Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rabat and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Rabat: $1,928 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Rabat
Learn more

Rabat Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

Jump to prices

Rabat

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,928

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,928 in Rabat versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Rabat $1,928
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,701 in Rabat versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Rabat $2,701
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,474 in Rabat versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Rabat $3,474
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Rabat costs roughly 13% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Rabat 43% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.55 €14.72

$16.50 €14.67

0.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.4 €44.82

$61.3 €54.5

-17.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.19 €9.96

$11.27 €10.03

-0.71%

Cappuccino

$2.25 €2.00

$3.06 €2.72

-26.47%

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

$2.48 €2.20

$2.26 €2.01

9.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 €1.51

$1.73 €1.54

-2.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 €2.97

$3.39 €3.02

-1.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.43 €3.05

$3.40 €3.02

0.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 €0.99

$1.12 €1.00

-0.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.34 €1.19

$1.86 €1.65

-27.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.53 €1.36

47.71%

Eggs

$3.50 €3.11

$3.96 €3.53

-11.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.97 €7.09

$12.76 €11.35

-37.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.87 €7.00

$7.90 €7.02

-0.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.51 €11.13

$16.97 €15.09

-26.28%

Apples (1kg)

$4.12 €3.67

$2.27 €2.02

81.50%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$1.75 €1.55

24.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.55 €3.16

$1.85 €1.64

91.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$2.57 €2.28

-14.01%

Potato (1kg)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.86 €1.65

-38.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 €1.01

$2.02 €1.80

-43.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.44 €1.28

-24.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.82 €0.73

32.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.80 €6.05

$6.56 €5.83

3.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.23 €7.32

$5.62 €5.00

46.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 €1.57

$1.28 €1.14

37.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 €2.17

$2.07 €1.84

17.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.71 €2.41

$2.35 €2.09

15.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.73 €5.09

$3.99 €3.55

43.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.21 €1.96

$1.09 €0.97

102.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.77 €23.81

$16.64 €14.81

60.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 €1.34

$2.28 €2.03

-33.77%

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

$37.7K €33.6K

$33.7K €30.0K

12.10%

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

$38.6K €34.3K

$39.3K €35.0K

-1.73%

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

$101 €90.2

$167 €149

-39.46%

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

$12.17 €10.82

$18.80 €16.72

-35.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.85 €38.12

$33.09 €29.43

29.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.1 €55.3

$46.01 €40.93

34.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.18 €19.73

$19.19 €17.07

15.58%

Cinema Ticket

$10.09 €8.98

$9.84 €8.75

2.54%

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

$369 €328

$677 €602

-45.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K €10.0K

$16.9K €15.1K

-33.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.2 €76.7

$101 €90.1

-14.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.60 €24.55

$45.76 €40.70

-39.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.7 €65.6

$100.0 €88.9

-26.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$76.8 €68.3

$123 €109

-37.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 €934

$1,614 €1,436

-34.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,049 €933

$1,197 €1,065

-12.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,735 €1,543

$2,862 €2,545

-39.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,460 €1,299

$1,990 €1,770

-26.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,396 €3,910

$7,577 €6,740

-41.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,149 €2,801

$4,307 €3,831

-26.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,318 €1,173

$1,588 €1,412

-16.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.9

3.85

-24.68%

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

Last update for Rabat: October 10, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rabat

$1K 54.4%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 14.1% $148

Groceries & Markets

Rabat

$261 13.5%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 3.3% $8.7

Eating Out

Rabat

$233 12.1%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 3.9% $9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rabat

$156 8.1%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 40.2% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Rabat

$119 6.2%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 39.9% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Rabat

$82 4.3%

Lisbon

$66 3% 20.2% $17

Getting Around

Rabat

$28 * 1.4%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 128% $35

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,051 in Rabat and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 20% 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: $50.0 in Rabat vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $261 vs $269 per month, with Rabat cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Rabat

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

16:04 4:04 PM

15:04 3:04 PM

1 h behind Rabat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,497

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rabat Lisbon 2,100 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Rabat
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

Rabat vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rabat and Lisbon differ by about 15% in total monthly costs ($1,928 vs $2,223 including rent). Rabat is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 20% 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: $1,051 in Rabat versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,928 per month in Rabat versus $2,223 in Lisbon – a 15% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,928 in Rabat versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Rabat but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Rabat 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, Rabat 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 Rabat gentler on the wallet – expenses run 15% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.