Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Targu Frumos

For one person, living is cheaper in Targu Frumos: $1,004 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Targu Frumos
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Targu Frumos Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Targu Frumos

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,004

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Targu Frumos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $1,004 in Targu Frumos.

Lisbon $2,206
Targu Frumos $1,004

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,545 in Targu Frumos.

Lisbon $3,276
Targu Frumos $1,545

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,086 in Targu Frumos.

Lisbon $4,346
Targu Frumos $2,086

Living in Lisbon is roughly 120% more expensive than in Targu Frumos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Targu Frumos is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €14.98

$10.57 RON 50.2

59.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.2

$42.50 RON 202

43.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.75

$7.54 RON 35.82

45.62%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$2.52 RON 11.96

21.03%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$2.03 RON 9.64

12.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.49

$1.83 RON 8.68

-8.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.05

$2.11 RON 10.03

63.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.47

$3.09 RON 14.67

26.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.23 RON 5.86

-6.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$0.65 RON 3.10

190.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.33

$1.78 RON 8.44

-15.73%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$3.51 RON 16.67

17.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.55

$7.75 RON 36.78

67.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.15

$5.70 RON 27.07

41.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.89

$8.50 RON 40.38

110.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.32 RON 6.27

71.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.60 RON 7.58

8.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.50 RON 7.12

21.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.73 RON 8.20

55.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$0.91 RON 4.30

94.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$1.00 RON 4.77

94.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.81 RON 3.82

80.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.71 RON 3.39

7.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.91

$5.61 RON 26.63

18.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.01

$5.12 RON 24.30

10.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$0.94 RON 4.45

37.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.22 RON 5.80

75.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.04

$0.71 RON 3.39

223.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.10

$22.76 RON 108

93.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.54

$0.68 RON 3.22

485.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.81 RON 3.86

-20.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.81

$7.63 RON 36.22

148.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.02

$1.91 RON 9.05

19.37%

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

$33.4K €29.6K

$28.7K RON 136.1K

16.43%

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

$38.5K €34.2K

$25.2K RON 119.8K

52.64%

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

$158 €141

$148 RON 703

6.87%

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

$17.54 €15.58

$7.49 RON 35.57

134.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.70

$7.66 RON 36.36

307.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.66

$33.86 RON 161

31.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.86

$21.83 RON 104

-13.06%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.51

$6.40 RON 30.38

49.69%

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

$674 €598

$599 RON 2,846

12.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.6K

$6,453 RON 30.6K

190.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.8

$97.6 RON 463

4.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.77

$32.43 RON 154

41.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €90.8

$60.9 RON 289

67.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €108

$85.0 RON 404

43.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,457

$328 RON 1,557

400.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,055

$288 RON 1,367

312.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,509

$613 RON 2,912

360.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,793

$480 RON 2,277

320.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,960

$1,770 RON 8,405

342.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,176

$1,516 RON 7,200

210.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,499

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

7.2

-46.94%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Targu Frumos: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Targu Frumos

$288 28.7% 75.7% $899

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Targu Frumos

$182 18.1% 33.7% $93

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Targu Frumos

$170 16.9% 30.9% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Targu Frumos

$163 16.3% 21.1% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Targu Frumos

$124 12.4% 25.9% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Targu Frumos

$47 4.7% 26.9% $17

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Targu Frumos

$30 3% 49.7% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,641 in Lisbon and $328 in Targu Frumos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $42 in Targu Frumos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $182 per month, with Targu Frumos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇷🇴 Targu Frumos

🕒 Local time

12:26 12:26 PM

14:26 2:26 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

13,875

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.13 USD

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Lisbon Targu Frumos 3,060 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

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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 Targu Frumos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $1,004 in Targu Frumos, so Targu Frumos is about 54% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,309 in Lisbon and $1,506 in Targu Frumos to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $328 in Targu Frumos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $599 in Targu Frumos. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 51% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,004 in Targu Frumos versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Targu Frumos but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Targu Frumos 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 Targu Frumos are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Targu Frumos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.