Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Shiraz

For one person, living is cheaper in Shiraz: $551 a month against $2,203 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $19,800 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
26

Cost of Living Index in Shiraz
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Shiraz Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,203

/mo nomad

Shiraz

🇮🇷 Iran

$551

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Shiraz

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,203 in Lisbon versus $551 in Shiraz.

Lisbon $2,203
Shiraz $551

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,237 in Lisbon versus $810 in Shiraz.

Lisbon $3,237
Shiraz $810

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,272 in Lisbon versus $1,069 in Shiraz.

Lisbon $4,272
Shiraz $1,069

Living in Lisbon is roughly 300% more expensive than in Shiraz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 64% above, Shiraz is 59% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.01 €15.17

$4.62 $4.62

268.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.7 €55.9

$13.16 $13.16

376.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.42 €10.18

$3.92 $3.92

191.33%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.03 $1.03

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 $1.79

Cappuccino

$3.09 €2.75

$1.17 $1.17

164.10%

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

$2.37 €2.11

$0.66 $0.66

259.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 €1.48

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.46 €3.08

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 €2.93

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$0.67 $0.67

74.63%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.41 $0.41

356.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.52 €1.35

$1.90 $1.90

-20.00%

Eggs

$3.88 €3.46

$1.22 $1.22

218.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 €11.48

$2.35 $2.35

447.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.94 €7.08

$2.95 $2.95

169.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.63 €15.72

$9.81 $9.81

79.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.12 $1.12

101.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 €1.57

$1.54 $1.54

14.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 €1.68

$0.89 $0.89

111.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 €2.20

$0.55 $0.55

349.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$0.55 $0.55

238.18%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$0.55 $0.55

276.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.39 €1.24

$0.51 $0.51

172.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 €0.72

$0.17 $0.17

376.47%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.87 $0.87

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 $0.59

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 $1.71

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.89 €6.15

$3.04 $3.04

126.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.53 €4.93

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 €1.19

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 €1.93

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.24 €2.00

$0.11 $0.11

1936.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.14 €40.25

$3.09 $3.09

1360.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.00 €3.57

$0.38 $0.38

952.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.95

$0.21 $0.21

409.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.53 €14.74

$3.44 $3.44

380.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.26 €2.02

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

$33.5K €29.9K

$66.0K $66.0K

-49.21%

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

$40.5K €36.1K

$53.1K $53.1K

-23.79%

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

$164 €146

$23.64 $23.64

592.01%

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

$18.54 €16.53

$2.06 $2.06

800.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.21 €29.61

$17.07 $17.07

94.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €41.02

$18.96 $18.96

142.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.80 €16.77

$13.51 $13.51

39.16%

Cinema Ticket

$9.47 €8.44

$1.98 $1.98

378.28%

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

$690 €615

$104 $104

563.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.0K

$2,421 $2,421

596.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$105 €93.3

$22.81 $22.81

358.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.27 €40.37

$18.49 $18.49

144.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.0 €88.2

$95.2 $95.2

3.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$56.0 $56.0

121.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,583 €1,411

$291 $291

444.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,209 €1,078

$217 $217

458.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,833 €2,526

$537 $537

427.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,964 €1,751

$321 $321

511.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,643 €6,815

$1,164 $1,164

556.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,431 €3,951

$503 $503

781.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,573 €1,402

$243 $243

548.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.79

24.3

-84.40%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 4, 2026

Last update for Shiraz: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 54%

Shiraz

$217 40% 82.1% $993

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.1%

Shiraz

$103 18.9% 62.3% $169

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11%

Shiraz

$65 * 12.1% 73.6% $182

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.6%

Shiraz

$43 7.9% 80.1% $173

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.5%

Shiraz

$87 16% 48.4% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 2.9%

Shiraz

$23 4.2% 64.7% $42

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Shiraz

$5 0.9% 92.2% $58

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 $1,583 in Lisbon and $291 in Shiraz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 548% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $63.0 in Lisbon vs $13.00 in Shiraz for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $103 per month, with Shiraz cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇮🇷 Shiraz

🕒 Local time

07:21 7:21 AM

09:51 9:51 AM

2 h 30 min ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,565,572

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

USD USD

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Shiraz 5,660 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

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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 Shiraz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Shiraz differ by about 300% in total monthly costs ($2,203 vs $551 including rent). Shiraz is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 548% higher in Lisbon, 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: $1,583 in Lisbon versus $291 in Shiraz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $690 in Lisbon versus $104 in Shiraz. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 165% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $551 in Shiraz versus $2,203 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Shiraz but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Shiraz 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 Shiraz 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 Shiraz gentler on the wallet – expenses run 300% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.