Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Ungheni

For one person, living is cheaper in Ungheni: $647 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $18,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Lisbon, Portugal
Ungheni, Moldova
Lisbon
🇵🇹 Portugal
$2,210
/mo nomad
Ungheni
🇲🇩 Moldova
$647
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Ungheni

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $647 in Ungheni.

  • Lisbon $2,210
  • Ungheni $647

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,013 in Ungheni.

  • Lisbon $3,275
  • Ungheni $1,013

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,378 in Ungheni.

  • Lisbon $4,341
  • Ungheni $1,378

Living in Lisbon is roughly 242% more expensive than in Ungheni, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Ungheni is 52% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Lisbon
Ungheni
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$16.65 €14.96
$7.17 MDL 128
132.22%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$61.7 €55.5
$22.35 MDL 399
176.24%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.36 €10.20
$6.60 MDL 118
72.12%
Cappuccino
$2.97 €2.67
$1.36 MDL 24.36
118.38%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.29 €2.06
$0.70 MDL 12.54
227.14%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.74 €1.56
$0.47 MDL 8.43
270.21%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.40 €3.06
$0.97 MDL 17.38
250.52%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.31 €2.97
$1.35 MDL 24.10
145.19%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Lisbon
Ungheni
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.16 €1.04
$1.72 MDL 30.70
-32.56%
White Bread (500g)
$1.91 €1.72
$0.32 MDL 5.63
496.87%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.51 €1.36
$0.87 MDL 15.49
73.56%
Eggs
$4.02 €3.61
$1.93 MDL 34.45
108.29%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$12.94 €11.62
$9.92 MDL 177
30.44%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.77 €6.99
$3.99 MDL 71.3
94.74%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$17.76 €15.96
$8.41 MDL 150
111.18%
Apples (1kg)
$2.30 €2.07
$0.43 MDL 7.70
434.88%
Banana (1kg)
$1.73 €1.56
$1.21 MDL 21.68
42.98%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.86 €1.67
$1.04 MDL 18.49
78.85%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.59 €2.33
$1.14 MDL 20.32
127.19%
Potato (1kg)
$1.82 €1.64
$0.43 MDL 7.75
323.26%
Onion (1kg)
$1.97 €1.77
$0.32 MDL 5.67
515.63%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.47 €1.32
$2.21 MDL 39.46
-33.48%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.72 €0.65
$0.82 MDL 14.57
-12.20%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.58 €5.92
$3.29 MDL 58.8
100.00%
Wine (Bottle)
$5.61 €5.04
$4.30 MDL 76.8
30.47%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.36 €1.22
$1.38 MDL 24.55
-1.45%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.14 €1.92
$1.71 MDL 30.61
25.15%
🚌 Getting Around
Lisbon
Ungheni
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.33 €2.10
$0.34 MDL 6.12
585.29%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$44.68 €40.14
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.85 €3.46
$1.65 MDL 29.43
133.33%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.07 €0.96
$0.40 MDL 7.18
167.50%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$16.46 €14.79
$3.53 MDL 63.1
366.29%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.20 €1.98
$1.41 MDL 25.21
56.03%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$34.2K €30.7K
-
-
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$38.7K €34.8K
$20.2K MDL 360.0K
91.99%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lisbon
Ungheni
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$161 €145
$139 MDL 2,478
16.12%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$18.41 €16.54
$11.09 MDL 198
66.01%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$32.74 €29.41
$15.86 MDL 283
106.43%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Lisbon
Ungheni
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$44.55 €40.03
$13.86 MDL 247
221.43%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$19.10 €17.16
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$9.60 €8.62
$3.86 MDL 68.8
148.70%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Lisbon
Ungheni
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$668 €600
-
-
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$17.6K €15.8K
-
-
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Lisbon
Ungheni
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$102 €91.7
$47.75 MDL 852
113.65%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$44.46 €39.95
$16.92 MDL 302
162.77%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$98.5 €88.5
$33.66 MDL 601
192.66%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$124 €111
$66.5 MDL 1,187
85.97%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Lisbon
Ungheni
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,608 €1,445
$254 MDL 4,534
533.13%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,190 €1,069
$109 MDL 1,951
988.61%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,812 €2,527
$329 MDL 5,867
755.68%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,013 €1,809
$276 MDL 4,931
628.76%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$7,839 €7,043
$2,220 MDL 39.6K
253.14%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$4,576 €4,111
$1,644 MDL 29.3K
178.36%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Lisbon
Ungheni
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,575 €1,415
$566 MDL 10.1K
178.17%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.85
8
-51.88%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Ungheni: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Lisbon
$1.2K
Ungheni
$109 90.8% $1.1K
Groceries & Markets
Lisbon
$272
Ungheni
$165 39.3% $107
Eating Out
Lisbon
$243
Ungheni
$106 56.4% $137
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lisbon
$212
Ungheni
$166 21.9% $47
Clothing & Footwear
Lisbon
$166
Ungheni
$74 55.3% $92
Sport & Entertainment
Lisbon
$64
Ungheni
$22 66.2% $42
Getting Around
Lisbon
$63
Ungheni
$5 * 92% $58

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 $1,608 in Lisbon and $254 in Ungheni. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.8 times 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 $22 in Ungheni for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $165 per month, with Ungheni cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇵🇹 Lisbon
🇲🇩 Ungheni
🕒 Local time
14:54 2:54 PM
16:54 4:54 PM
2 h ahead of Lisbon
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
545,923 Capital
38,000
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

MDL, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 17.85 MDL (100 MDL = 5.6 USD). 1 EUR = 19.87 MDL (100 MDL = 5.03 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Lisbon Ungheni 3,120 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Lisbon
  • Ungheni

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 Ungheni: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Lisbon and in Ungheni?
Lisbon and Ungheni differ by about 242% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $647 including rent). Ungheni is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city pays better: Lisbon or Ungheni?
Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.8 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
How do apartment prices compare in Lisbon and in Ungheni?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $254 in Ungheni. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper restaurants?
Dining out is cheaper in Ungheni – a meal for two runs $22 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Which city is more expensive overall: Lisbon or Ungheni?
All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $647 in Ungheni – a 242% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Which city is more doable on $1,000 per month?
At $647 in Ungheni versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ungheni but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Ungheni the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Lisbon and Ungheni?
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.
Is Lisbon or Ungheni safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Lisbon and Ungheni are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
How do I decide between Lisbon and Ungheni?
It comes down to priorities – Ungheni wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.

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