Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Ulm

For one person, living costs are similar in Lisbon and in Ulm: $2,223 and $2,140 a month, rent and utilities included.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
104

Cost of Living Index in Ulm
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Ulm Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Ulm

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,140

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Ulm

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $2,140 in Ulm.

Lisbon $2,223
Ulm $2,140

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $3,245 in Ulm.

Lisbon $3,271
Ulm $3,245

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $4,350 in Ulm.

Lisbon $4,319
Ulm $4,350

Living in Lisbon is roughly 4% more expensive than in Ulm, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 65% above, Ulm 59% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$16.80 €14.94

-1.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$66.6 €59.2

-8.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$13.31 €11.84

-15.33%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.84 €3.42

-20.31%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$4.64 €4.13

-51.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.92 €1.71

-9.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$4.62 €4.11

-26.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$4.41 €3.92

-22.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.47 €1.30

-23.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.05 €1.83

-9.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$4.14 €3.68

-63.04%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$3.64 €3.24

8.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$14.34 €12.76

-11.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$9.83 €8.74

-19.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$25.54 €22.72

-33.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$3.44 €3.06

-34.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.21 €1.96

-20.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.92 €1.71

-3.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$3.91 €3.48

-34.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.08 €0.96

72.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.12 €1.00

80.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.66 €1.48

-13.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.20 €1.06

-31.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$9.59 €8.53

-31.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$5.67 €5.04

-0.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.15 €1.02

11.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.52 €1.35

36.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$3.10 €2.76

-24.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$64.4 €57.3

-31.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$2.13 €1.89

7.04%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$32.2K €28.6K

4.58%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$37.9K €33.7K

3.78%

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

$167 €149

$377 €336

-55.60%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$34.04 €30.28

-44.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$52.9 €47.05

-37.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$33.61 €29.89

36.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$22.70 €20.19

-15.46%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$13.44 €11.95

-26.79%

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

$677 €602

$441 €393

53.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$13.0K €11.6K

29.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$90.3 €80.3

12.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$55.2 €49.08

-17.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$89.4 €79.6

11.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$148 €131

-16.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$931 €828

73.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$749 €666

59.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$1,830 €1,628

56.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$1,471 €1,308

35.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$5,901 €5,249

28.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$3,961 €3,524

8.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$3,737 €3,324

-57.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.97

-3.02%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Ulm: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Ulm

$749 35% 37.4% $448

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Ulm

$339 15.9% 26% $70

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Ulm

$279 13% 15% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Ulm

$464 21.7% 112% $245

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Ulm

$172 8% 3.5% $5.8

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Ulm

$60 2.8% 7.9% $5.2

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Ulm

$77 * 3.6% 21.9% $14

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 $1,614 in Lisbon and $931 in Ulm. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ulm pays 135% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $67.0 in Ulm for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $339 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇩🇪 Ulm

🕒 Local time

23:01 11:01 PM

00:01 12:01 AM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

121,648

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Ulm 1,870 km ≈ 2 h 45 min 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 Ulm: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Ulm differ by about 4% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $2,140 including rent). Ulm is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 135% lower in Ulm. 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $931 in Ulm. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $441 in Ulm. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 26% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,140 in Ulm versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Ulm but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Ulm 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 Ulm 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 Ulm gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.