Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Muscat and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Muscat: $1,556 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

75

Cost of Living Index in Muscat
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Muscat Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Muscat

🇴🇲 Oman

$1,556

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,556 in Muscat versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Muscat $1,556
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,299 in Muscat versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Muscat $2,299
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,042 in Muscat versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Muscat $3,042
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Muscat costs roughly 30% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Muscat 15% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.33 OMR 2.05

$16.50 €14.67

-67.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.12 OMR 15.06

$61.3 €54.5

-36.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.76 OMR 2.99

$11.27 €10.03

-31.14%

Cappuccino

$4.93 OMR 1.90

$3.06 €2.72

61.11%

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

$0.85 OMR 0.33

$2.26 €2.01

-62.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 OMR 0.10

$1.73 €1.54

-84.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.87 OMR 4.95

$3.39 €3.02

279.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.07 OMR 5.03

$3.40 €3.02

284.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.31 OMR 0.89

$1.12 €1.00

106.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.24 OMR 0.48

$1.86 €1.65

-33.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.87 OMR 0.72

$1.53 €1.36

22.22%

Eggs

$3.02 OMR 1.16

$3.96 €3.53

-23.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.23 OMR 2.78

$12.76 €11.35

-43.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.91 OMR 2.66

$7.90 €7.02

-12.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.57 OMR 4.07

$16.97 €15.09

-37.71%

Apples (1kg)

$3.51 OMR 1.35

$2.27 €2.02

54.63%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 OMR 0.77

$1.75 €1.55

14.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 OMR 0.90

$1.85 €1.64

25.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.26 OMR 0.49

$2.57 €2.28

-50.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 OMR 0.44

$1.86 €1.65

-37.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 OMR 0.49

$2.02 €1.80

-36.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.79 OMR 0.69

$1.44 €1.28

24.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 OMR 0.26

$0.82 €0.73

-17.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.62 OMR 2.55

$6.56 €5.83

0.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.83 OMR 6.09

$5.62 €5.00

181.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$6.03 OMR 2.32

$1.28 €1.14

371.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.33 OMR 3.98

$2.07 €1.84

399.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.33 OMR 0.51

$2.35 €2.09

-43.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.9 OMR 30.00

$44.18 €39.30

76.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.18 OMR 1.23

$3.99 €3.55

-20.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.62 OMR 1.01

$1.09 €0.97

140.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.83 OMR 3.01

$16.64 €14.81

-52.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.60 OMR 0.23

$2.28 €2.03

-73.68%

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

$25.9K OMR 9,986

$33.7K €30.0K

-22.98%

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

$22.4K OMR 8,624

$39.3K €35.0K

-42.99%

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

$176 OMR 67.9

$167 €149

5.24%

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

$28.30 OMR 10.90

$18.80 €16.72

50.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.9 OMR 27.28

$33.09 €29.43

114.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.7 OMR 24.14

$46.01 €40.93

36.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.94 OMR 11.53

$19.19 €17.07

56.02%

Cinema Ticket

$10.52 OMR 4.05

$9.84 €8.75

6.91%

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

$283 OMR 109

$677 €602

-58.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.6K OMR 4,070

$16.9K €15.1K

-37.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.6 OMR 21.79

$101 €90.1

-44.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.33 OMR 16.68

$45.76 €40.70

-5.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.1 OMR 35.08

$100.0 €88.9

-8.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.4 OMR 33.28

$123 €109

-29.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$674 OMR 260

$1,614 €1,436

-58.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$461 OMR 177

$1,197 €1,065

-61.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,324 OMR 510

$2,862 €2,545

-53.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$813 OMR 313

$1,990 €1,770

-59.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,871 OMR 1,105

$7,577 €6,740

-62.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,614 OMR 621

$4,307 €3,831

-62.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,650 OMR 635

$1,588 €1,412

3.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

3.85

36.36%

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

Last update for Muscat: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Muscat

$461 29.6%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 160% $737

Groceries & Markets

Muscat

$292 18.8%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 7.8% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Muscat

$275 17.7%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 20.4% $56

Eating Out

Muscat

$220 14.1%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 10.1% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Muscat

$125 8%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 33.3% $42

Getting Around

Muscat

$100 6.4%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 36.7% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Muscat

$84 5.4%

Lisbon

$66 3% 21.6% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $674 in Muscat and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Muscat pays 4% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $39.00 in Muscat vs $61.0 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $292 vs $269, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇴🇲 Muscat

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

08:26 8:26 AM

05:26 5:26 AM

3 h behind Muscat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,090,797 Capital

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.31 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to OMR – Omani Rial Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇴🇲 Omani Rial (ر.ع.)

Omani Rial exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.433 OMR (1 OMR = 2.31 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to OMR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Muscat Lisbon 6,500 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Muscat
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

Muscat vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Muscat and Lisbon differ by about 43% in total monthly costs ($1,556 vs $2,223 including rent). Muscat is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 4% higher in Muscat, 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: $674 in Muscat versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $283 in Muscat 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 8% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,556 in Muscat versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Muscat but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Muscat 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, Muscat 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 Muscat gentler on the wallet – expenses run 43% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.