Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sandanski and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Sandanski: $1,031 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Sandanski
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Sandanski Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Sandanski

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,031

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,031 in Sandanski versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

Sandanski $1,031
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,611 in Sandanski versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

Sandanski $1,611
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,191 in Sandanski versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Sandanski $2,191
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Sandanski costs roughly 53% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sandanski is 24% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.01 BGN 15.68

$17.04 €15.15

-47.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.27 BGN 78.8

$62.3 €55.4

-27.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.48 BGN 16.50

$11.02 €9.80

-13.97%

Cappuccino

$2.90 BGN 5.05

$3.12 €2.78

-7.05%

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

$1.82 BGN 3.17

$2.27 €2.02

-19.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 BGN 2.74

$1.74 €1.55

-9.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.62 BGN 4.55

$3.42 €3.04

-23.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.29 BGN 7.47

$3.74 €3.33

14.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 BGN 2.92

$1.17 €1.04

43.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 BGN 1.95

$1.86 €1.66

-39.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.26 BGN 3.93

$1.54 €1.37

46.75%

Eggs

$3.08 BGN 5.36

$4.06 €3.61

-24.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.57 BGN 20.12

$12.91 €11.49

-10.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.50 BGN 14.78

$7.90 €7.03

7.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.93 BGN 24.24

$17.64 €15.69

-21.03%

Apples (1kg)

$1.65 BGN 2.88

$2.26 €2.01

-26.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.19

$1.75 €1.55

4.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.00 BGN 3.48

$1.89 €1.68

5.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$2.56 €2.27

-34.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 BGN 1.87

$1.85 €1.64

-42.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 BGN 1.79

$1.97 €1.75

-47.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 BGN 2.09

$1.45 €1.29

-17.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 BGN 1.26

$0.77 €0.69

-6.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.05 BGN 7.04

$6.71 €5.97

-39.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 BGN 10.75

$5.67 €5.04

8.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 BGN 1.64

$1.37 €1.22

-31.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 BGN 2.45

$2.11 €1.88

-33.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$2.32 €2.07

-61.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.94 BGN 41.65

$44.43 €39.52

-46.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.23 BGN 2.14

$3.95 €3.51

-68.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.62 BGN 1.07

$1.05 €0.93

-40.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.32 BGN 17.96

$17.15 €15.26

-39.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 BGN 2.54

$2.19 €1.95

-33.33%

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

$29.6K BGN 51.5K

$33.8K €30.0K

-12.34%

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

$24.7K BGN 43.0K

$38.3K €34.0K

-35.49%

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

$113 BGN 197

$164 €146

-30.79%

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

$18.45 BGN 32.10

$18.48 €16.43

-0.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.60 BGN 27.14

$32.96 €29.32

-52.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.29 BGN 52.7

$45.87 €40.80

-33.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.92 BGN 29.44

$18.68 €16.61

-9.42%

Cinema Ticket

$9.27 BGN 16.14

$9.75 €8.67

-4.92%

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

$507 BGN 882

$684 €608

-25.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,479 BGN 9,533

$17.6K €15.7K

-68.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.6 BGN 119

$104 €92.3

-33.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.61 BGN 74.1

$46.20 €41.09

-7.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.3 BGN 168

$99.7 €88.7

-3.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 BGN 182

$125 €111

-16.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$326 BGN 567

$1,589 €1,414

-79.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$249 BGN 434

$1,169 €1,040

-78.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$549 BGN 956

$2,851 €2,536

-80.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$395 BGN 688

$1,993 €1,773

-80.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,309 BGN 2,279

$7,793 €6,932

-83.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,088 BGN 1,893

$4,418 €3,930

-75.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$562 BGN 978

$1,600 €1,423

-64.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.1

3.85

-19.48%

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

Last update for Sandanski: October 17, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sandanski

$249 24.2%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 369% $920

Groceries & Markets

Sandanski

$243 23.5%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 12.5% $30

Eating Out

Sandanski

$171 16.6%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 45% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sandanski

$147 14.3%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 46% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Sandanski

$140 13.6%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 19.9% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Sandanski

$49 4.7%

Lisbon

$65 3% 33.9% $17

Getting Around

Sandanski

$32 3.1%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 97.9% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $326 in Sandanski and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 185% 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: $45.00 in Sandanski vs $62.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $243 vs $273 per month, with Sandanski cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sandanski

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

09:25 9:25 AM

07:25 7:25 AM

2 h behind Sandanski

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

28,058

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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Sandanski Lisbon 2,760 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Sandanski
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

Sandanski vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sandanski and Lisbon differ by about 114% in total monthly costs ($1,031 vs $2,202 including rent). Sandanski is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 185% 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: $326 in Sandanski versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $507 in Sandanski 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 13% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,031 in Sandanski versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sandanski but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sandanski 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, Sandanski 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 Sandanski gentler on the wallet – expenses run 114% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.