Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sunny Beach and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Sunny Beach: $1,038 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Sunny Beach
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Sunny Beach Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Sunny Beach

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,038

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,038 in Sunny Beach versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Sunny Beach $1,038
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,578 in Sunny Beach versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Sunny Beach $1,578
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,117 in Sunny Beach versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Sunny Beach $2,117
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Sunny Beach 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: Sunny Beach is 23% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.39 BGN 14.59

$16.50 €14.67

-49.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.87 BGN 78.1

$61.3 €54.5

-26.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.63 BGN 16.75

$11.27 €10.03

-14.55%

Cappuccino

$2.86 BGN 4.98

$3.06 €2.72

-6.54%

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

$1.74 BGN 3.02

$2.26 €2.01

-23.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 BGN 2.71

$1.73 €1.54

-9.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.31 BGN 4.03

$3.39 €3.02

-31.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 BGN 3.02

$3.40 €3.02

-49.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.76 BGN 3.06

$1.12 €1.00

57.14%

White Bread (500g)

$0.75 BGN 1.30

$1.86 €1.65

-59.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.18 BGN 3.79

$1.53 €1.36

42.48%

Eggs

$3.69 BGN 6.42

$3.96 €3.53

-6.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.40 BGN 14.61

$12.76 €11.35

-34.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.56 BGN 14.90

$7.90 €7.02

8.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.28 BGN 24.85

$16.97 €15.09

-15.85%

Apples (1kg)

$1.70 BGN 2.95

$2.27 €2.02

-25.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.77 BGN 3.08

$1.75 €1.55

1.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 BGN 3.32

$1.85 €1.64

3.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.63 BGN 4.57

$2.57 €2.28

2.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 BGN 1.87

$1.86 €1.65

-42.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.05 BGN 1.83

$2.02 €1.80

-48.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 BGN 2.02

$1.44 €1.28

-19.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 BGN 1.24

$0.82 €0.73

-13.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.10 BGN 7.13

$6.56 €5.83

-37.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.27 BGN 10.92

$5.62 €5.00

11.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 BGN 1.96

$1.28 €1.14

-11.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 BGN 3.58

$2.07 €1.84

-0.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.13 BGN 1.97

$2.35 €2.09

-51.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 BGN 2.21

$3.99 €3.55

-68.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 BGN 1.12

$1.09 €0.97

-40.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.32 BGN 17.96

$16.64 €14.81

-37.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 BGN 2.75

$2.28 €2.03

-30.70%

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

$29.6K BGN 51.5K

$33.7K €30.0K

-12.18%

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

$24.4K BGN 42.5K

$39.3K €35.0K

-37.86%

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

$114 BGN 199

$167 €149

-31.80%

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

$18.46 BGN 32.12

$18.80 €16.72

-1.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.66 BGN 27.25

$33.09 €29.43

-52.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$8.90 BGN 15.48

$9.84 €8.75

-9.55%

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

$519 BGN 902

$677 €602

-23.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,550 BGN 9,658

$16.9K €15.1K

-67.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.86 BGN 58.9

$101 €90.1

-66.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.32 BGN 71.9

$45.76 €40.70

-9.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.8 BGN 167

$100.0 €88.9

-4.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 BGN 180

$123 €109

-15.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$565 BGN 984

$1,614 €1,436

-64.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$341 BGN 593

$1,197 €1,065

-71.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$679 BGN 1,181

$2,862 €2,545

-76.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$513 BGN 893

$1,990 €1,770

-74.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,328 BGN 2,310

$7,577 €6,740

-82.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,135 BGN 1,976

$4,307 €3,831

-73.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$920 BGN 1,601

$1,588 €1,412

-42.03%

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 Sunny Beach: 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

Sunny Beach

$341 32.9%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 251% $856

Groceries & Markets

Sunny Beach

$240 23.1%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 12.2% $29

Eating Out

Sunny Beach

$159 15.3%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 52.8% $84

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sunny Beach

$148 14.3%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 47.9% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Sunny Beach

$123 11.9%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 34.8% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Sunny Beach

$18 * 1.7%

Lisbon

$66 3% 269% $48

Getting Around

Sunny Beach

$9 * 0.9%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 598% $54

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 $565 in Sunny Beach and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 73% 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 Sunny Beach vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $240 vs $269 per month, with Sunny Beach cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sunny Beach

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

17:04 5:04 PM

15:04 3:04 PM

2 h behind Sunny Beach

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,347

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 19, 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 19, 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

Sunny Beach Lisbon 3,110 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Sunny Beach
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

Sunny Beach vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sunny Beach and Lisbon differ by about 114% in total monthly costs ($1,038 vs $2,223 including rent). Sunny Beach is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 73% 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: $565 in Sunny Beach versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 12% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,038 per month in Sunny Beach versus $2,223 in Lisbon – a 114% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,038 in Sunny Beach versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sunny Beach but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sunny Beach 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, Sunny Beach 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 Sunny Beach 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.