Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Sighetu Marmatiei

For one person, living is cheaper in Sighetu Marmatiei: $934 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Sighetu Marmatiei
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Sighetu Marmatiei Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Sighetu Marmatiei

🇷🇴 Romania

$934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Sighetu Marmatiei

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $934 in Sighetu Marmatiei.

Lisbon $2,206
Sighetu Marmatiei $934

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,383 in Sighetu Marmatiei.

Lisbon $3,276
Sighetu Marmatiei $1,383

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,832 in Sighetu Marmatiei.

Lisbon $4,346
Sighetu Marmatiei $1,832

Living in Lisbon is roughly 136% more expensive than in Sighetu Marmatiei, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Sighetu Marmatiei is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €14.98

$8.48 RON 40.24

98.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.2

$21.32 RON 101

186.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.75

$7.15 RON 33.95

53.57%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$2.71 RON 12.89

12.55%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$1.83 RON 8.69

24.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.49

$1.78 RON 8.44

-5.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.05

$2.04 RON 9.69

68.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.47

$3.12 RON 14.81

25.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.43 RON 6.77

-19.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.02 RON 4.83

85.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.33

$1.21 RON 5.75

23.97%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$2.80 RON 13.31

47.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.55

$8.12 RON 38.57

60.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.15

$6.24 RON 29.62

28.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.89

$9.27 RON 44.02

92.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.12 RON 5.31

102.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.55 RON 7.37

12.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.46 RON 6.93

24.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.34 RON 6.36

100.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$0.80 RON 3.82

121.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$0.92 RON 4.38

110.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.70 RON 3.32

108.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.77 RON 3.68

-1.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.91

$5.37 RON 25.49

24.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.01

$5.91 RON 28.04

-4.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.00 RON 4.73

29.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.74 RON 8.28

22.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.04

$0.71 RON 3.37

223.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.10

$21.69 RON 103

102.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.54

$0.77 RON 3.64

416.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.72 RON 3.40

-11.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.81

$8.63 RON 40.99

119.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.02

$1.67 RON 7.92

36.53%

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

$33.4K €29.6K

$28.1K RON 133.4K

18.78%

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

$38.5K €34.2K

$25.3K RON 119.9K

52.48%

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

$158 €141

$139 RON 661

13.59%

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

$17.54 €15.58

$6.55 RON 31.09

167.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.70

$7.69 RON 36.50

305.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.66

$37.27 RON 177

19.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.86

$20.14 RON 95.6

-5.76%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.51

$4.18 RON 19.83

129.19%

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

$674 €598

$396 RON 1,880

70.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.6K

$9,965 RON 47.3K

87.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.8

$60.9 RON 289

67.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.77

$37.00 RON 176

24.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €90.8

$55.8 RON 265

83.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €108

$64.1 RON 304

90.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,457

$409 RON 1,940

301.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,055

$268 RON 1,271

343.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,509

$564 RON 2,678

400.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,793

$432 RON 2,052

366.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,960

$1,833 RON 8,701

327.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,176

$1,153 RON 5,475

307.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,499

$533 RON 2,533

216.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

7.1

-46.20%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Sighetu Marmatiei: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$268 28.7% 77.5% $920

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$188 20.1% 31.5% $87

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$153 16.3% 37.7% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$154 16.4% 25.8% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$98 10.5% 41.5% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$46 4.9% 28.5% $18

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Sighetu Marmatiei

$29 3.1% 52.2% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,641 in Lisbon and $409 in Sighetu Marmatiei. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 3.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $21 in Sighetu Marmatiei for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $188 per month, with Sighetu Marmatiei cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇷🇴 Sighetu Marmatiei

🕒 Local time

20:55 8:55 PM

22:55 10:55 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

37,640

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.13 USD

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Lisbon Sighetu Marmatiei 2,840 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

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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 Sighetu Marmatiei: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $934 in Sighetu Marmatiei, so Sighetu Marmatiei is about 58% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 3.2 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: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $409 in Sighetu Marmatiei. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $396 in Sighetu Marmatiei. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 46% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $934 in Sighetu Marmatiei versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Sighetu Marmatiei but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sighetu Marmatiei 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 Sighetu Marmatiei are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Sighetu Marmatiei gentler on the wallet – expenses run 58% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.