Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Sighisoara

For one person, living is cheaper in Sighisoara: $937 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,200 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Sighisoara
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Sighisoara Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Sighisoara

🇷🇴 Romania

$937

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Sighisoara

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $937 in Sighisoara.

Lisbon $2,206
Sighisoara $937

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,501 in Sighisoara.

Lisbon $3,276
Sighisoara $1,501

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,065 in Sighisoara.

Lisbon $4,346
Sighisoara $2,065

Living in Lisbon is roughly 135% more expensive than in Sighisoara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.00

$10.66 RON 50.7

58.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.3

$36.06 RON 171

69.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.77

$8.42 RON 40.04

30.40%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$2.13 RON 10.14

43.19%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$2.16 RON 10.28

5.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$2.22 RON 10.56

-24.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$2.06 RON 9.77

66.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$2.79 RON 13.28

40.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.44 RON 6.83

-20.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.20 RON 5.69

57.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.51 RON 7.16

-0.66%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$3.33 RON 15.81

23.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.57

$7.31 RON 34.76

77.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.16

$7.13 RON 33.87

12.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.92

$7.14 RON 33.94

150.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.07 RON 5.08

112.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.63 RON 7.76

6.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.81 RON 8.61

0.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$2.27 RON 10.79

18.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$0.70 RON 3.31

152.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$0.95 RON 4.53

104.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.91 RON 4.31

60.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$1.04 RON 4.92

-26.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.92

$5.21 RON 24.75

27.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.02

$7.52 RON 35.75

-25.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.26 RON 6.00

2.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.68 RON 7.96

27.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$0.60 RON 2.87

283.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.17

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.54

$0.83 RON 3.93

379.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.82 RON 3.90

-21.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.84

$8.29 RON 39.39

128.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.63 RON 7.76

39.88%

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

$33.4K €29.7K

$28.8K RON 137.1K

15.72%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$25.0K RON 118.8K

54.09%

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

$158 €141

$59.7 RON 284

164.84%

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

$17.54 €15.61

$8.32 RON 39.55

110.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.75

$8.50 RON 40.42

266.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.73

$53.3 RON 253

-16.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.89

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.52

$9.42 RON 44.76

1.70%

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

$674 €599

$577 RON 2,744

16.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$12.2K RON 58.1K

53.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.9

$89.7 RON 426

13.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.85

$45.09 RON 214

1.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.0

$99.1 RON 471

3.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$105 RON 501

15.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,460

$319 RON 1,516

414.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,057

$255 RON 1,213

365.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,514

$517 RON 2,457

446.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,796

$492 RON 2,337

310.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,973

$1,576 RON 7,492

397.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,183

$1,064 RON 5,056

341.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,501

$589 RON 2,799

186.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

6.65

-42.56%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Sighisoara: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Sighisoara

$255 27.3% 78.5% $932

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Sighisoara

$203 21.7% 26% $71

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Sighisoara

$170 18.1% 30.9% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Sighisoara

$77 8.2% 63% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Sighisoara

$153 16.3% 8.8% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Sighisoara

$72 7.7% 13% $8.3

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Sighisoara

$7.3 * 0.8% 87.8% $53

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 $1,641 in Lisbon and $319 in Sighisoara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $36 in Sighisoara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $203 per month, with Sighisoara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇷🇴 Sighisoara

🕒 Local time

04:32 4:32 AM

06:32 6:32 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

32,570

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Sighisoara 2,880 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 Sighisoara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $937 in Sighisoara, so Sighisoara is about 58% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.9 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 $319 in Sighisoara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,206 per month in Lisbon versus $937 in Sighisoara – Sighisoara is about 58% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $937 in Sighisoara versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Sighisoara but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sighisoara 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 Sighisoara are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Sighisoara wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.