Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Siena and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Siena: $1,836 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

90

Cost of Living Index in Siena
Learn more

Siena Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

Jump to prices

Siena

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,836

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,836 in Siena versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Siena $1,836
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,784 in Siena versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Siena $2,784
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,733 in Siena versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Siena $3,733
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Siena costs roughly 17% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Siena 36% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.36 €13.66

$16.50 €14.67

-6.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.9 €80.9

$61.3 €54.5

48.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.54 €12.05

$11.27 €10.03

20.14%

Cappuccino

$1.89 €1.68

$3.06 €2.72

-38.24%

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

$2.96 €2.63

$2.26 €2.01

30.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.73 €1.54

-18.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.19 €5.51

$3.39 €3.02

82.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.59 €4.98

$3.40 €3.02

64.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.12 €1.00

29.46%

White Bread (500g)

$2.24 €2.00

$1.86 €1.65

20.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 €1.46

$1.53 €1.36

7.19%

Eggs

$4.03 €3.58

$3.96 €3.53

1.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.54 €12.04

$12.76 €11.35

6.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.93 €10.61

$7.90 €7.02

51.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.56 €19.18

$16.97 €15.09

27.05%

Apples (1kg)

$2.57 €2.29

$2.27 €2.02

13.22%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.75 €1.55

22.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.13 €2.79

$1.85 €1.64

69.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.16 €2.81

$2.57 €2.28

22.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.86 €1.65

-2.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.57 €1.40

$2.02 €1.80

-22.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.44 €1.28

-4.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 €0.46

$0.82 €0.73

-36.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.93

$6.56 €5.83

1.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.53 €5.81

$5.62 €5.00

16.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 €1.34

$1.28 €1.14

17.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 €2.33

$2.07 €1.84

26.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.94 €1.73

$2.35 €2.09

-17.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.73 €37.12

$44.18 €39.30

-5.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.45 €5.74

$3.99 €3.55

61.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.09 €0.97

27.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.32 €28.74

$16.64 €14.81

94.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 €1.85

$2.28 €2.03

-8.77%

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

$27.6K €24.6K

$33.7K €30.0K

-18.04%

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

$35.5K €31.6K

$39.3K €35.0K

-9.53%

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

$194 €173

$167 €149

15.99%

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

$13.47 €11.98

$18.80 €16.72

-28.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.20 €27.75

$33.09 €29.43

-5.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.4 €62.7

$46.01 €40.93

53.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$11.30 €10.05

$9.84 €8.75

14.84%

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

$576 €513

$677 €602

-14.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.7K €13.1K

$16.9K €15.1K

-13.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.0 €74.7

$101 €90.1

-17.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.04 €32.95

$45.76 €40.70

-19.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.9 €85.3

$100.0 €88.9

-4.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 €95.0

$123 €109

-13.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,138 €1,013

$1,614 €1,436

-29.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 €645

$1,197 €1,065

-39.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,720 €1,530

$2,862 €2,545

-39.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,122 €998

$1,990 €1,770

-43.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,381 €3,897

$7,577 €6,740

-42.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,930 €3,495

$4,307 €3,831

-8.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,882 €1,674

$1,588 €1,412

18.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.29

3.85

-14.55%

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

Last update for Siena: 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

Siena

$725 39.5%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 65.1% $472

Groceries & Markets

Siena

$325 17.7%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 17% $55

Eating Out

Siena

$246 13.4%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 1.5% $3.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Siena

$239 13%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 8.2% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Siena

$146 7.9%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 14.2% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Siena

$93 5.1%

Lisbon

$66 3% 29.4% $27

Getting Around

Siena

$63 3.4%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 0.2% $0.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,138 in Siena and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Siena pays 19% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $91.0 in Siena vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $269 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Siena

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

23:56 11:56 PM

22:56 10:56 PM

1 h behind Siena

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

53,903

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

Siena Lisbon 1,790 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Siena
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

Siena vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Siena and Lisbon differ by about 21% in total monthly costs ($1,836 vs $2,223 including rent). Siena is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 19% higher in Siena, 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: $1,138 in Siena versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $576 in Siena 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 21% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,836 in Siena versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Siena but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Siena 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, Siena 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 Siena gentler on the wallet – expenses run 21% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.