Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Timisoara

For one person, living is cheaper in Timisoara: $1,197 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,200 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Timisoara
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Timisoara Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Timisoara

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,197

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Timisoara

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,197 in Timisoara.

Lisbon $2,210
Timisoara $1,197

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,776 in Timisoara.

Lisbon $3,275
Timisoara $1,776

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,354 in Timisoara.

Lisbon $4,341
Timisoara $2,354

Living in Lisbon is roughly 85% more expensive than in Timisoara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Timisoara is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$10.64 RON 51.1

56.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$46.12 RON 222

33.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$8.44 RON 40.56

34.60%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$3.02 RON 14.52

-1.66%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$2.20 RON 10.59

4.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.64 RON 7.89

6.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.70 RON 12.99

25.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$4.10 RON 19.72

-19.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.37 RON 6.60

-15.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.20 RON 5.76

59.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.38 RON 6.63

9.42%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.92 RON 14.02

37.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$8.40 RON 40.39

54.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$5.88 RON 28.28

32.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$10.89 RON 52.3

63.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.15 RON 5.53

100.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.46 RON 7.02

18.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.40 RON 6.73

32.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$2.37 RON 11.40

9.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$0.77 RON 3.70

136.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.96 RON 4.62

105.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.64 RON 3.08

129.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.78 RON 3.77

-7.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$6.25 RON 30.02

5.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$7.46 RON 35.88

-24.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.14 RON 5.46

19.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.75 RON 8.41

22.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$1.07 RON 5.14

117.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$33.33 RON 160

34.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$0.84 RON 4.06

358.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.87 RON 4.18

22.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$8.40 RON 40.37

95.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.90 RON 9.14

15.79%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$28.9K RON 138.8K

18.40%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$24.8K RON 119.0K

56.46%

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

$161 €145

$168 RON 806

-3.89%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$6.72 RON 32.30

173.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$8.47 RON 40.70

286.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$40.08 RON 193

11.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$15.65 RON 75.2

22.04%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.86 RON 37.78

22.14%

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

$668 €600

$583 RON 2,801

14.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$8,900 RON 42.8K

97.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$75.7 RON 364

34.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$38.89 RON 187

14.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$75.5 RON 363

30.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$89.3 RON 429

38.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$568 RON 2,729

183.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$404 RON 1,940

194.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$802 RON 3,854

250.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$600 RON 2,881

235.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$2,656 RON 12.8K

195.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$1,847 RON 8,877

147.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$1,151 RON 5,532

36.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

6.88

-44.04%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Timisoara: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Timisoara

$404 33.7% 66.1% $786

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Timisoara

$202 16.9% 25.6% $70

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Timisoara

$184 15.4% 24.2% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Timisoara

$183 15.3% 13.9% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Timisoara

$126 10.5% 24.2% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Timisoara

$56 4.7% 12.4% $7.9

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Timisoara

$43 3.6% 32.3% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $568 in Timisoara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 37% 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 $46 in Timisoara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $202 per month, with Timisoara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇷🇴 Timisoara

🕒 Local time

17:40 5:40 PM

19:40 7:40 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

319,279

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Timisoara 2,600 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Timisoara

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 Timisoara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Timisoara differ by about 85% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $1,197 including rent). Timisoara is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 37% 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 $568 in Timisoara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $583 in Timisoara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 34% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,197 in Timisoara versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Timisoara but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Timisoara 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 Timisoara 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 Timisoara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 46% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.