Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Malmo and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Malmo: $2,031 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

99

Cost of Living Index in Malmo
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Malmo Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Malmo

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,031

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Malmo 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 Malmo and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,031 in Malmo versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Malmo $2,031
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,108 in Malmo versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Malmo $3,108
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,185 in Malmo versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Malmo $4,185
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Malmo costs roughly 9% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Malmo 50% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.01 SEK 149

$16.50 €14.67

-9.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.8 SEK 741

$61.3 €54.5

22.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.13 SEK 120

$11.27 €10.03

7.63%

Cappuccino

$4.98 SEK 49.36

$3.06 €2.72

62.75%

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

$3.44 SEK 34.07

$2.26 €2.01

52.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.65 SEK 26.24

$1.73 €1.54

53.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.49 SEK 84.1

$3.39 €3.02

150.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.01 SEK 89.3

$3.40 €3.02

165.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 SEK 16.38

$1.12 €1.00

47.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.80 SEK 27.74

$1.86 €1.65

50.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.44 SEK 34.08

$1.53 €1.36

124.84%

Eggs

$3.98 SEK 39.43

$3.96 €3.53

0.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.86 SEK 127

$12.76 €11.35

0.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.07 SEK 120

$7.90 €7.02

52.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.13 SEK 209

$16.97 €15.09

24.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 SEK 29.53

$2.27 €2.02

31.28%

Banana (1kg)

$2.59 SEK 25.63

$1.75 €1.55

48.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.98 SEK 29.50

$1.85 €1.64

61.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.29 SEK 42.46

$2.57 €2.28

66.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 SEK 16.12

$1.86 €1.65

-12.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 SEK 15.03

$2.02 €1.80

-24.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.44 SEK 24.20

$1.44 €1.28

69.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 SEK 11.56

$0.82 €0.73

42.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.83 SEK 77.6

$6.56 €5.83

19.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.49 SEK 114

$5.62 €5.00

104.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 SEK 19.21

$1.28 €1.14

51.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 SEK 23.04

$2.07 €1.84

12.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.12 SEK 30.89

$2.35 €2.09

32.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$64.3 SEK 637

$44.18 €39.30

45.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.36 SEK 63.1

$3.99 €3.55

59.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.47 SEK 24.48

$1.09 €0.97

126.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$49.15 SEK 487

$16.64 €14.81

195.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.78 SEK 17.68

$2.28 €2.03

-21.93%

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

$32.7K SEK 323.9K

$33.7K €30.0K

-2.94%

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

$33.3K SEK 330.1K

$39.3K €35.0K

-15.22%

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

$139 SEK 1,377

$167 €149

-17.06%

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

$25.01 SEK 248

$18.80 €16.72

33.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.88 SEK 385

$33.09 €29.43

17.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.60 SEK 402

$46.01 €40.93

-11.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.04 SEK 288

$19.19 €17.07

51.33%

Cinema Ticket

$16.99 SEK 168

$9.84 €8.75

72.66%

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

$168 SEK 1,667

$677 €602

-75.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,337 SEK 33.1K

$16.9K €15.1K

-80.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$97.8 SEK 969

$101 €90.1

-3.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.17 SEK 438

$45.76 €40.70

-3.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 SEK 1,097

$100.0 €88.9

10.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 SEK 1,493

$123 €109

22.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,059 SEK 10.5K

$1,614 €1,436

-34.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$806 SEK 7,989

$1,197 €1,065

-32.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,720 SEK 17.0K

$2,862 €2,545

-39.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,354 SEK 13.4K

$1,990 €1,770

-31.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,083 SEK 40.5K

$7,577 €6,740

-46.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,100 SEK 30.7K

$4,307 €3,831

-28.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,978 SEK 29.5K

$1,588 €1,412

87.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.05

3.85

-20.78%

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

Last update for Malmo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Malmo

$806 39.7%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 48.5% $391

Groceries & Markets

Malmo

$369 18.2%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 27% $100

Eating Out

Malmo

$301 14.8%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 19.5% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Malmo

$203 10%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 8.2% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Malmo

$181 8.9%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 8.3% $15

Getting Around

Malmo

$96 4.7%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 34% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Malmo

$75 3.7%

Lisbon

$66 3% 11.9% $8.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,059 in Malmo and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Malmo pays 88% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $75.0 in Malmo vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $369 vs $269 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Malmo

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

05:57 5:57 AM

04:57 4:57 AM

1 h behind Malmo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

316,588

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Malmo Lisbon 2,490 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Malmo
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

Malmo vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Malmo and Lisbon differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($2,031 vs $2,223 including rent). Malmo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 88% higher in Malmo, 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: $1,059 in Malmo versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $168 in Malmo versus $677 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 37% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,031 in Malmo versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Malmo but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Malmo 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, Malmo and Lisbon 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 Malmo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.