Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Sarande

For one person, living is cheaper in Sarande: $1,300 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $10,900 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
63

Cost of Living Index in Sarande
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Sarande Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Sarande

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,300

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Sarande

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,300 in Sarande.

Lisbon $2,210
Sarande $1,300

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $2,195 in Sarande.

Lisbon $3,275
Sarande $2,195

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $3,090 in Sarande.

Lisbon $4,341
Sarande $3,090

Living in Lisbon is roughly 70% more expensive than in Sarande, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Sarande is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$10.10 ALL 821

64.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$55.1 ALL 4,477

12.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$11.03 ALL 896

2.99%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.24 ALL 182

32.59%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$2.36 ALL 191

-2.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.17 ALL 95.0

48.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$3.52 ALL 286

-3.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.97 ALL 323

-16.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$2.24 ALL 182

-48.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.19 ALL 96.8

60.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.36 ALL 192

-36.02%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$3.65 ALL 297

10.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$12.98 ALL 1,054

-0.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$9.34 ALL 759

-16.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$17.37 ALL 1,410

2.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.94 ALL 158

18.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$2.47 ALL 201

-29.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.09 ALL 170

-11.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.90 ALL 154

36.32%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.02 ALL 82.7

78.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.26 ALL 102

56.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.47 ALL 119

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.74 ALL 60.1

-2.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$4.68 ALL 380

40.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$7.56 ALL 614

-25.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.55 ALL 126

-12.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.07 ALL 168

3.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$1.10 ALL 89.6

111.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

$22.09 ALL 1,794

102.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$3.60 ALL 292

6.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$3.62 ALL 294

-70.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$18.27 ALL 1,484

-9.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$2.19 ALL 178

0.46%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$33.5K ALL 2.7M

1.99%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$28.1K ALL 2.3M

37.88%

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

$161 €144

$99.8 ALL 8,107

61.53%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$18.16 ALL 1,475

1.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$19.69 ALL 1,599

66.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$89.8 ALL 7,296

-50.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$40.07 ALL 3,255

-52.33%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$10.07 ALL 818

-4.67%

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

$668 €598

$302 ALL 24.5K

121.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$7,994 ALL 649.3K

120.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$72.5 ALL 5,885

40.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$48.39 ALL 3,930

-8.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$118 ALL 9,562

-16.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$113 ALL 9,138

9.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$835 ALL 67.8K

92.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$380 ALL 30.9K

213.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$1,086 ALL 88.2K

158.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$917 ALL 74.5K

119.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$4,581 ALL 372.0K

71.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$2,902 ALL 235.7K

57.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$770 ALL 62.5K

104.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.16

-25.39%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Sarande: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Sarande

$380 29.2% 68.1% $810

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Sarande

$286 22% 5% $14

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Sarande

$180 13.9% 25.6% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Sarande

$138 10.6% 35.2% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Sarande

$158 12.2% 4.8% $7.9

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Sarande

$110 8.5% 72.5% $46

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Sarande

$48 3.7% 23.7% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $835 in Sarande. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $55 in Sarande. Groceries flip the comparison at $272 vs $286, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇦🇱 Sarande

🕒 Local time

08:00 8:00 AM

09:00 9:00 AM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

17,233

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ALL = 1.23 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Sarande 2,500 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

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Lisbon
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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 Sarande: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,300 in Sarande, so Sarande is about 41% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $835 in Sarande. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $302 in Sarande. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 5% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,300 in Sarande versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sarande but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sarande 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.

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