Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Tartu

For one person, living is cheaper in Tartu: $1,661 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 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
80

Cost of Living Index in Tartu
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Tartu Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Tartu

🇪🇪 Estonia

$1,661

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Tartu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $1,661 in Tartu.

Lisbon $2,202
Tartu $1,661

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $2,514 in Tartu.

Lisbon $3,274
Tartu $2,514

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $3,367 in Tartu.

Lisbon $4,346
Tartu $3,367

Living in Lisbon is roughly 33% more expensive than in Tartu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, Tartu 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$17.14 €15.24

-0.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$70.1 €62.4

-11.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$11.17 €9.93

-1.34%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$4.10 €3.65

-23.90%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$3.29 €2.93

-31.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$3.70 €3.29

-52.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$6.63 €5.90

-48.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$7.33 €6.52

-48.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.20 €1.07

-2.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.96 €1.74

-5.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$2.41 €2.14

-36.10%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$3.02 €2.68

34.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$12.92 €11.50

-0.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$8.74 €7.77

-9.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$14.66 €13.04

20.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$2.04 €1.82

10.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.50 €1.33

16.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$2.43 €2.17

-22.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$2.95 €2.63

-13.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.05 €0.93

76.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.86 €0.76

129.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.89 €1.68

-23.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$1.23 €1.10

-37.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$6.83 €6.08

-1.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$10.19 €9.07

-44.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$2.06 €1.84

-33.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$2.43 €2.16

-13.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$1.66 €1.48

39.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$30.69 €27.30

44.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$3.62 €3.22

9.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$1.03 €0.92

1.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$27.05 €24.06

-36.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$2.02 €1.79

8.42%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$27.9K €24.8K

21.12%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$30.1K €26.7K

27.33%

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

$164 €146

$311 €276

-47.29%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$17.55 €15.61

5.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$35.95 €31.98

-8.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$39.75 €35.36

15.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$34.29 €30.50

-45.52%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$11.79 €10.48

-17.30%

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

$684 €608

$436 €388

56.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$11.7K €10.4K

51.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$112 €99.4

-7.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$49.54 €44.06

-6.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$107 €95.3

-6.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$118 €105

6.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$619 €551

156.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$432 €384

170.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$1,171 €1,042

143.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$750 €667

165.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$3,474 €3,090

124.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$2,597 €2,310

70.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$1,960 €1,743

-18.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.93

-2.04%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Tartu: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Tartu

$432 26% 63.1% $737

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Tartu

$286 17.2% 4.8% $13

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Tartu

$296 17.8% 19.5% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Tartu

$364 21.9% 69.2% $149

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Tartu

$174 10.5% 3.1% $5.2

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Tartu

$63 3.8% 3.1% $2.1

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Tartu

$46 2.8% 26.7% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $619 in Tartu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tartu pays 22% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $70.0 in Tartu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $286 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇪🇪 Tartu

🕒 Local time

14:56 2:56 PM

16:56 4:56 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

102,414

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Tartu 3,360 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

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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 Tartu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Tartu differ by about 33% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $1,661 including rent). Tartu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 22% lower in Tartu. 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: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $619 in Tartu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $684 in Lisbon versus $436 in Tartu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 5% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,661 in Tartu versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Tartu but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Tartu 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 Tartu 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 Tartu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.