Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Turda

For one person, living is cheaper in Turda: $1,070 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Turda
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Turda Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Turda

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,070

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Turda

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,070 in Turda.

Lisbon $2,210
Turda $1,070

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,607 in Turda.

Lisbon $3,275
Turda $1,607

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,144 in Turda.

Lisbon $4,341
Turda $2,144

Living in Lisbon is roughly 107% more expensive than in Turda, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Turda is 21% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$12.61 RON 60.4

32.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$32.43 RON 155

90.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$8.54 RON 40.84

33.02%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.81 RON 13.46

5.69%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.82 RON 8.72

25.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.41 RON 6.74

23.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.13 RON 10.17

59.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.05 RON 9.82

61.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.44 RON 6.90

-19.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.43 RON 6.82

33.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.55 RON 7.42

-2.58%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.85 RON 13.62

41.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$6.04 RON 28.91

114.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$6.60 RON 31.58

17.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$11.58 RON 55.4

53.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.10 RON 5.27

109.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.48 RON 7.08

16.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.37 RON 6.55

35.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$2.46 RON 11.75

5.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.98 RON 4.69

85.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.90 RON 4.30

118.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.00 RON 4.77

47.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.01 RON 4.84

-28.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$5.32 RON 25.48

23.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$7.19 RON 34.39

-21.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.21 RON 5.80

12.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.59 RON 7.63

34.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$1.22 RON 5.86

90.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

$21.96 RON 105

103.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$0.80 RON 3.84

381.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.75 RON 3.60

42.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$6.11 RON 29.22

169.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.83 RON 8.77

20.22%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$29.0K RON 138.7K

17.90%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$25.4K RON 121.7K

52.23%

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

$161 €144

$153 RON 732

5.40%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$8.74 RON 41.82

110.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$9.36 RON 44.79

249.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$37.70 RON 180

18.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$19.23 RON 92.0

-0.68%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$9.53 RON 45.60

0.73%

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

$668 €598

$597 RON 2,855

11.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$6,363 RON 30.4K

176.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$42.42 RON 203

140.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$42.25 RON 202

5.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$102 RON 489

-3.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$109 RON 519

13.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$378 RON 1,811

324.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$281 RON 1,345

323.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$595 RON 2,847

372.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$442 RON 2,115

355.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$1,816 RON 8,688

331.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$1,264 RON 6,045

262.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$741 RON 3,544

112.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

6.65

-42.11%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Turda: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Turda

$281 26.3% 76.4% $909

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Turda

$209 19.5% 23.3% $64

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Turda

$188 17.6% 22.5% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Turda

$171 16% 19.4% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Turda

$133 12.4% 19.9% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Turda

$57 5.3% 11% $7

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Turda

$31 2.9% 50.3% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $378 in Turda. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $32 in Turda for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $209 per month, with Turda cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇷🇴 Turda

🕒 Local time

13:10 1:10 PM

15:10 3:10 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

47,744

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Turda 2,810 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

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Lisbon
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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 Turda: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,070 in Turda, so Turda is about 52% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.1 times higher, 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 $378 in Turda. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $597 in Turda. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,070 in Turda versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Turda but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Turda 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 Turda are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Turda gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.