Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Olten and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,202 a month against $3,049 in Olten, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 less a year. The total is higher in Olten despite lower rent and utilities.

148

Cost of Living Index in Olten
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Olten Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Olten

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,049

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,049 in Olten versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

Olten $3,049
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,812 in Olten versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

Olten $4,812
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,576 in Olten versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Olten $6,576
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Olten is roughly 38% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Olten 125% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$33.18 CHF 27.33

$17.04 €15.15

94.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$122 CHF 100

$62.3 €55.4

95.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$17.69 CHF 14.57

$11.02 €9.80

60.53%

Cappuccino

$6.29 CHF 5.18

$3.12 €2.78

101.60%

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

$5.51 CHF 4.54

$2.27 €2.02

142.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.21 CHF 4.29

$1.74 €1.55

199.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.22 CHF 7.59

$3.42 €3.04

169.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.52 CHF 6.19

$3.74 €3.33

101.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.11 CHF 1.73

$1.17 €1.04

80.34%

White Bread (500g)

$3.87 CHF 3.19

$1.86 €1.66

108.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.81 CHF 3.14

$1.54 €1.37

147.40%

Eggs

$8.37 CHF 6.90

$4.06 €3.61

106.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$26.10 CHF 21.50

$12.91 €11.49

102.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$26.77 CHF 22.05

$7.90 €7.03

238.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$46.34 CHF 38.16

$17.64 €15.69

162.70%

Apples (1kg)

$4.02 CHF 3.31

$2.26 €2.01

77.88%

Banana (1kg)

$2.69 CHF 2.22

$1.75 €1.55

53.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.97 CHF 2.45

$1.89 €1.68

57.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.69 CHF 3.86

$2.56 €2.27

83.20%

Potato (1kg)

$2.49 CHF 2.05

$1.85 €1.64

34.59%

Onion (1kg)

$2.14 CHF 1.76

$1.97 €1.75

8.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.55 CHF 2.10

$1.45 €1.29

75.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 CHF 1.06

$0.77 €0.69

67.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.85 CHF 8.93

$6.71 €5.97

61.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.12 CHF 11.63

$5.67 €5.04

149.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.79 CHF 2.30

$1.37 €1.22

103.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 CHF 2.68

$2.11 €1.88

54.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.30 CHF 4.37

$2.32 €2.07

128.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$107 CHF 88.3

$44.43 €39.52

141.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.39 CHF 6.91

$3.95 €3.51

112.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.53 CHF 3.73

$1.05 €0.93

331.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$90.2 CHF 74.3

$17.15 €15.26

425.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.16 CHF 1.78

$2.19 €1.95

-1.37%

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

$39.5K CHF 32.6K

$33.8K €30.0K

17.06%

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

$39.3K CHF 32.4K

$38.3K €34.0K

2.70%

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

$275 CHF 227

$164 €146

68.10%

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

$32.97 CHF 27.15

$18.48 €16.43

78.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.51 CHF 39.13

$32.96 €29.32

44.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$80.2 CHF 66.1

$45.87 €40.80

74.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

Cinema Ticket

$21.01 CHF 17.30

$9.75 €8.67

115.49%

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

$3,608 CHF 2,971

$684 €608

427.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$41.7K CHF 34.3K

$17.6K €15.7K

136.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$143 CHF 118

$104 €92.3

37.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 CHF 48.81

$46.20 €41.09

28.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$167 CHF 137

$99.7 €88.7

67.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$210 CHF 173

$125 €111

68.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,210 CHF 997

$1,589 €1,414

-23.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,035 CHF 852

$1,169 €1,040

-11.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,968 CHF 1,621

$2,851 €2,536

-30.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,948 CHF 1,605

$1,993 €1,773

-2.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,837 CHF 4,808

$1,600 €1,423

264.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.07

3.85

-46.23%

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

Last update for Olten: October 20, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Olten

$1K 34%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 13% $134

Groceries & Markets

Olten

$617 20.3%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 55.8% $344

Eating Out

Olten

$498 16.3%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 50.3% $251

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Olten

$356 11.7%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 39.5% $141

Clothing & Footwear

Olten

$261 8.6%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 35.4% $92

Getting Around

Olten

$160 5.2%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 60.6% $97

Sport & Entertainment

Olten

$122 4%

Lisbon

$65 3% 46.5% $57

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,210 in Olten and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Olten pays 265% 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: $122 in Olten vs $62.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $617 vs $273 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Olten

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

12:48 12:48 PM

11:48 11:48 AM

1 h behind Olten

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,280

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

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

USD to CHF in detail →

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Between locations

Olten Lisbon 1,680 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

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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

Olten vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Olten and Lisbon differ by about 38% in total monthly costs ($3,049 vs $2,202 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 265% higher in Olten, 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: $1,210 in Olten versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $3,608 in Olten versus $684 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 126% higher in Olten. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,202 in Lisbon versus $3,049 in Olten, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in Olten. The gap between the two cities makes Lisbon 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, Olten 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 Lisbon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 38% less than in Olten. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.