Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Szeged

For one person, living is cheaper in Szeged: $1,223 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Szeged
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Szeged Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Szeged

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Szeged

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,223 in Szeged.

Lisbon $2,210
Szeged $1,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,918 in Szeged.

Lisbon $3,275
Szeged $1,918

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,613 in Szeged.

Lisbon $4,341
Szeged $2,613

Living in Lisbon is roughly 81% more expensive than in Szeged, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Szeged is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.96

$9.23 Ft 3,041

80.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$58.0 Ft 19.1K

6.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$9.04 Ft 2,979

25.66%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.37 Ft 781

25.32%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.57 Ft 518

45.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.31 Ft 431

32.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.23 Ft 736

52.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.31 Ft 759

43.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.18 Ft 389

-1.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.35 Ft 445

41.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.43 Ft 802

-37.86%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$3.56 Ft 1,174

12.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$10.68 Ft 3,517

21.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.99

$6.58 Ft 2,167

18.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.96

$15.85 Ft 5,220

12.05%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$2.19 Ft 720

5.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$2.25 Ft 742

-23.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$2.00 Ft 658

-7.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$3.34 Ft 1,099

-22.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.03 Ft 338

76.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.04 Ft 343

89.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.59 Ft 525

-7.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.50 Ft 165

44.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.92

$7.94 Ft 2,614

-17.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$5.18 Ft 1,705

8.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.23 Ft 405

10.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.98 Ft 651

8.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$1.71 Ft 564

36.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$28.69 Ft 9,449

55.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$3.03 Ft 998

27.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.64 Ft 541

-34.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$18.32 Ft 6,034

-10.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.82 Ft 598

20.88%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$26.9K Ft 8.9M

26.92%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$35.5K Ft 11.7M

9.09%

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

$161 €145

$128 Ft 42.1K

26.22%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$21.90 Ft 7,215

-15.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$19.74 Ft 6,504

65.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.03

$51.5 Ft 16.9K

-13.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$29.38 Ft 9,678

-34.99%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$8.64 Ft 2,846

11.11%

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

$668 €600

$250 Ft 82.4K

167.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$6,580 Ft 2.2M

167.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.7

$112 Ft 37.0K

-9.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.95

$32.50 Ft 10.7K

36.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$93.6 Ft 30.8K

5.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$110 Ft 36.3K

12.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$518 Ft 170.6K

210.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$375 Ft 123.6K

217.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,527

$739 Ft 243.4K

280.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,809

$615 Ft 202.7K

227.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,043

$3,210 Ft 1.1M

144.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,111

$2,316 Ft 763.0K

97.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$1,224 Ft 403.2K

28.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

6.67

-42.28%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Szeged: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Szeged

$375 30.7% 68.5% $815

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Szeged

$249 20.4% 8.6% $23

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Szeged

$157 12.8% 35.4% $86

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Szeged

$169 13.9% 20.2% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Szeged

$157 12.8% 5.4% $9

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Szeged

$69 5.6% 7.8% $5

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Szeged

$47 3.8% 26% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $518 in Szeged. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 29% 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 $58 in Szeged for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $249 per month, with Szeged cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇭🇺 Szeged

🕒 Local time

13:19 1:19 PM

14:19 2:19 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

157,930

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1,000 HUF = 3.04 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, 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).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 329 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.04 USD). 1 EUR = 367 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.73 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Lisbon Szeged 2,530 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Lisbon vs Szeged: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Szeged differ by about 81% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $1,223 including rent). Szeged is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 29% 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 $518 in Szeged. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $250 in Szeged. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,223 in Szeged versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Szeged but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Szeged 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 Szeged 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 Szeged gentler on the wallet – expenses run 45% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.