Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Locarno and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,206 a month against $2,925 in Locarno, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

141

Cost of Living Index in Locarno
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Locarno Living Index
106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Locarno

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$2,925

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Locarno and in Lisbon

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Locarno and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,925 in Locarno versus $2,206 in Lisbon.

Locarno $2,925
Lisbon $2,206

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,626 in Locarno versus $3,276 in Lisbon.

Locarno $4,626
Lisbon $3,276

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,327 in Locarno versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Locarno $6,327
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Locarno is roughly 33% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Locarno 116% above, Lisbon 63% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$27.30 CHF 22.33

$16.86 €15.02

61.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$124 CHF 102

$61.0 €54.4

103.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.44 CHF 15.08

$10.98 €9.78

67.94%

Cappuccino

$5.21 CHF 4.26

$3.05 €2.72

70.82%

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

$5.15 CHF 4.21

$2.28 €2.03

125.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.24 CHF 3.47

$1.68 €1.50

152.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.58 CHF 7.02

$3.44 €3.06

149.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.18 CHF 5.06

$3.91 €3.48

58.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.21 CHF 1.80

$1.15 €1.02

92.17%

White Bread (500g)

$3.80 CHF 3.11

$1.89 €1.68

101.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.09 CHF 2.53

$1.50 €1.34

106.00%

Eggs

$7.38 CHF 6.04

$4.12 €3.67

79.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$27.08 CHF 22.15

$13.01 €11.59

108.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.18 CHF 13.23

$8.04 €7.17

101.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$35.79 CHF 29.28

$17.89 €15.94

100.06%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 CHF 2.47

$2.27 €2.02

32.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 CHF 1.33

$1.74 €1.55

-6.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 CHF 1.78

$1.82 €1.62

19.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.69 CHF 3.02

$2.69 €2.39

37.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.27 CHF 1.04

$1.77 €1.57

-28.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.88 CHF 1.54

$1.94 €1.73

-3.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.91 CHF 1.56

$1.46 €1.30

30.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 CHF 0.95

$0.76 €0.68

53.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.86 CHF 8.88

$6.66 €5.93

63.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.29 CHF 10.05

$5.64 €5.02

117.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.09 CHF 2.53

$1.29 €1.15

139.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 CHF 2.56

$2.14 €1.91

46.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.76 CHF 2.26

$2.30 €2.05

20.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.4 CHF 79.7

$44.02 €39.21

121.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 CHF 3.69

$3.98 €3.55

13.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.48 CHF 2.03

$0.64 €0.57

287.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$60.1 CHF 49.18

$18.93 €16.86

217.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.22 CHF 1.82

$2.28 €2.03

-2.63%

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

$38.8K CHF 31.7K

$33.4K €29.7K

16.13%

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

$39.9K CHF 32.6K

$38.5K €34.3K

3.52%

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

$481 CHF 394

$158 €141

204.16%

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

$27.06 CHF 22.13

$17.54 €15.62

54.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.4 CHF 47.79

$31.18 €27.78

87.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$72.1 CHF 59.0

$44.64 €39.77

61.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.35 CHF 24.83

$18.98 €16.91

59.91%

Cinema Ticket

$19.77 CHF 16.17

$9.58 €8.53

106.37%

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

$1,442 CHF 1,179

$674 €600

114.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.1K CHF 15.7K

$18.7K €16.7K

2.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.6 CHF 79.0

$102 €91.0

-5.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.4 CHF 46.98

$45.90 €40.89

25.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.4 CHF 78.9

$102 €91.0

-5.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 CHF 99.0

$122 €109

-0.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 CHF 838

$1,641 €1,461

-37.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 CHF 839

$1,187 €1,058

-13.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,406 CHF 1,968

$2,825 €2,516

-14.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,193 CHF 1,794

$2,018 €1,798

8.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,486 CHF 7,759

$7,836 €6,980

21.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,455 CHF 6,097

$4,701 €4,188

58.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,811 CHF 4,753

$1,687 €1,503

244.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.97

3.82

-48.43%

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

Last update for Locarno: November 1, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Locarno

$1K 35.1%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 15.7% $161

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Locarno

$567 19.4%

Lisbon

$207 9.4% 63.5% $360

Groceries & Markets

Locarno

$499 17.1%

Lisbon

$275 12.5% 45% $224

Eating Out

Locarno

$429 14.7%

Lisbon

$245 11.1% 42.8% $184

Clothing & Footwear

Locarno

$167 5.7%

Lisbon

$168 7.6% 0.2% $0.3

Getting Around

Locarno

$125 4.3%

Lisbon

$60 2.7% 51.8% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Locarno

$112 3.8%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 42.9% $48

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,025 in Locarno and $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Locarno pays about 3.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $124 in Locarno vs $61 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $499 vs $275 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Locarno

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

00:55 12:55 AM

23:55 11:55 PM

1 h behind Locarno

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

16,000

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.818 CHF (1 CHF = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.918 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Locarno Lisbon 1,680 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Locarno
Lisbon

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

Locarno vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,925 in Locarno and $2,206 in Lisbon, so Lisbon is about 25% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Locarno is about 3.4 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: $1,025 in Locarno versus $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,442 in Locarno versus $674 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 82% higher in Locarno. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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, Locarno and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Lisbon wins on affordability, Locarno on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.