Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Zărnești

For one person, living is cheaper in Zărnești: $889 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,800 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Zărnești
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Zărnești Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Zărnești

🇷🇴 Romania

$889

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Zărnești

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $889 in Zărnești.

Lisbon $2,202
Zărnești $889

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $1,383 in Zărnești.

Lisbon $3,274
Zărnești $1,383

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,877 in Zărnești.

Lisbon $4,346
Zărnești $1,877

Living in Lisbon is roughly 148% more expensive than in Zărnești, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Zărnești is 34% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$9.00 RON 42.60

89.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$42.40 RON 201

46.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$8.36 RON 39.57

31.82%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$2.18 RON 10.34

43.12%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$1.46 RON 6.90

55.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.20 RON 5.66

45.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$1.90 RON 9.00

80.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$2.28 RON 10.79

64.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.27 RON 6.02

-7.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.07 RON 5.06

73.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.44 RON 6.81

6.94%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$2.79 RON 13.20

45.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$7.89 RON 37.33

63.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$4.74 RON 22.42

66.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$10.40 RON 49.21

69.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$0.93 RON 4.41

143.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.33 RON 6.30

31.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.27 RON 6.02

48.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$1.28 RON 6.06

100.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$0.78 RON 3.67

137.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.52 RON 2.45

278.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.80 RON 3.80

81.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.77 RON 3.63

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$5.15 RON 24.37

30.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$7.42 RON 35.09

-23.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.07 RON 5.08

28.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.29 RON 6.12

63.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$0.70 RON 3.32

231.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$21.32 RON 101

108.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$0.88 RON 4.15

348.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.86 RON 4.05

22.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$7.45 RON 35.26

130.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.51 RON 7.16

45.03%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$28.5K RON 134.9K

18.49%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$26.0K RON 122.9K

47.31%

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

$164 €146

$99.0 RON 468

65.55%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$9.28 RON 43.89

99.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$8.00 RON 37.86

312.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$37.82 RON 179

21.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$19.41 RON 91.9

-3.76%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$6.24 RON 29.55

56.25%

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

$684 €608

$429 RON 2,031

59.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$7,733 RON 36.6K

127.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$44.43 RON 210

133.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$27.26 RON 129

69.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$68.9 RON 326

44.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$76.8 RON 363

62.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$434 RON 2,054

266.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$266 RON 1,258

339.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$576 RON 2,727

394.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$424 RON 2,008

369.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$1,751 RON 8,283

345.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$1,329 RON 6,288

232.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$510 RON 2,415

213.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

7.47

-48.46%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Zărnești: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Zărnești

$266 29.9% 77.3% $903

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Zărnești

$182 20.4% 33.5% $91

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Zărnești

$148 16.7% 40.2% $99

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Zărnești

$116 13.1% 46% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Zărnești

$98 11% 42% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Zărnești

$50 5.7% 23% $15

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Zărnești

$29 3.3% 53.5% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $434 in Zărnești. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 213% 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: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $42.00 in Zărnești for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $182 per month, with Zărnești cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇷🇴 Zărnești

🕒 Local time

01:06 1:06 AM

03:06 3:06 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

24,926

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Lisbon Zărnești 2,920 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

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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 Zărnești: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Zărnești differ by about 148% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $889 including rent). Zărnești is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 213% 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: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $434 in Zărnești. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $684 in Lisbon versus $429 in Zărnești. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 50% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $889 in Zărnești versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Zărnești but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Zărnești 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 Zărnești 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 Zărnești gentler on the wallet – expenses run 148% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.