Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Palermo and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Palermo: $1,566 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Palermo
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Palermo Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Palermo

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,566

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,566 in Palermo versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Palermo $1,566
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,314 in Palermo versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Palermo $2,314
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,061 in Palermo versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Palermo $3,061
Lisbon $4,319

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

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Palermo 16% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.02 €13.36

$16.50 €14.67

-8.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.7 €49.51

$61.3 €54.5

-9.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.25 €10.01

$11.27 €10.03

-0.18%

Cappuccino

$2.04 €1.81

$3.06 €2.72

-33.33%

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

$2.36 €2.10

$2.26 €2.01

4.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 €1.13

$1.73 €1.54

-26.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 €5.10

$3.39 €3.02

69.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.02 €3.58

$3.40 €3.02

18.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 €1.12

$1.12 €1.00

12.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.77 €1.57

$1.86 €1.65

-4.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.74 €2.44

$1.53 €1.36

79.08%

Eggs

$2.99 €2.66

$3.96 €3.53

-24.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.93 €13.28

$12.76 €11.35

17.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.99 €10.67

$7.90 €7.02

51.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.07 €15.18

$16.97 €15.09

0.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 €2.59

$2.27 €2.02

28.19%

Banana (1kg)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.75 €1.55

20.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.93 €2.60

$1.85 €1.64

58.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.06 €2.72

$2.57 €2.28

19.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.71 €1.52

$1.86 €1.65

-8.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$2.02 €1.80

-25.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.78 €1.59

$1.44 €1.28

23.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.40 €0.35

$0.82 €0.73

-51.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.86 €6.10

$6.56 €5.83

4.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.30 €6.50

$5.62 €5.00

29.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 €1.93

$1.28 €1.14

69.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 €2.67

$2.07 €1.84

44.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.58 €1.41

$2.35 €2.09

-32.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.13 €32.14

$44.18 €39.30

-18.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.29 €2.92

$3.99 €3.55

-17.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.14 €1.01

$1.09 €0.97

4.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$38.46 €34.21

$16.64 €14.81

131.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 €1.84

$2.28 €2.03

-9.21%

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

$36.0K €32.0K

$33.7K €30.0K

6.98%

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

$35.1K €31.2K

$39.3K €35.0K

-10.75%

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

$228 €203

$167 €149

35.98%

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

$9.87 €8.78

$18.80 €16.72

-47.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.63 €23.68

$33.09 €29.43

-19.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.70 €41.54

$46.01 €40.93

1.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.87 €28.35

$19.19 €17.07

66.08%

Cinema Ticket

$8.81 €7.84

$9.84 €8.75

-10.47%

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

$439 €391

$677 €602

-35.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,629 €5,007

$16.9K €15.1K

-66.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.7 €63.8

$101 €90.1

-29.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.89 €27.47

$45.76 €40.70

-32.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.8 €77.2

$100.0 €88.9

-13.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$123 €109

1.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$731 €650

$1,614 €1,436

-54.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$500 €445

$1,197 €1,065

-58.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,091 €971

$2,862 €2,545

-61.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$730 €649

$1,990 €1,770

-63.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,641 €2,349

$7,577 €6,740

-65.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,263 €1,124

$4,307 €3,831

-70.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,635 €1,455

$1,588 €1,412

3.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.39

3.85

-11.95%

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

Last update for Palermo: 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

Palermo

$500 31.9%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 139% $697

Groceries & Markets

Palermo

$315 20.1%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 14.4% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Palermo

$264 16.9%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 17% $45

Eating Out

Palermo

$230 14.7%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 5.5% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Palermo

$142 9%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 17.6% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Palermo

$64 4.1%

Lisbon

$66 3% 2.1% $1.4

Getting Around

Palermo

$51 3.3%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 22.5% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $731 in Palermo and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Palermo pays 3% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $56.0 in Palermo vs $61.0 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $315 vs $269, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Palermo

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

07:31 7:31 AM

06:31 6:31 AM

1 h behind Palermo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

628,165

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Palermo Lisbon 1,960 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Palermo
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

Palermo vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Palermo and Lisbon differ by about 42% in total monthly costs ($1,566 vs $2,223 including rent). Palermo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 3% higher in Palermo, 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: $731 in Palermo versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $439 in Palermo 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 17% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,566 in Palermo versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Palermo but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Palermo 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, Palermo 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 Palermo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.