Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tarragona and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Tarragona: $1,762 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Tarragona
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Tarragona Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Tarragona

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,762

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,762 in Tarragona versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Tarragona $1,762
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,618 in Tarragona versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Tarragona $2,618
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,474 in Tarragona versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Tarragona $3,474
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Tarragona costs roughly 21% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Tarragona 30% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.87 €15.89

$16.50 €14.67

8.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.3

$61.3 €54.5

-0.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.90 €7.91

$11.27 €10.03

-21.03%

Cappuccino

$2.43 €2.16

$3.06 €2.72

-20.59%

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

$2.51 €2.24

$2.26 €2.01

11.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.73 €1.54

13.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.34 €2.97

$3.39 €3.02

-1.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 €3.38

$3.40 €3.02

11.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.12 €1.00

11.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.70

$1.86 €1.65

2.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 €1.23

$1.53 €1.36

-9.15%

Eggs

$3.46 €3.08

$3.96 €3.53

-12.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.08 €11.64

$12.76 €11.35

2.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.39 €9.24

$7.90 €7.02

31.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.67 €13.05

$16.97 €15.09

-13.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$2.27 €2.02

23.35%

Banana (1kg)

$2.46 €2.19

$1.75 €1.55

40.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.89 €2.57

$1.85 €1.64

56.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.66 €2.37

$2.57 €2.28

3.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 €1.39

$1.86 €1.65

-15.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.93 €1.72

$2.02 €1.80

-4.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 €1.31

$1.44 €1.28

2.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 €0.56

$0.82 €0.73

-23.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.59 €5.86

$6.56 €5.83

0.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.07 €4.51

$5.62 €5.00

-9.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.00 €1.78

$1.28 €1.14

56.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 €1.57

$2.07 €1.84

-14.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.62 €1.44

$2.35 €2.09

-31.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.10 €24.11

$44.18 €39.30

-38.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.02 €3.57

$3.99 €3.55

0.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.52 €1.35

$1.09 €0.97

39.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.12 €19.68

$16.64 €14.81

32.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.71 €1.52

$2.28 €2.03

-25.00%

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

$35.0K €31.1K

$33.7K €30.0K

3.89%

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

$29.8K €26.5K

$39.3K €35.0K

-24.12%

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

$129 €115

$167 €149

-22.70%

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

$23.52 €20.92

$18.80 €16.72

25.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.30 €30.51

$33.09 €29.43

3.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.7 €54.0

$46.01 €40.93

31.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.72 €21.10

$19.19 €17.07

23.61%

Cinema Ticket

$8.87 €7.89

$9.84 €8.75

-9.86%

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

$320 €285

$677 €602

-52.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 €94.4

$101 €90.1

4.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.44 €29.75

$45.76 €40.70

-26.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.6 €72.5

$100.0 €88.9

-18.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.0 €80.9

$123 €109

-25.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$891 €793

$1,614 €1,436

-44.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$784 €697

$1,197 €1,065

-34.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,244 €1,106

$2,862 €2,545

-56.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 €1,068

$1,990 €1,770

-39.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,642 €2,350

$7,577 €6,740

-65.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,275 €1,134

$4,307 €3,831

-70.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,040 €1,815

$1,588 €1,412

28.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.02

3.85

-21.56%

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

Last update for Tarragona: 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

Tarragona

$784 44.5%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 52.7% $413

Groceries & Markets

Tarragona

$286 16.2%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 5.6% $16

Eating Out

Tarragona

$241 13.7%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 0.5% $1.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tarragona

$187 10.6%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 17.1% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Tarragona

$140 8%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 18.5% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Tarragona

$78 4.5%

Lisbon

$66 3% 16.2% $13

Getting Around

Tarragona

$45 2.6%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 39.4% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $891 in Tarragona and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tarragona pays 29% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $61.0 in Tarragona vs $61.0 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $286 vs $269, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Tarragona

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

18:40 6:40 PM

17:40 5:40 PM

1 h behind Tarragona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

138,262

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Tarragona Lisbon 930 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Tarragona
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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

Tarragona vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tarragona and Lisbon differ by about 26% in total monthly costs ($1,762 vs $2,223 including rent). Tarragona is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 29% higher in Tarragona, 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: $891 in Tarragona versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $320 in Tarragona 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 6% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,762 in Tarragona versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tarragona but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Tarragona 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, Tarragona 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 Tarragona gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.