Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Sibiu

For one person, living is cheaper in Sibiu: $1,112 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Sibiu
Learn more

Sibiu Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Sibiu

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,112

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Sibiu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $1,112 in Sibiu.

Lisbon $2,202
Sibiu $1,112

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $1,654 in Sibiu.

Lisbon $3,274
Sibiu $1,654

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,197 in Sibiu.

Lisbon $4,346
Sibiu $2,197

Living in Lisbon is roughly 98% more expensive than in Sibiu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Sibiu is 18% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$8.50 RON 40.21

100.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$42.33 RON 200

47.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$7.48 RON 35.37

47.33%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$3.27 RON 15.48

-4.59%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$2.01 RON 9.50

12.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.76 RON 8.33

-1.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$3.09 RON 14.60

10.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$3.87 RON 18.31

-3.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.43 RON 6.78

-18.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.14 RON 5.40

63.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.36 RON 6.43

13.24%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$3.47 RON 16.41

17.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$7.95 RON 37.60

62.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$5.86 RON 27.73

34.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$8.04 RON 38.05

119.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.15 RON 5.44

96.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.57 RON 7.43

11.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.44 RON 6.80

31.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$2.54 RON 12.02

0.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$0.66 RON 3.13

180.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.60 RON 2.84

228.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.99 RON 4.68

46.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.85 RON 4.03

-9.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$5.90 RON 27.92

13.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$7.46 RON 35.28

-23.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$0.92 RON 4.36

48.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.40 RON 6.61

50.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$0.71 RON 3.34

226.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$17.14 RON 81.1

159.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$0.91 RON 4.28

334.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.80 RON 3.79

31.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$8.24 RON 39.00

108.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.94 RON 9.19

12.89%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$28.8K RON 136.4K

17.19%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$25.6K RON 121.1K

49.45%

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

$164 €146

$117 RON 551

40.55%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$9.07 RON 42.90

103.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$12.40 RON 58.7

165.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$35.35 RON 167

29.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$14.48 RON 68.5

29.01%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$6.77 RON 32.04

44.02%

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

$684 €608

$449 RON 2,123

52.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$6,702 RON 31.7K

163.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$74.7 RON 353

38.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$31.65 RON 150

45.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$87.3 RON 413

14.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$88.0 RON 416

41.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$450 RON 2,131

252.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$410 RON 1,938

185.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$837 RON 3,960

240.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$606 RON 2,867

228.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$2,501 RON 11.8K

211.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$2,022 RON 9,566

118.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$1,111 RON 5,257

43.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

7.02

-45.16%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Sibiu: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Sibiu

$410 36.8% 65% $759

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Sibiu

$196 17.6% 28.3% $77

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Sibiu

$168 15.1% 32.1% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Sibiu

$138 12.4% 35.9% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Sibiu

$127 11.4% 24.8% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Sibiu

$49 4.4% 25.2% $16

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Sibiu

$25 2.2% 60.5% $38

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $450 in Sibiu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 44% 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: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $42.00 in Sibiu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $196 per month, with Sibiu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇷🇴 Sibiu

🕒 Local time

13:16 1:16 PM

15:16 3:16 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

147,245

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Sibiu 2,830 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Sibiu

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 Sibiu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Sibiu differ by about 98% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $1,112 including rent). Sibiu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 44% 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: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $450 in Sibiu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $684 in Lisbon versus $449 in Sibiu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 40% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,112 in Sibiu versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sibiu but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sibiu 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 Sibiu 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 Sibiu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 98% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.