Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mersin and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Mersin: $1,017 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Mersin
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Mersin Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Mersin

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,017

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,017 in Mersin versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Mersin $1,017
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,532 in Mersin versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Mersin $1,532
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,047 in Mersin versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Mersin $2,047
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Mersin costs roughly 54% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mersin is 25% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.63 ₺380

$16.65 €14.95

-54.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.67 ₺1,479

$61.7 €55.5

-51.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.75 ₺386

$11.36 €10.20

-31.78%

Cappuccino

$3.18 ₺158

$2.97 €2.67

7.07%

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

$1.34 ₺66.7

$2.29 €2.06

-41.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 ₺12.35

$1.74 €1.56

-85.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.45 ₺122

$3.40 €3.06

-27.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.65 ₺132

$3.31 €2.97

-19.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.99 ₺49.12

$1.16 €1.04

-14.66%

White Bread (500g)

$0.93 ₺46.37

$1.91 €1.72

-51.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 ₺88.7

$1.51 €1.36

17.88%

Eggs

$2.08 ₺103

$4.02 €3.61

-48.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.19 ₺458

$12.94 €11.62

-28.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.92 ₺195

$7.77 €6.98

-49.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.93 ₺893

$17.76 €15.95

0.96%

Apples (1kg)

$1.65 ₺82.5

$2.30 €2.07

-28.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 ₺88.7

$1.73 €1.56

2.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.92 ₺45.81

$1.86 €1.67

-50.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.25 ₺62.5

$2.59 €2.33

-51.74%

Potato (1kg)

$0.49 ₺24.47

$1.82 €1.64

-73.08%

Onion (1kg)

$0.40 ₺19.94

$1.97 €1.77

-79.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 ₺46.34

$1.47 €1.32

-36.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ₺29.62

$0.72 €0.65

-18.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.05 ₺102

$6.58 €5.91

-68.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.23 ₺510

$5.61 €5.04

82.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 ₺117

$1.36 €1.22

72.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 ₺158

$2.14 €1.92

48.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 ₺31.64

$2.33 €2.10

-72.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.00 ₺997

$44.68 €40.14

-55.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.03 ₺51.1

$3.85 €3.46

-73.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.51 ₺25.58

$1.07 €0.96

-52.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.97 ₺497

$16.46 €14.79

-39.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 ₺61.9

$2.20 €1.98

-43.64%

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

$41.5K ₺2.1M

$34.2K €30.7K

21.51%

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

$38.4K ₺1.9M

$38.7K €34.8K

-0.84%

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

$90.0 ₺4,486

$161 €145

-44.17%

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

$9.27 ₺462

$18.41 €16.54

-49.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.11 ₺553

$32.74 €29.41

-66.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.1 ₺2,595

$44.55 €40.02

16.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.10 ₺752

$19.10 €17.16

-20.94%

Cinema Ticket

$6.19 ₺308

$9.60 €8.62

-35.52%

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

$442 ₺22.0K

$668 €600

-33.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,104 ₺354.0K

$17.6K €15.8K

-59.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.1 ₺2,697

$102 €91.6

-46.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.01 ₺1,446

$44.46 €39.94

-34.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 ₺5,653

$98.5 €88.5

15.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 ₺5,388

$124 €111

-12.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$407 ₺20.3K

$1,608 €1,445

-74.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$316 ₺15.8K

$1,190 €1,069

-73.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$698 ₺34.8K

$2,812 €2,526

-75.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$490 ₺24.4K

$2,013 €1,808

-75.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,234 ₺61.5K

$7,839 €7,042

-84.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$927 ₺46.2K

$4,576 €4,110

-79.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$816 ₺40.7K

$1,575 €1,415

-48.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

41.5

3.85

977.92%

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

Last update for Mersin: October 26, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mersin

$316 31.1%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 276% $874

Groceries & Markets

Mersin

$216 21.3%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 26% $56

Eating Out

Mersin

$146 14.4%

Lisbon

$243 11% 65.8% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Mersin

$137 13.5%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 21% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mersin

$110 10.9%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 92.4% $102

Sport & Entertainment

Mersin

$64 6.3%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 1.1% $0.7

Getting Around

Mersin

$26 2.6%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 142% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $407 in Mersin and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 93% 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: $30 in Mersin vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $216 vs $272 per month, with Mersin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Mersin

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

00:07 12:07 AM

21:07 9:07 PM

3 h behind Mersin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,773,852

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.01 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 49.83 TRY (100 TRY = 2.01 USD). 1 EUR = 55.48 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mersin Lisbon 3,820 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Mersin
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

Mersin vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,017 in Mersin and $2,210 in Lisbon, so Mersin is about 54% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 48% lower in Mersin. 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: $407 in Mersin versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $442 in Mersin versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,017 in Mersin versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Mersin but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Mersin 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, Mersin and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Mersin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.