Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stara Zagora and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Stara Zagora: $869 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Stara Zagora
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Stara Zagora Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

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Stara Zagora

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$869

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $869 in Stara Zagora versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Stara Zagora $869
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,382 in Stara Zagora versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Stara Zagora $1,382
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Stara Zagora versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Stara Zagora $1,896
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Stara Zagora costs roughly 61% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Stara Zagora is 36% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.29 BGN 17.91

$16.50 €14.67

-37.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$51.8 BGN 90.1

$61.3 €54.5

-15.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.97 BGN 15.61

$11.27 €10.03

-20.41%

Cappuccino

$2.30 BGN 4.01

$3.06 €2.72

-24.84%

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

$1.56 BGN 2.72

$2.26 €2.01

-30.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 BGN 1.50

$1.73 €1.54

-50.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.19 BGN 3.82

$3.39 €3.02

-35.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 BGN 3.36

$3.40 €3.02

-43.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 BGN 2.97

$1.12 €1.00

52.68%

White Bread (500g)

$0.81 BGN 1.42

$1.86 €1.65

-56.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 BGN 2.63

$1.53 €1.36

-1.31%

Eggs

$2.25 BGN 3.92

$3.96 €3.53

-43.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.04 BGN 15.72

$12.76 €11.35

-29.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.35 BGN 11.05

$7.90 €7.02

-19.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.15 BGN 14.19

$16.97 €15.09

-51.97%

Apples (1kg)

$1.27 BGN 2.21

$2.27 €2.02

-44.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 BGN 2.85

$1.75 €1.55

-6.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.70 BGN 2.96

$1.85 €1.64

-8.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.87 BGN 3.25

$2.57 €2.28

-27.24%

Potato (1kg)

$0.93 BGN 1.61

$1.86 €1.65

-50.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.76 BGN 1.32

$2.02 €1.80

-62.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.55 BGN 0.95

$1.44 €1.28

-61.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 BGN 1.08

$0.82 €0.73

-24.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.75 BGN 6.53

$6.56 €5.83

-42.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.17 BGN 9.00

$5.62 €5.00

-8.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 BGN 1.91

$1.28 €1.14

-14.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$2.07 €1.84

-15.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 BGN 1.47

$2.35 €2.09

-63.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.24 BGN 31.73

$44.18 €39.30

-58.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 BGN 2.23

$3.99 €3.55

-67.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 BGN 1.13

$1.09 €0.97

-40.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.19 BGN 19.48

$16.64 €14.81

-32.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 BGN 2.87

$2.28 €2.03

-27.63%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$33.7K €30.0K

-11.10%

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

$22.0K BGN 38.2K

$39.3K €35.0K

-44.06%

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

$93.8 BGN 163

$167 €149

-44.01%

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

$14.89 BGN 25.91

$18.80 €16.72

-20.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.17 BGN 21.18

$33.09 €29.43

-63.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.16 BGN 47.26

$46.01 €40.93

-40.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.15 BGN 36.80

$19.19 €17.07

10.21%

Cinema Ticket

$8.94 BGN 15.55

$9.84 €8.75

-9.15%

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

$228 BGN 396

$677 €602

-66.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,259 BGN 3,930

$16.9K €15.1K

-86.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$30.12 BGN 52.4

$101 €90.1

-70.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.54 BGN 34.01

$45.76 €40.70

-57.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$65.3 BGN 114

$100.0 €88.9

-34.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$50.7 BGN 88.2

$123 €109

-58.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$288 BGN 501

$1,614 €1,436

-82.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$252 BGN 438

$1,197 €1,065

-78.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$494 BGN 860

$2,862 €2,545

-82.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$402 BGN 699

$1,990 €1,770

-79.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,431 BGN 2,491

$7,577 €6,740

-81.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,038 BGN 1,805

$4,307 €3,831

-75.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,080 BGN 1,880

$1,588 €1,412

-31.96%

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 Stara Zagora: October 12, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Stara Zagora

$252 29%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 375% $945

Groceries & Markets

Stara Zagora

$189 21.8%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 42.4% $80

Eating Out

Stara Zagora

$161 18.6%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 50.1% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stara Zagora

$121 13.9%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 81.6% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Stara Zagora

$75 8.6%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 123% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Stara Zagora

$45 5.2%

Lisbon

$66 3% 45.8% $21

Getting Around

Stara Zagora

$26 3%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 141% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $288 in Stara Zagora and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 47% 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: $52.0 in Stara Zagora vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $189 vs $269 per month, with Stara Zagora cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Stara Zagora

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

04:44 4:44 AM

02:44 2:44 AM

2 h behind Stara Zagora

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,266

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 18, 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Stara Zagora Lisbon 2,940 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Stara Zagora
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

Stara Zagora vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Stara Zagora and Lisbon differ by about 156% in total monthly costs ($869 vs $2,223 including rent). Stara Zagora is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 47% 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: $288 in Stara Zagora versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $228 in Stara Zagora versus $677 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $869 in Stara Zagora versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Stara Zagora but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Stara Zagora 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, Stara Zagora 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 Stara Zagora gentler on the wallet – expenses run 156% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.