Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mangalia and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Mangalia: $1,107 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Mangalia
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Mangalia Living Index
106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Mangalia

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,107

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,107 in Mangalia versus $2,206 in Lisbon.

Mangalia $1,107
Lisbon $2,206

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,678 in Mangalia versus $3,276 in Lisbon.

Mangalia $1,678
Lisbon $3,276

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,250 in Mangalia versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Mangalia $2,250
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Mangalia costs roughly 50% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mangalia is 18% below, Lisbon is 63% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.44 RON 54.4

$16.86 €15.02

-32.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.28 RON 220

$61.0 €54.4

-24.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.78 RON 37.03

$10.98 €9.78

-29.14%

Cappuccino

$2.90 RON 13.78

$3.05 €2.72

-4.92%

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

$2.04 RON 9.72

$2.28 €2.03

-10.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 RON 9.99

$1.68 €1.50

25.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.48 RON 11.81

$3.44 €3.06

-27.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 RON 16.16

$3.91 €3.48

-13.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.61 RON 7.64

$1.15 €1.02

40.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.13 RON 5.36

$1.89 €1.68

-40.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.55 RON 7.36

$1.50 €1.34

3.33%

Eggs

$3.08 RON 14.64

$4.12 €3.67

-25.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.85 RON 37.33

$13.01 €11.59

-39.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 RON 31.61

$8.04 €7.17

-17.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.63 RON 45.80

$17.89 €15.94

-46.17%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 RON 6.14

$2.27 €2.02

-43.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.66 RON 7.91

$1.74 €1.55

-4.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.38 RON 6.55

$1.82 €1.62

-24.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.02 RON 9.62

$2.69 €2.39

-24.91%

Potato (1kg)

$0.74 RON 3.50

$1.77 €1.57

-58.19%

Onion (1kg)

$0.76 RON 3.61

$1.94 €1.73

-60.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.67 RON 3.19

$1.46 €1.30

-54.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$0.76 €0.68

1.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.22 RON 29.61

$6.66 €5.93

-6.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.74 RON 32.07

$5.64 €5.02

19.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 RON 4.61

$1.29 €1.15

-24.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.43 RON 6.82

$2.14 €1.91

-33.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 RON 3.89

$2.30 €2.05

-64.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.40 RON 107

$44.02 €39.21

-49.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.90 RON 4.26

$3.98 €3.55

-77.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.87 RON 4.14

$0.64 €0.57

35.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.92 RON 42.42

$18.93 €16.86

-52.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 RON 8.85

$2.28 €2.03

-18.42%

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

$28.6K RON 136.0K

$33.4K €29.7K

-14.34%

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

$25.2K RON 119.7K

$38.5K €34.3K

-34.68%

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

$164 RON 779

$158 €141

3.48%

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

$5.92 RON 28.17

$17.54 €15.62

-66.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.48 RON 40.32

$31.18 €27.78

-72.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.18 RON 177

$44.64 €39.77

-16.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 RON 94.0

$18.98 €16.91

4.06%

Cinema Ticket

$8.60 RON 40.90

$9.58 €8.53

-10.23%

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

$377 RON 1,792

$674 €600

-44.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,802 RON 27.6K

$18.7K €16.7K

-69.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 RON 343

$102 €91.0

-29.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.48 RON 202

$45.90 €40.89

-7.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.2 RON 434

$102 €91.0

-10.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.3 RON 453

$122 €109

-21.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 RON 1,793

$1,641 €1,461

-77.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$322 RON 1,533

$1,187 €1,058

-72.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$683 RON 3,247

$2,825 €2,516

-75.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$499 RON 2,372

$2,018 €1,798

-75.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,715 RON 8,158

$7,836 €6,980

-78.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,472 RON 7,000

$4,701 €4,188

-68.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$721 RON 3,432

$1,687 €1,503

-57.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.85

3.82

105.50%

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

Last update for Mangalia: 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

Mangalia

$322 29.1%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 268% $865

Groceries & Markets

Mangalia

$200 18.1%

Lisbon

$275 12.5% 37% $74

Eating Out

Mangalia

$185 16.8%

Lisbon

$245 11.1% 32.3% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mangalia

$178 16.1%

Lisbon

$207 9.4% 16.2% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Mangalia

$135 12.2%

Lisbon

$168 7.6% 23.7% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Mangalia

$54 4.9%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 17.3% $9.4

Getting Around

Mangalia

$31 2.8%

Lisbon

$60 2.7% 95.4% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $377 in Mangalia and $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $46 in Mangalia vs $61 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $200 vs $275 per month, with Mangalia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Mangalia

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

00:26 12:26 AM

22:26 10:26 PM

2 h behind Mangalia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

36,364

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 4.76 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

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

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mangalia Lisbon 3,180 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Mangalia
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

Mangalia vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,107 in Mangalia and $2,206 in Lisbon, so Mangalia is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 57% lower in Mangalia. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $377 in Mangalia versus $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $377 in Mangalia 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 37% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,107 in Mangalia versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mangalia but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Mangalia 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, Mangalia and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Mangalia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.