Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Samokov and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Samokov: $1,052 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Samokov
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Samokov Living Index
106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Samokov

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,052

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,052 in Samokov versus $2,206 in Lisbon.

Samokov $1,052
Lisbon $2,206

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,641 in Samokov versus $3,276 in Lisbon.

Samokov $1,641
Lisbon $3,276

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,229 in Samokov versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Samokov $2,229
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Samokov costs roughly 52% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Samokov is 22% below, Lisbon is 63% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.18 BGN 16.06

$16.86 €15.04

-45.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.91 BGN 80.3

$61.0 €54.5

-24.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.87 BGN 17.27

$10.98 €9.80

-10.11%

Cappuccino

$2.78 BGN 4.87

$3.05 €2.72

-8.85%

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

$1.75 BGN 3.06

$2.28 €2.04

-23.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.52 BGN 2.66

$1.68 €1.50

-9.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 BGN 4.52

$3.44 €3.07

-25.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.29 BGN 7.50

$3.91 €3.48

9.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.05

$1.15 €1.02

51.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 BGN 2.06

$1.89 €1.68

-37.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.24 BGN 3.92

$1.50 €1.34

49.33%

Eggs

$3.77 BGN 6.59

$4.12 €3.67

-8.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.31 BGN 19.80

$13.01 €11.60

-13.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.18 BGN 14.32

$8.04 €7.18

1.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.13 BGN 24.73

$17.89 €15.96

-21.02%

Apples (1kg)

$1.63 BGN 2.86

$2.27 €2.03

-28.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 BGN 3.17

$1.74 €1.56

4.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 BGN 3.45

$1.82 €1.62

8.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.62 BGN 4.59

$2.69 €2.40

-2.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.09 BGN 1.90

$1.77 €1.58

-38.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.05 BGN 1.83

$1.94 €1.73

-45.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 BGN 2.04

$1.46 €1.31

-20.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 BGN 1.32

$0.76 €0.68

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.95 BGN 6.91

$6.66 €5.94

-40.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.34 BGN 11.09

$5.64 €5.03

12.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 BGN 2.06

$1.29 €1.15

-8.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 BGN 3.67

$2.14 €1.91

-1.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$2.30 €2.05

-63.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.19 BGN 44.08

$44.02 €39.26

-42.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.25 BGN 2.18

$3.98 €3.55

-68.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 BGN 1.13

$0.64 €0.57

1.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.19 BGN 17.84

$18.93 €16.88

-46.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.76 BGN 3.08

$2.28 €2.03

-22.81%

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

$29.7K BGN 51.9K

$33.4K €29.8K

-11.11%

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

$24.2K BGN 42.4K

$38.5K €34.3K

-37.15%

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

$113 BGN 198

$158 €141

-28.50%

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

$18.76 BGN 32.83

$17.54 €15.64

6.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.53 BGN 27.17

$31.18 €27.82

-50.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.44 BGN 55.0

$44.64 €39.82

-29.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.62 BGN 29.09

$18.98 €16.93

-12.43%

Cinema Ticket

$9.17 BGN 16.04

$9.58 €8.54

-4.28%

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

$510 BGN 892

$674 €601

-24.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,364 BGN 9,387

$18.7K €16.7K

-71.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.8 BGN 120

$102 €91.2

-32.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.35 BGN 74.1

$45.90 €40.94

-7.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.1 BGN 166

$102 €91.2

-6.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 BGN 183

$122 €109

-14.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$337 BGN 590

$1,641 €1,463

-79.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$259 BGN 453

$1,187 €1,059

-78.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$549 BGN 961

$2,825 €2,519

-80.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$404 BGN 707

$2,018 €1,800

-79.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,301 BGN 2,277

$7,836 €6,989

-83.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,113 BGN 1,949

$4,701 €4,193

-76.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$728 BGN 1,275

$1,687 €1,505

-56.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.1

3.82

-18.85%

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

Last update for Samokov: November 3, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Samokov

$259 24.6%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 359% $929

Groceries & Markets

Samokov

$252 24%

Lisbon

$275 12.5% 8.8% $22

Eating Out

Samokov

$171 16.3%

Lisbon

$245 11.1% 43.5% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Samokov

$147 14%

Lisbon

$207 9.4% 40.4% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Samokov

$140 13.3%

Lisbon

$168 7.6% 19.8% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Samokov

$50 4.7%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 28.2% $14

Getting Around

Samokov

$33 3.1%

Lisbon

$60 2.7% 83.1% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $337 in Samokov and $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $46 in Samokov vs $61 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $252 vs $275 per month, with Samokov cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Samokov

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

14:16 2:16 PM

12:16 12:16 PM

2 h behind Samokov

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

25,138

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.51 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 November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.51 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Samokov Lisbon 2,780 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Samokov
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

Samokov vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,052 in Samokov and $2,206 in Lisbon, so Samokov is about 52% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 57% lower in Samokov. 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: $337 in Samokov versus $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $510 in Samokov versus $674 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Samokov is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Samokov and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Samokov gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.