Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pernik and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Pernik: $844 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Pernik
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Pernik Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Pernik

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$844

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $844 in Pernik versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

Pernik $844
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,065 in Pernik versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

Pernik $1,065
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,286 in Pernik versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Pernik $1,286
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Pernik costs roughly 62% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Pernik is 38% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.15 BGN 17.65

$17.04 €15.15

-40.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.59 BGN 44.53

$62.3 €55.4

-58.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.74 BGN 15.20

$11.02 €9.80

-20.69%

Cappuccino

$1.55 BGN 2.69

$3.12 €2.78

-50.32%

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

$0.99 BGN 1.72

$2.27 €2.02

-56.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.52 BGN 0.91

$1.74 €1.55

-70.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.20 BGN 3.82

$3.42 €3.04

-35.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 BGN 3.40

$3.74 €3.33

-47.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 BGN 2.48

$1.17 €1.04

22.22%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 BGN 1.13

$1.86 €1.66

-65.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 BGN 2.50

$1.54 €1.37

-6.49%

Eggs

$2.37 BGN 4.12

$4.06 €3.61

-41.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.40 BGN 14.61

$12.91 €11.49

-34.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.64 BGN 11.55

$7.90 €7.03

-15.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.29 BGN 14.43

$17.64 €15.69

-53.00%

Apples (1kg)

$1.15 BGN 2.00

$2.26 €2.01

-49.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 BGN 2.85

$1.75 €1.55

-6.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.44 BGN 2.51

$1.89 €1.68

-23.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.44

$2.56 €2.27

-22.66%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 BGN 1.44

$1.85 €1.64

-55.14%

Onion (1kg)

$0.72 BGN 1.25

$1.97 €1.75

-63.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.58 BGN 1.01

$1.45 €1.29

-60.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 BGN 1.10

$0.77 €0.69

-18.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.37 BGN 5.86

$6.71 €5.97

-49.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.21 BGN 9.06

$5.67 €5.04

-8.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 BGN 1.28

$1.37 €1.22

-45.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 BGN 2.95

$2.11 €1.88

-19.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 BGN 1.44

$2.32 €2.07

-64.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.50 BGN 20.00

$44.43 €39.52

-74.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.34 BGN 2.34

$3.95 €3.51

-66.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 BGN 1.07

$1.05 €0.93

-41.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.27 BGN 19.61

$17.15 €15.26

-34.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 BGN 2.73

$2.19 €1.95

-28.31%

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

$30.7K BGN 53.3K

$33.8K €30.0K

-9.27%

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

$23.7K BGN 41.3K

$38.3K €34.0K

-38.04%

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

$92.4 BGN 161

$164 €146

-43.59%

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

$14.91 BGN 25.95

$18.48 €16.43

-19.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.35 BGN 21.48

$32.96 €29.32

-62.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.02 BGN 59.2

$45.87 €40.80

-25.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

Cinema Ticket

$5.62 BGN 9.78

$9.75 €8.67

-42.36%

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

$232 BGN 404

$684 €608

-66.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,315 BGN 4,027

$17.6K €15.7K

-86.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$30.71 BGN 53.4

$104 €92.3

-70.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.41 BGN 33.78

$46.20 €41.09

-57.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$64.9 BGN 113

$99.7 €88.7

-34.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$51.4 BGN 89.4

$125 €111

-58.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$293 BGN 509

$1,589 €1,414

-81.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$256 BGN 445

$1,169 €1,040

-78.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,152 BGN 2,004

$7,793 €6,932

-85.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,049 BGN 1,825

$4,418 €3,930

-76.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,564 BGN 2,721

$1,600 €1,423

-2.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.99

3.85

-22.34%

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

Last update for Pernik: October 18, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Pernik

$256 30.3%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 357% $913

Groceries & Markets

Pernik

$182 21.6%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 50.2% $91

Eating Out

Pernik

$147 17.4%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 68.5% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pernik

$120 14.2%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 79.9% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Pernik

$75 8.9%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 125% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Pernik

$45 5.4%

Lisbon

$65 3% 44.4% $20

Getting Around

Pernik

$19 2.3%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 227% $44

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $293 in Pernik and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 2% 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: $26.00 in Pernik vs $62.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $182 vs $273 per month, with Pernik cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Pernik

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

09:25 9:25 AM

07:25 7:25 AM

2 h behind Pernik

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,342

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 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 October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to BGN in detail →

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Between locations

Pernik Lisbon 2,730 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Pernik
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

Pernik vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Pernik and Lisbon differ by about 161% in total monthly costs ($844 vs $2,202 including rent). Pernik is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 2% lower in Lisbon. 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: $293 in Pernik versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $232 in Pernik 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 50% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $844 in Pernik versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Pernik but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Pernik 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, Pernik 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 Pernik gentler on the wallet – expenses run 161% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.