca

$128 11.3% 24% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Salamanca

$44 3.9% 32% $21

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Salamanca

$15 * 1.3% 76.3% $48

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 $1,589 in Lisbon and $604 in Salamanca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $43.00 in Salamanca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $264 per month, with Salamanca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇽 Salamanca

🕒 Local time

06:48 6:48 AM

23:48 11:48 PM

7 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

160,682

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Salamanca 8,770 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Salamanca

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 Salamanca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Salamanca differ by about 95% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $1,129 including rent). Salamanca is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,302 in Lisbon and $1,694 in Salamanca to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $604 in Salamanca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,202 per month in Lisbon versus $1,129 in Salamanca – a 95% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,129 in Salamanca versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Salamanca but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Salamanca 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 Salamanca 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 Salamanca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 95% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.