Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Veliko Tarnovo

For one person, living is cheaper in Veliko Tarnovo: $1,006 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,600 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Veliko Tarnovo
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Veliko Tarnovo Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Veliko Tarnovo

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,006

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Veliko Tarnovo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $1,006 in Veliko Tarnovo.

Lisbon $2,223
Veliko Tarnovo $1,006

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $1,574 in Veliko Tarnovo.

Lisbon $3,271
Veliko Tarnovo $1,574

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $2,141 in Veliko Tarnovo.

Lisbon $4,319
Veliko Tarnovo $2,141

Living in Lisbon is roughly 121% more expensive than in Veliko Tarnovo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Veliko Tarnovo is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$11.12 BGN 19.35

48.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$39.76 BGN 69.2

54.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$9.61 BGN 16.73

17.27%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$1.85 BGN 3.21

65.41%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$1.31 BGN 2.29

72.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.88 BGN 1.53

96.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$2.03 BGN 3.53

67.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$2.79 BGN 4.85

21.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.86 BGN 3.23

-39.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.05 BGN 1.83

77.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$2.48 BGN 4.31

-38.31%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$3.67 BGN 6.39

7.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$10.17 BGN 17.70

25.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$8.00 BGN 13.92

-1.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$12.43 BGN 21.63

36.52%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.60 BGN 2.78

41.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.05 BGN 3.57

-14.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.96 BGN 3.41

-5.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$2.58 BGN 4.48

-0.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.09 BGN 1.90

70.64%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.17 BGN 2.04

72.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.98 BGN 1.70

46.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.73 BGN 1.27

12.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$4.10 BGN 7.13

60.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$6.72 BGN 11.69

-16.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.21 BGN 2.10

5.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.61 BGN 2.79

28.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.90 BGN 1.56

161.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$23.23 BGN 40.42

90.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$1.16 BGN 2.02

243.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.67 BGN 1.17

62.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$11.18 BGN 19.46

48.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.56 BGN 2.71

46.15%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$30.5K BGN 53.1K

10.36%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$30.6K BGN 53.3K

28.34%

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

$167 €149

$95.9 BGN 167

74.74%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$18.81 BGN 32.73

-0.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$15.86 BGN 27.59

108.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$30.50 BGN 53.1

50.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$19.69 BGN 34.26

-2.54%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$6.91 BGN 12.02

42.40%

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

$677 €602

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$46.95 BGN 81.7

115.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$30.58 BGN 53.2

49.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$122 BGN 213

-18.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$93.1 BGN 162

31.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$351 BGN 611

359.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$260 BGN 453

359.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$572 BGN 995

400.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$420 BGN 731

373.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$2,407 BGN 4,187

214.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$1,364 BGN 2,373

215.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$952 BGN 1,657

66.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

2.74

40.51%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Veliko Tarnovo: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Veliko Tarnovo

$260 25.9% 78.3% $937

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Veliko Tarnovo

$244 24.2% 9.6% $26

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Veliko Tarnovo

$164 16.3% 32.1% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Veliko Tarnovo

$131 13% 40.5% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Veliko Tarnovo

$132 13.1% 20.8% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Veliko Tarnovo

$44 4.4% 32.5% $21

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Veliko Tarnovo

$31 3.1% 50.3% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $351 in Veliko Tarnovo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 67% 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: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $40.00 in Veliko Tarnovo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $244 per month, with Veliko Tarnovo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇧🇬 Veliko Tarnovo

🕒 Local time

16:52 4:52 PM

18:52 6:52 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

71,150

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Veliko Tarnovo 2,940 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

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 Veliko Tarnovo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Veliko Tarnovo differ by about 121% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $1,006 including rent). Veliko Tarnovo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 67% 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $351 in Veliko Tarnovo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 11% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,223 per month in Lisbon versus $1,006 in Veliko Tarnovo – a 121% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,006 in Veliko Tarnovo versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Veliko Tarnovo but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Veliko Tarnovo 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 Veliko Tarnovo 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 Veliko Tarnovo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 121% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.