Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Siena

For one person, living is cheaper in Siena: $1,836 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
90

Cost of Living Index in Siena
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Siena Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Siena

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,836

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Siena

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $1,836 in Siena.

Lisbon $2,223
Siena $1,836

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $2,784 in Siena.

Lisbon $3,271
Siena $2,784

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $3,733 in Siena.

Lisbon $4,319
Siena $3,733

Living in Lisbon is roughly 21% more expensive than in Siena, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 65% above, Siena 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$15.36 €13.66

7.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$90.9 €80.9

-32.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$13.54 €12.05

-16.77%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$1.89 €1.68

61.90%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$2.96 €2.63

-23.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.41 €1.26

22.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$6.19 €5.51

-45.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$5.59 €4.98

-39.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.45 €1.29

-22.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.24 €2.00

-16.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.64 €1.46

-6.71%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$4.03 €3.58

-1.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$13.54 €12.04

-5.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$11.93 €10.61

-33.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$21.56 €19.18

-21.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.57 €2.29

-11.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.15 €1.91

-18.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$3.13 €2.79

-40.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$3.16 €2.81

-18.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.82 €1.62

2.20%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.57 €1.40

28.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.37 €1.22

5.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.52 €0.46

57.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$6.66 €5.93

-1.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$6.53 €5.81

-13.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.51 €1.34

-15.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$2.62 €2.33

-20.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.94 €1.73

21.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$41.73 €37.12

5.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$6.45 €5.74

-38.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.39 €1.24

-21.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$32.32 €28.74

-48.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$2.08 €1.85

9.62%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$27.6K €24.6K

22.01%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$35.5K €31.6K

10.53%

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

$167 €149

$194 €173

-13.79%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$13.47 €11.98

39.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$31.20 €27.75

6.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$70.4 €62.7

-34.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$11.30 €10.05

-12.92%

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

$677 €602

$576 €513

17.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$14.7K €13.1K

14.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$84.0 €74.7

20.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$37.04 €32.95

23.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$95.9 €85.3

4.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$107 €95.0

15.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$1,138 €1,013

41.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$725 €645

65.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$1,720 €1,530

66.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$1,122 €998

77.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$4,381 €3,897

72.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$3,930 €3,495

9.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$1,882 €1,674

-15.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.29

17.02%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Siena: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Siena

$725 39.5% 39.4% $472

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Siena

$325 17.7% 20.5% $55

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Siena

$246 13.4% 1.5% $3.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Siena

$239 13% 8.9% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Siena

$146 7.9% 12.5% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Siena

$93 5.1% 41.6% $27

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Siena

$63 3.4% 0.2% $0.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $1,138 in Siena. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Siena pays 19% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $91.0 in Siena for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $325 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇮🇹 Siena

🕒 Local time

23:40 11:40 PM

00:40 12:40 AM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

53,903

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Siena 1,790 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

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 Siena: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Siena differ by about 21% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $1,836 including rent). Siena is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 19% lower in Siena. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $1,138 in Siena. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $576 in Siena. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 21% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,836 in Siena versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Siena but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Siena 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 Siena 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 Siena gentler on the wallet – expenses run 21% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.