Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Silistra

For one person, living is cheaper in Silistra: $858 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,100 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Silistra
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Silistra Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Silistra

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$858

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Silistra

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $858 in Silistra.

Lisbon $2,202
Silistra $858

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $1,223 in Silistra.

Lisbon $3,274
Silistra $1,223

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,589 in Silistra.

Lisbon $4,346
Silistra $1,589

Living in Lisbon is roughly 157% more expensive than in Silistra, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Silistra is 37% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$10.13 BGN 17.62

68.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$24.96 BGN 43.43

149.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$8.75 BGN 15.22

25.94%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$1.66 BGN 2.89

87.95%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$1.11 BGN 1.93

104.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.79 BGN 1.38

120.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$1.83 BGN 3.19

86.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$2.00 BGN 3.48

87.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.71 BGN 2.98

-31.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$0.81 BGN 1.42

129.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.49 BGN 2.59

3.36%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$2.35 BGN 4.10

72.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$9.41 BGN 16.37

37.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$6.36 BGN 11.07

24.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$8.31 BGN 14.46

112.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.25 BGN 2.17

80.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.71 BGN 2.97

2.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.68 BGN 2.92

12.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$1.97 BGN 3.42

29.95%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$0.96 BGN 1.66

92.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.71 BGN 1.23

177.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.56 BGN 0.97

158.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.67 BGN 1.17

14.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$3.64 BGN 6.33

84.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$5.16 BGN 8.98

9.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.08 BGN 1.87

26.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.69 BGN 2.94

24.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$0.83 BGN 1.44

179.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$23.87 BGN 41.54

86.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$1.16 BGN 2.03

240.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.65 BGN 1.13

61.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$5.61 BGN 9.76

205.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.42 BGN 2.47

54.23%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$30.3K BGN 52.6K

11.65%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$21.8K BGN 37.9K

75.65%

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

$164 €146

$92.5 BGN 161

77.02%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$14.56 BGN 25.33

26.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$12.13 BGN 21.10

171.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$31.10 BGN 54.1

47.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$17.20 BGN 29.93

8.60%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$6.66 BGN 11.58

46.40%

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

$684 €608

$232 BGN 404

194.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$2,274 BGN 3,958

674.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$30.97 BGN 53.9

234.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$19.44 BGN 33.83

137.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$63.3 BGN 110

57.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$52.0 BGN 90.5

139.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$332 BGN 578

378.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$248 BGN 431

372.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$333 BGN 580

754.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$243 BGN 423

720.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$1,304 BGN 2,268

497.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$1,082 BGN 1,883

308.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$720 BGN 1,252

122.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

2.99

28.76%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Silistra: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Silistra

$248 28.9% 78.8% $921

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Silistra

$192 22.4% 29.6% $81

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Silistra

$148 17.3% 40.2% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Silistra

$119 13.9% 44.6% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Silistra

$75 8.7% 55.7% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Silistra

$44 5.2% 32.1% $21

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Silistra

$32 3.7% 49.8% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $332 in Silistra. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 122% 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 $25.00 in Silistra for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $192 per month, with Silistra cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇧🇬 Silistra

🕒 Local time

14:18 2:18 PM

16:18 4:18 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

37,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Silistra 3,070 km ≈ 4 h 15 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 Silistra: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Silistra differ by about 157% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $858 including rent). Silistra is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 122% 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 $332 in Silistra. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $684 in Lisbon versus $232 in Silistra. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $858 in Silistra versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Silistra but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Silistra 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 Silistra 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 Silistra gentler on the wallet – expenses run 157% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.