Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Tripoli

For one person, living is cheaper in Tripoli: $538 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $20,000 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
26

Cost of Living Index in Tripoli
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Tripoli Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Tripoli

🇱🇾 Libya

$538

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Tripoli

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $538 in Tripoli.

Lisbon $2,202
Tripoli $538

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $812 in Tripoli.

Lisbon $3,274
Tripoli $812

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,087 in Tripoli.

Lisbon $4,346
Tripoli $1,087

Living in Lisbon is roughly 309% more expensive than in Tripoli, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Tripoli is 60% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$3.82 LYD 24.48

346.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$15.79 LYD 101

294.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$2.60 LYD 16.69

323.85%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.63 LYD 4.04

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 LYD 4.41

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$0.44 LYD 2.83

609.09%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$0.42 LYD 2.68

440.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.10 LYD 0.63

1640.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$0.97 LYD 6.25

20.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$0.20 LYD 1.28

830.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.19 LYD 7.62

29.41%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$1.38 LYD 8.83

194.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$5.33 LYD 34.13

142.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$3.61 LYD 23.16

118.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$9.17 LYD 58.7

92.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$2.23 LYD 14.29

1.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.49 LYD 9.57

17.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$0.71 LYD 4.54

166.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$0.55 LYD 3.55

365.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$0.77 LYD 4.94

140.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.49 LYD 3.14

302.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.39 LYD 2.51

271.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.20 LYD 1.31

285.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.77 LYD 11.32

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 LYD 6.34

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.77 LYD 4.95

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$1.91 LYD 12.24

251.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$0.30 LYD 1.91

673.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$0.80 LYD 5.10

393.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.48 LYD 3.09

118.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$0.02 LYD 0.13

10850.00%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$23.6K LYD 151.3K

43.04%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$21.0K LYD 134.7K

82.04%

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

$164 €146

$93.1 LYD 597

75.97%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$6.05 LYD 38.75

205.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$27.35 LYD 175

20.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$24.58 LYD 158

86.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$2.36 LYD 15.14

691.53%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

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

$684 €608

$53.1 LYD 340

1188.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$1,534 LYD 9,830

1048.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$22.65 LYD 145

358.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$17.61 LYD 113

162.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$63.3 LYD 406

57.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$67.1 LYD 430

85.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$351 LYD 2,251

352.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$143 LYD 917

717.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$619 LYD 3,968

360.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$258 LYD 1,655

671.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$257 LYD 1,646

523.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Tripoli: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Tripoli

$143 26.6% 87.8% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Tripoli

$117 21.7% 57.3% $156

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Tripoli

$46 8.5% 81.5% $202

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Tripoli

$126 23.5% 41.2% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Tripoli

$77 14.3% 54.4% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Tripoli

$25 * 4.6% 62.4% $41

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Tripoli

$4.4 * 0.8% 93% $59

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $351 in Tripoli. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 523% 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: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $16.00 in Tripoli for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $117 per month, with Tripoli cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇱🇾 Tripoli

🕒 Local time

12:35 12:35 PM

13:35 1:35 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

2,127,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.139 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Tripoli 2,110 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Tripoli

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 Tripoli: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Tripoli differ by about 309% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $538 including rent). Tripoli is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 523% 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: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $351 in Tripoli. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 134% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,202 per month in Lisbon versus $538 in Tripoli – a 309% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $538 in Tripoli versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Tripoli but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Tripoli 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 Tripoli 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 Tripoli gentler on the wallet – expenses run 309% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.