Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Stip

For one person, living is cheaper in Stip: $809 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Stip
Learn more

Stip Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Stip

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$809

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Stip

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $809 in Stip.

Lisbon $2,210
Stip $809

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,210 in Stip.

Lisbon $3,275
Stip $1,210

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,611 in Stip.

Lisbon $4,341
Stip $1,611

Living in Lisbon is roughly 173% more expensive than in Stip, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Stip is 41% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$7.45 MKD 410

123.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$23.08 MKD 1,270

167.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$6.30 MKD 347

80.32%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$1.81 MKD 99.3

64.09%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.43 MKD 78.7

60.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.07 MKD 58.8

62.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$1.84 MKD 101

84.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.75 MKD 151

20.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.27 MKD 70.1

-8.66%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.74 MKD 40.87

158.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.11 MKD 61.1

36.04%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.52 MKD 139

59.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$7.96 MKD 438

62.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$7.26 MKD 399

7.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$7.21 MKD 397

146.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$0.90 MKD 49.31

155.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.45 MKD 79.6

19.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.32 MKD 72.7

40.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.60 MKD 87.8

61.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.88 MKD 48.68

106.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.80 MKD 43.97

146.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.56 MKD 30.98

162.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.42 MKD 23.11

71.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.25 MKD 179

102.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$7.42 MKD 409

-24.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.03 MKD 56.8

32.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.49 MKD 81.9

43.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.67 MKD 36.88

247.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

$23.98 MKD 1,319

86.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$1.08 MKD 59.3

256.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.58 MKD 31.74

84.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$5.54 MKD 305

197.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.53 MKD 84.2

43.79%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$33.1K MKD 1.8M

3.19%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$26.0K MKD 1.4M

49.11%

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

$161 €144

$158 MKD 8,680

2.19%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$8.95 MKD 492

105.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$16.29 MKD 896

100.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$27.01 MKD 1,486

64.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$17.36 MKD 955

10.02%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$6.50 MKD 358

47.69%

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

$668 €598

$357 MKD 19.6K

87.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,645 MKD 310.6K

212.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$35.74 MKD 1,966

185.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$30.66 MKD 1,687

45.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$101 MKD 5,556

-2.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$113 MKD 6,203

9.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$201 MKD 11.1K

699.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$127 MKD 6,989

836.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$331 MKD 18.2K

749.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$201 MKD 11.0K

902.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$1,210 MKD 66.6K

547.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$976 MKD 53.7K

368.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$463 MKD 25.5K

239.83%

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 Stip: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Stip

$127 15.7% 89.3% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Stip

$177 21.9% 34.8% $95

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Stip

$125 15.4% 48.5% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Stip

$183 22.6% 13.8% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Stip

$126 15.6% 24% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Stip

$40 5% 37.2% $24

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Stip

$31 3.8% 51.6% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $201 in Stip. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 3.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $23 in Stip for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $177 per month, with Stip cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇰 Stip

🕒 Local time

01:54 1:54 AM

02:54 2:54 AM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

65,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 55.02 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.25 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Stip 2,670 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Stip

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 Stip: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $809 in Stip, so Stip is about 63% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 3.4 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $201 in Stip. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $357 in Stip. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 53% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $809 in Stip versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Stip but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Stip 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 Stip are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Stip gentler on the wallet – expenses run 63% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.