Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Tallinn

For one person, living is cheaper in Tallinn: $1,898 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
92

Cost of Living Index in Tallinn
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Tallinn Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Tallinn

🇪🇪 Estonia

$1,898

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Tallinn

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,898 in Tallinn.

Lisbon $2,210
Tallinn $1,898

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $2,894 in Tallinn.

Lisbon $3,275
Tallinn $2,894

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $3,890 in Tallinn.

Lisbon $4,341
Tallinn $3,890

Living in Lisbon is roughly 16% more expensive than in Tallinn, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, Tallinn 39% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.85

$16.59 €14.80

0.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.1

$91.0 €81.2

-32.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.13

$11.69 €10.43

-2.82%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.65

$4.24 €3.78

-29.95%

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

$2.29 €2.04

$2.14 €1.91

7.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$2.34 €2.09

-25.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.04

$6.63 €5.92

-48.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.95

$6.70 €5.98

-50.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.03

$1.14 €1.02

1.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.46 €1.30

30.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$2.98 €2.66

-49.33%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.59

$3.29 €2.94

22.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.54

$11.09 €9.89

16.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.94

$9.29 €8.29

-16.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.85

$27.30 €24.36

-34.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.27 €2.02

1.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.38 €1.23

25.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.60 €2.32

-28.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.31

$2.90 €2.58

-10.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$0.81 €0.73

124.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.82 €0.73

140.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$2.04 €1.82

-27.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.98 €0.88

-26.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.87

$7.24 €6.46

-9.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.00

$10.02 €8.94

-44.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.89 €1.69

-28.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.09 €1.87

2.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.08

$2.25 €2.01

3.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €39.86

$33.12 €29.55

34.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.43

$6.01 €5.37

-35.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.95

$1.20 €1.07

-10.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.69

$26.13 €23.31

-37.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.96

$1.95 €1.74

12.82%

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

$34.2K €30.5K

$28.0K €25.0K

22.19%

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

$38.7K €34.5K

$30.6K €27.3K

26.59%

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

$161 €144

$346 €308

-53.37%

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

$18.41 €16.43

$17.36 €15.49

6.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.21

$32.40 €28.91

1.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.74

$52.6 €46.93

-15.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.04

$46.07 €41.10

-58.54%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.56

$13.55 €12.09

-29.15%

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

$668 €596

$699 €623

-4.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$10.2K €9,088

72.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.0

$100 €89.5

1.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.67

$51.0 €45.46

-12.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €87.9

$117 €104

-15.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €110

$132 €118

-6.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,435

$820 €732

96.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,062

$591 €527

101.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,509

$1,577 €1,407

78.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,796

$1,000 €892

101.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €6,994

$4,767 €4,253

64.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,082

$3,242 €2,893

41.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,405

$2,142 €1,911

-26.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.44

11.92%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Tallinn: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Tallinn

$591 31.1% 50.4% $599

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Tallinn

$315 16.6% 15.7% $43

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Tallinn

$283 14.9% 16.7% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Tallinn

$395 20.8% 86.2% $183

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Tallinn

$180 9.5% 8.5% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Tallinn

$80 4.2% 25.1% $16

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Tallinn

$54 2.9% 14.3% $9.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $820 in Tallinn. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tallinn pays 36% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $91 in Tallinn for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $315 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇪🇪 Tallinn

🕒 Local time

15:58 3:58 PM

17:58 5:58 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

443,623 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Tallinn 3,310 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Tallinn

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 Tallinn: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,898 in Tallinn, so Tallinn is about 14% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 26% lower in Lisbon. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $820 in Tallinn. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $699 in Tallinn. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 14% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

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 Tallinn are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.