Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Shkoder

For one person, living is cheaper in Shkoder: $980 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,800 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
47

Cost of Living Index in Shkoder
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Shkoder Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Shkoder

🇦🇱 Albania

$980

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Shkoder

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $980 in Shkoder.

Lisbon $2,210
Shkoder $980

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,474 in Shkoder.

Lisbon $3,275
Shkoder $1,474

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,969 in Shkoder.

Lisbon $4,341
Shkoder $1,969

Living in Lisbon is roughly 125% more expensive than in Shkoder, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Shkoder is 28% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$9.30 ALL 751

79.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$38.93 ALL 3,144

58.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$6.21 ALL 502

82.93%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$1.93 ALL 156

53.89%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.83 ALL 148

25.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.65 ALL 52.4

167.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$1.84 ALL 148

84.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.18 ALL 257

4.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.89 ALL 153

-38.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$0.97 ALL 78.7

96.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.01 ALL 163

-24.88%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.60 ALL 210

54.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$7.23 ALL 584

78.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$5.11 ALL 412

52.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$10.81 ALL 873

64.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.65 ALL 134

39.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$2.35 ALL 190

-26.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.72 ALL 139

8.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.45 ALL 117

78.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.02 ALL 82.4

78.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.23 ALL 99.0

60.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.14 ALL 92.0

28.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.77 ALL 62.3

-6.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$4.23 ALL 341

55.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$6.14 ALL 496

-8.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.51 ALL 122

-9.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.83 ALL 148

16.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.49 ALL 39.69

375.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$11.12 ALL 898

301.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$3.72 ALL 301

3.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$3.85 ALL 311

-72.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$18.71 ALL 1,511

-12.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$2.17 ALL 176

1.38%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$33.7K ALL 2.7M

1.57%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$24.7K ALL 2.0M

56.83%

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

$161 €145

$61.7 ALL 4,981

161.42%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$16.47 ALL 1,331

11.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$17.10 ALL 1,381

91.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$42.68 ALL 3,448

4.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$12.53 ALL 1,012

52.43%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.20 ALL 581

33.33%

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

$668 €600

$91.1 ALL 7,358

632.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$1,835 ALL 148.2K

860.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$49.16 ALL 3,970

107.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$12.34 ALL 997

260.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$74.0 ALL 5,975

33.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$147 ALL 11.8K

-15.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$489 ALL 39.5K

228.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$317 ALL 25.6K

275.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$484 ALL 39.1K

481.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$412 ALL 33.3K

388.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$1,866 ALL 150.7K

320.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$1,232 ALL 99.5K

271.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$567 ALL 45.8K

177.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

-23.00%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Shkoder: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Shkoder

$317 32.4% 73.3% $873

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Shkoder

$206 21% 24.4% $66

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Shkoder

$142 14.5% 41.6% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Shkoder

$95 9.7% 55.1% $117

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Shkoder

$127 13% 23.5% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Shkoder

$57 5.8% 10.4% $6.7

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Shkoder

$36 3.7% 42.9% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $489 in Shkoder. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $39 in Shkoder for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $206 per month, with Shkoder cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇦🇱 Shkoder

🕒 Local time

14:53 2:53 PM

15:53 3:53 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

77,075

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 ALL = 1.24 USD

100 ALL = 1.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ALL, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 80.77 ALL (100 ALL = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 89.89 ALL (100 ALL = 1.11 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Shkoder 2,440 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Shkoder

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 Shkoder: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Shkoder differ by about 125% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $980 including rent). Shkoder is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.8 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 $489 in Shkoder. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $91 in Shkoder. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 32% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $980 in Shkoder versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Shkoder but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Shkoder 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.

Expats usually find Shkoder gentler on the wallet – expenses run 56% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.