Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montana and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Montana: $829 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Montana
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Montana Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Montana

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$829

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $829 in Montana versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Montana $829
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,329 in Montana versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Montana $1,329
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,830 in Montana versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Montana $1,830
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Montana costs roughly 63% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Montana is 39% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.92 BGN 15.61

$16.65 €14.92

-46.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.11 BGN 61.5

$61.7 €55.3

-43.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.78 BGN 17.11

$11.36 €10.18

-13.91%

Cappuccino

$1.44 BGN 2.52

$2.97 €2.66

-51.52%

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

$1.39 BGN 2.43

$2.29 €2.05

-39.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.12 BGN 1.95

$1.74 €1.56

-35.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.33 BGN 2.33

$3.40 €3.05

-60.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 BGN 1.75

$3.31 €2.97

-69.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$1.16 €1.04

44.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 BGN 1.85

$1.91 €1.71

-44.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.12 BGN 3.71

$1.51 €1.36

40.40%

Eggs

$2.71 BGN 4.74

$4.02 €3.60

-32.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.60 BGN 16.79

$12.94 €11.59

-25.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.24 BGN 5.67

$7.77 €6.97

-58.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.34 BGN 21.60

$17.76 €15.92

-30.52%

Apples (1kg)

$1.21 BGN 2.13

$2.30 €2.06

-47.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 BGN 3.22

$1.73 €1.55

6.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 BGN 2.96

$1.86 €1.66

-9.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.54 BGN 4.44

$2.59 €2.32

-1.93%

Potato (1kg)

$0.71 BGN 1.25

$1.82 €1.63

-60.99%

Onion (1kg)

$0.88 BGN 1.54

$1.97 €1.76

-55.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 BGN 1.51

$1.47 €1.32

-41.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 BGN 0.91

$0.72 €0.65

-27.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.57 BGN 6.25

$6.58 €5.90

-45.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.04 BGN 10.57

$5.61 €5.02

7.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 BGN 1.57

$1.36 €1.22

-33.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.15 BGN 2.02

$2.14 €1.91

-46.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.84 BGN 1.47

$2.33 €2.09

-63.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.73 BGN 45.02

$44.68 €40.04

-42.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.61 BGN 1.07

$3.85 €3.45

-84.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.44 BGN 0.78

$1.07 €0.96

-58.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.40 BGN 18.20

$16.46 €14.75

-36.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 BGN 2.75

$2.20 €1.97

-28.64%

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

$19.4K BGN 33.9K

$34.2K €30.6K

-43.27%

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

$24.2K BGN 42.4K

$38.7K €34.7K

-37.41%

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

$100 BGN 175

$161 €144

-37.97%

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

$18.53 BGN 32.42

$18.41 €16.50

0.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.68 BGN 15.19

$32.74 €29.34

-73.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.54 BGN 55.2

$44.55 €39.92

-29.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.76 BGN 29.33

$19.10 €17.11

-12.25%

Cinema Ticket

$5.49 BGN 9.60

$9.60 €8.60

-42.81%

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

$604 BGN 1,057

$668 €598

-9.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,536 BGN 9,688

$17.6K €15.8K

-68.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 BGN 117

$102 €91.4

-34.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 72.3

$44.46 €39.85

-7.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.3 BGN 169

$98.5 €88.3

-2.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 BGN 179

$124 €111

-17.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$210 BGN 368

$1,608 €1,441

-86.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$155 BGN 270

$1,190 €1,066

-87.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$405 BGN 708

$2,812 €2,520

-85.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$294 BGN 515

$2,013 €1,804

-85.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,341 BGN 2,347

$7,839 €7,025

-82.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,115 BGN 1,951

$4,576 €4,100

-75.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$983 BGN 1,719

$1,575 €1,411

-37.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.1

3.85

-19.48%

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

Last update for Montana: October 24, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Montana

$198 23.9%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 37.7% $75

Accommodation & Living

Montana

$155 18.7%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 670% $1K

Clothing & Footwear

Montana

$138 16.7%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 20.1% $28

Eating Out

Montana

$137 16.5%

Lisbon

$243 11% 77.5% $106

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montana

$127 15.4%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 66.9% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Montana

$43 5.1%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 49.9% $21

Getting Around

Montana

$32 3.9%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 98% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $210 in Montana and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 60% 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: $35 in Montana vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $272 per month, with Montana cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Montana

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

06:55 6:55 AM

04:55 4:55 AM

2 h behind Montana

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

44,502

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to BGN in detail →

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Between locations

Montana Lisbon 2,740 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

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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

Montana vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $829 in Montana and $2,210 in Lisbon, so Montana is about 63% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 38% lower in Montana. 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: $210 in Montana versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $604 in Montana 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 38% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $829 in Montana versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Montana but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Montana 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 Montana gentler on the wallet – expenses run 63% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.