Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Skopje

For one person, living is cheaper in Skopje: $1,112 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Skopje
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Skopje Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Skopje

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$1,112

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Skopje

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,112 in Skopje.

Lisbon $2,210
Skopje $1,112

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,657 in Skopje.

Lisbon $3,275
Skopje $1,657

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,202 in Skopje.

Lisbon $4,341
Skopje $2,202

Living in Lisbon is roughly 99% more expensive than in Skopje, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.96

$9.68 MKD 533

72.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$34.35 MKD 1,891

79.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$6.52 MKD 359

74.23%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.14 MKD 118

38.79%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.81 MKD 99.7

26.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.38 MKD 76.0

26.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.68 MKD 148

26.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.03 MKD 167

9.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.28 MKD 70.3

-9.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$0.74 MKD 40.82

158.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.85 MKD 102

-18.38%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.50 MKD 138

60.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$8.11 MKD 447

59.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.99

$7.36 MKD 405

5.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.96

$15.00 MKD 826

18.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.43 MKD 78.6

60.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.41 MKD 77.4

22.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.31 MKD 72.4

41.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.86 MKD 103

39.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$0.88 MKD 48.37

106.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.78 MKD 42.78

152.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.63 MKD 34.69

133.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.59 MKD 32.37

22.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.92

$3.36 MKD 185

95.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$7.48 MKD 412

-25.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.06 MKD 58.5

28.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.50 MKD 82.4

42.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.71 MKD 38.87

228.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$25.73 MKD 1,417

73.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$1.08 MKD 59.2

256.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.57 MKD 31.64

87.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$7.50 MKD 413

119.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.59 MKD 87.5

38.36%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$34.3K MKD 1.9M

-0.31%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$26.1K MKD 1.4M

48.59%

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

$161 €145

$158 MKD 8,717

1.81%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$18.80 MKD 1,035

-2.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$19.20 MKD 1,057

70.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.03

$37.03 MKD 2,038

20.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$17.35 MKD 955

10.09%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.44 MKD 409

29.03%

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

$668 €600

$369 MKD 20.3K

81.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,668 MKD 312.1K

210.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.7

$85.6 MKD 4,711

19.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.95

$36.99 MKD 2,036

20.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$101 MKD 5,587

-2.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$112 MKD 6,181

10.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$394 MKD 21.7K

308.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$314 MKD 17.3K

279.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,527

$715 MKD 39.3K

293.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,809

$483 MKD 26.6K

316.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,043

$2,745 MKD 151.1K

185.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,111

$1,844 MKD 101.5K

148.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$876 MKD 48.2K

79.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

4.23

-8.98%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Skopje: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Skopje

$314 28.2% 73.6% $876

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Skopje

$211 19% 22.6% $61

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Skopje

$155 13.9% 36.1% $88

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Skopje

$196 17.7% 7.5% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Skopje

$151 13.6% 8.8% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Skopje

$52 4.7% 18.6% $12

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Skopje

$33 2.9% 48.6% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $394 in Skopje. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 80% 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 in Lisbon vs $34 in Skopje for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $211 per month, with Skopje cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇰 Skopje

🕒 Local time

09:12 9:12 AM

10:12 10:12 AM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

422,540 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 MKD = 1.82 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MKD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 55.05 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.27 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Skopje 2,600 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Skopje

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 Skopje: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Skopje differ by about 99% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $1,112 including rent). Skopje is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 80% 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $394 in Skopje. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $369 in Skopje. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 29% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Skopje is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

Expats usually find Skopje gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.