Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Ulsan

For one person, living is cheaper in Ulsan: $1,339 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 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
65

Cost of Living Index in Ulsan
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Ulsan Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Ulsan

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,339

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Ulsan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $1,339 in Ulsan.

Lisbon $2,223
Ulsan $1,339

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $2,185 in Ulsan.

Lisbon $3,271
Ulsan $2,185

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $3,030 in Ulsan.

Lisbon $4,319
Ulsan $3,030

Living in Lisbon is roughly 66% more expensive than in Ulsan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Ulsan is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$7.62 ₩10.1K

116.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$44.63 ₩59.3K

37.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$5.93 ₩7,882

90.05%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.32 ₩4,410

-7.83%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$0.88 ₩1,175

156.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.47 ₩619

268.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$3.01 ₩4,006

12.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$4.38 ₩5,826

-22.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$2.36 ₩3,139

-52.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$3.25 ₩4,315

-42.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$3.16 ₩4,207

-51.58%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$2.73 ₩3,634

45.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$10.88 ₩14.5K

17.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$10.63 ₩14.1K

-25.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$24.54 ₩32.6K

-30.85%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$11.39 ₩15.1K

-80.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$3.74 ₩4,975

-53.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$8.09 ₩10.8K

-77.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$6.05 ₩8,048

-57.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$6.01 ₩7,992

-69.05%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$3.26 ₩4,328

-38.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.89 ₩3,844

-50.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.28 ₩1,707

-35.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$3.12 ₩4,154

110.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$18.52 ₩24.6K

-69.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$2.45 ₩3,264

-47.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$3.44 ₩4,577

-39.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.14 ₩1,511

106.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$2.89 ₩3,849

38.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.78 ₩1,040

39.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$16.96 ₩22.6K

-1.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.43 ₩1,899

59.44%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$30.0K ₩39.9M

12.19%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$34.1K ₩45.4M

15.11%

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

$167 €149

$197 ₩261.8K

-14.93%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$37.06 ₩49.3K

-49.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$27.21 ₩36.2K

21.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$60.4 ₩80.3K

-23.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$10.30 ₩13.7K

-4.47%

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

$677 €602

$263 ₩349.3K

157.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$22.0K ₩29.3M

-23.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$51.5 ₩68.5K

96.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$45.56 ₩60.6K

0.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$61.0 ₩81.2K

63.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$75.0 ₩99.7K

63.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$373 ₩495.3K

333.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$244 ₩324.7K

390.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$761 ₩1.0M

276.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$648 ₩861.8K

207.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$4,483 ₩6.0M

69.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$2,479 ₩3.3M

73.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$2,331 ₩3.1M

-31.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

4.22

-8.77%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Ulsan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Ulsan

$244 18.2% 79.6% $953

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Ulsan

$489 36.5% 81.4% $219

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Ulsan

$148 11% 39% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Ulsan

$261 19.5% 19% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Ulsan

$105 7.8% 36.9% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Ulsan

$81 6.1% 23.4% $15

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Ulsan

$11 * 0.9% 82% $52

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 $373 in Ulsan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ulsan pays 47% 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 $45.00 in Ulsan. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $489, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇰🇷 Ulsan

🕒 Local time

21:59 9:59 PM

05:59 5:59 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,129,827

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Ulsan 10,720 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Ulsan

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 Ulsan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Ulsan differ by about 66% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $1,339 including rent). Ulsan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 47% lower in Ulsan. 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 $373 in Ulsan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 81% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $2,223 per month in Lisbon versus $1,339 in Ulsan – a 66% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,339 in Ulsan versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ulsan but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Ulsan 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 Ulsan 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 Ulsan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.