Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Szczecin

For one person, living is cheaper in Szczecin: $1,343 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Szczecin
Learn more

Szczecin Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Szczecin

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,343

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Szczecin

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $1,343 in Szczecin.

Lisbon $2,223
Szczecin $1,343

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $1,997 in Szczecin.

Lisbon $3,271
Szczecin $1,997

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $2,651 in Szczecin.

Lisbon $4,319
Szczecin $2,651

Living in Lisbon is roughly 66% more expensive than in Szczecin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Szczecin is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$9.13 zł 35.49

80.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$45.70 zł 178

34.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$8.22 zł 31.94

37.10%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.96 zł 11.50

3.38%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$1.86 zł 7.22

21.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.39 zł 5.42

24.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$3.01 zł 11.70

12.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$2.97 zł 11.53

14.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$0.92 zł 3.56

21.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.29 zł 5.01

44.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.10 zł 4.27

39.09%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$3.35 zł 13.02

18.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$9.32 zł 36.22

36.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$6.43 zł 24.99

22.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$12.89 zł 50.1

31.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$0.89 zł 3.46

155.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.67 zł 6.50

4.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.52 zł 5.90

21.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$2.32 zł 9.03

10.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.84 zł 3.28

121.43%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.04 zł 4.04

94.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.10 zł 4.27

30.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.56 zł 2.17

46.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$5.26 zł 20.43

24.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$6.19 zł 24.05

-9.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.06 zł 4.13

20.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.47 zł 5.71

40.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.78 zł 3.04

201.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$25.46 zł 98.9

73.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$1.98 zł 7.70

101.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.87 zł 3.40

25.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$12.65 zł 49.15

31.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.64 zł 6.37

39.02%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$30.0K zł 116.6K

12.20%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$27.9K zł 108.5K

40.64%

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

$167 €149

$241 zł 937

-30.52%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$12.23 zł 47.52

53.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$19.03 zł 73.9

73.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$30.45 zł 118

51.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$50.3 zł 196

-61.86%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$6.26 zł 24.32

57.19%

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

$677 €602

$335 zł 1,301

102.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$7,493 zł 29.1K

125.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$69.1 zł 268

46.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$35.31 zł 137

29.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$79.7 zł 310

25.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$90.6 zł 352

35.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$602 zł 2,339

168.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$495 zł 1,922

141.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$1,136 zł 4,415

151.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$834 zł 3,240

138.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$3,284 zł 12.8K

130.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$2,343 zł 9,102

83.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$1,556 zł 6,046

2.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

6.82

-43.55%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Szczecin: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Szczecin

$495 36.8% 58.7% $702

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Szczecin

$207 15.4% 23.1% $62

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Szczecin

$167 12.5% 30.9% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Szczecin

$272 20.3% 24.1% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Szczecin

$124 9.2% 25.7% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Szczecin

$43 3.2% 34.6% $23

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Szczecin

$35 2.6% 44.5% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $602 in Szczecin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 2% 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: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $46.00 in Szczecin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $207 per month, with Szczecin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇵🇱 Szczecin

🕒 Local time

04:57 4:57 AM

05:57 5:57 AM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

387,700

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 PLN = 0.257 USD

1 PLN = 0.229 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Szczecin 2,430 km ≈ 3 h 30 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 Szczecin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Szczecin differ by about 66% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $1,343 including rent). Szczecin is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 2% 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $602 in Szczecin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $335 in Szczecin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,343 in Szczecin versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Szczecin but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Szczecin 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 Szczecin 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 Szczecin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.