Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Zawiya

For one person, living is cheaper in Zawiya: $441 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $21,200 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
21

Cost of Living Index in Zawiya
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Zawiya Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Zawiya

🇱🇾 Libya

$441

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Zawiya

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $441 in Zawiya.

Lisbon $2,210
Zawiya $441

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $686 in Zawiya.

Lisbon $3,275
Zawiya $686

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $930 in Zawiya.

Lisbon $4,341
Zawiya $930

Living in Lisbon is roughly 401% more expensive than in Zawiya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Zawiya is 68% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$2.30 LYD 14.76

623.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$15.47 LYD 99.3

299.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$2.71 LYD 17.41

319.19%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.45 LYD 2.87

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 LYD 4.14

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$0.44 LYD 2.83

575.00%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$0.44 LYD 2.85

420.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.11 LYD 0.71

1481.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$0.91 LYD 5.83

27.47%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.20 LYD 1.28

855.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.01 LYD 6.51

49.50%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$1.35 LYD 8.67

197.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$4.74 LYD 30.43

173.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$3.57 LYD 22.92

117.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$8.86 LYD 56.9

100.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.02 LYD 12.94

13.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.47 LYD 9.45

17.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$0.70 LYD 4.50

165.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$0.51 LYD 3.27

407.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.58 LYD 3.73

213.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.26 LYD 1.65

657.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.30 LYD 1.91

390.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.16 LYD 1.05

350.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.79 LYD 5.08

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 LYD 4.60

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 LYD 4.83

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$1.67 LYD 10.73

294.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.74 LYD 4.76

214.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

$39.22 LYD 252

13.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$0.75 LYD 4.80

413.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.45 LYD 2.88

137.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$2.31 LYD 14.83

612.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$0.02 LYD 0.12

10900.00%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$15.5K LYD 99.5K

120.50%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$16.8K LYD 107.6K

130.98%

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

$161 €144

$94.4 LYD 606

70.82%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$5.57 LYD 35.75

230.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$12.25 LYD 78.6

167.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$17.31 LYD 111

157.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$4.01 LYD 25.74

376.31%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$3.92 LYD 25.19

144.90%

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

$668 €598

$51.5 LYD 330

1196.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$897 LYD 5,758

1863.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$20.81 LYD 134

390.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$44.19 LYD 284

0.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$30.99 LYD 199

217.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$31.62 LYD 203

291.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$88.9 LYD 570

1709.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$58.4 LYD 375

1936.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$164 LYD 1,050

1618.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$121 LYD 774

1570.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$347 LYD 2,230

2155.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$98.1 LYD 630

4563.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$251 LYD 1,611

527.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Zawiya: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Zawiya

$58 13.2% 95.1% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Zawiya

$109 24.7% 60% $163

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Zawiya

$34 7.7% 86% $209

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Zawiya

$112 25.4% 47.2% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Zawiya

$57 13% 65.4% $108

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Zawiya

$25 5.7% 60.5% $39

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Zawiya

$45 10.2% 28.5% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $89 in Zawiya. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 6.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $15 in Zawiya for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $109 per month, with Zawiya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇱🇾 Zawiya

🕒 Local time

01:03 1:03 AM

03:03 3:03 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

318,726

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.14 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Zawiya 2,080 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Zawiya

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 Zawiya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $441 in Zawiya, so Zawiya is about 80% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 6.3 times higher, 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $89 in Zawiya. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $51 in Zawiya. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 150% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $441 in Zawiya versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $800 budget is realistic in Zawiya but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Zawiya 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.

Expats usually find Zawiya gentler on the wallet – expenses run 80% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.