Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Samara

For one person, living is cheaper in Samara: $765 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $17,200 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Samara
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Samara Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Samara

🇷🇺 Russia

$765

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Samara

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $765 in Samara.

Lisbon $2,202
Samara $765

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $1,253 in Samara.

Lisbon $3,274
Samara $1,253

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,741 in Samara.

Lisbon $4,346
Samara $1,741

Living in Lisbon is roughly 188% more expensive than in Samara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Samara is 44% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$8.57 ₽716

98.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$43.02 ₽3,591

44.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$5.21 ₽435

111.52%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$2.30 ₽192

35.65%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$1.14 ₽94.9

99.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.52 ₽43.42

234.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$1.77 ₽148

93.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$2.97 ₽248

25.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.24 ₽104

-5.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.05 ₽87.7

77.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.62 ₽135

-4.94%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$1.53 ₽128

165.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$12.14 ₽1,013

6.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$7.07 ₽590

11.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$7.47 ₽624

136.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$3.04 ₽254

-25.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.76 ₽147

-0.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$4.04 ₽337

-36.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$0.83 ₽68.9

122.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.38 ₽31.46

418.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.56 ₽46.44

37.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$2.51 ₽210

167.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.07 ₽89.5

28.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$0.46 ₽38.41

404.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$3.70 ₽309

6.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$3.69 ₽308

364.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$0.87 ₽72.9

151.72%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$51.7K ₽4.3M

-34.70%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$41.2K ₽3.4M

-7.08%

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

$164 €146

$140 ₽11.7K

16.77%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$4.73 ₽395

290.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$13.93 ₽1,163

136.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$42.07 ₽3,511

9.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$21.95 ₽1,832

-14.90%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$11.95 ₽997

-18.41%

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

$684 €608

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$146 ₽12.1K

-28.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$78.9 ₽6,587

-41.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$158 ₽13.2K

-36.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$86.0 ₽7,176

45.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$2,443 ₽203.9K

218.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$1,601 ₽133.6K

175.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

25.03

-84.62%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Samara: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Samara

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Samara

$191 * 25% 30.1% $82

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Samara

$133 17.4% 46.1% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Samara

$159 20.8% 26.2% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Samara

$211 27.5% 25% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Samara

$66 8.6% 0.9% $0.6

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Samara

$5.5 * 0.7% 91.2% $57

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $43.00 in Samara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $191 per month, with Samara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇷🇺 Samara

🕒 Local time

13:30 1:30 PM

16:30 4:30 PM

3 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,163,645

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 RUB = 1.2 USD

100 RUB = 1.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RUB, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 83.46 RUB (100 RUB = 1.2 USD). 1 EUR = 93.83 RUB (100 RUB = 1.07 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Samara 4,710 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Samara

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 Samara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Samara differ by about 188% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $765 including rent). Samara 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 $1,148 in Samara 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.

Dining out is cheaper in Samara – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $62.0 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,202 per month in Lisbon versus $765 in Samara – a 188% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $765 in Samara versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Samara but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Samara 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 Samara 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 Samara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 188% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.