Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tartu and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Tartu: $1,661 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

80

Cost of Living Index in Tartu
Learn more

Tartu Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

Jump to prices

Tartu

🇪🇪 Estonia

$1,661

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,661 in Tartu versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

Tartu $1,661
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,514 in Tartu versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

Tartu $2,514
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,367 in Tartu versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Tartu $3,367
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Tartu costs roughly 25% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Tartu 23% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.14 €15.24

$17.04 €15.15

0.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.1 €62.4

$62.3 €55.4

12.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.17 €9.93

$11.02 €9.80

1.36%

Cappuccino

$4.10 €3.65

$3.12 €2.78

31.41%

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

$3.29 €2.93

$2.27 €2.02

44.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 €3.29

$1.74 €1.55

112.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.63 €5.90

$3.42 €3.04

93.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.33 €6.52

$3.74 €3.33

95.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.20 €1.07

$1.17 €1.04

2.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 €1.74

$1.86 €1.66

5.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.41 €2.14

$1.54 €1.37

56.49%

Eggs

$3.02 €2.68

$4.06 €3.61

-25.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.92 €11.50

$12.91 €11.49

0.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.74 €7.77

$7.90 €7.03

10.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.66 €13.04

$17.64 €15.69

-16.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.04 €1.82

$2.26 €2.01

-9.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 €1.33

$1.75 €1.55

-14.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.43 €2.17

$1.89 €1.68

28.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.95 €2.63

$2.56 €2.27

15.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.05 €0.93

$1.85 €1.64

-43.24%

Onion (1kg)

$0.86 €0.76

$1.97 €1.75

-56.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.45 €1.29

30.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 €1.10

$0.77 €0.69

59.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.83 €6.08

$6.71 €5.97

1.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.19 €9.07

$5.67 €5.04

79.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.06 €1.84

$1.37 €1.22

50.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 €2.16

$2.11 €1.88

15.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.66 €1.48

$2.32 €2.07

-28.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.69 €27.30

$44.43 €39.52

-30.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.62 €3.22

$3.95 €3.51

-8.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 €0.92

$1.05 €0.93

-1.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.05 €24.06

$17.15 €15.26

57.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 €1.79

$2.19 €1.95

-7.76%

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

$27.9K €24.8K

$33.8K €30.0K

-17.44%

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

$30.1K €26.7K

$38.3K €34.0K

-21.46%

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

$311 €276

$164 €146

89.70%

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

$17.55 €15.61

$18.48 €16.43

-5.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.95 €31.98

$32.96 €29.32

9.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.75 €35.36

$45.87 €40.80

-13.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.29 €30.50

$18.68 €16.61

83.57%

Cinema Ticket

$11.79 €10.48

$9.75 €8.67

20.92%

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

$436 €388

$684 €608

-36.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K €10.4K

$17.6K €15.7K

-33.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$112 €99.4

$104 €92.3

7.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.54 €44.06

$46.20 €41.09

7.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 €95.3

$99.7 €88.7

7.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 €105

$125 €111

-5.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$619 €551

$1,589 €1,414

-61.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$432 €384

$1,169 €1,040

-63.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,171 €1,042

$2,851 €2,536

-58.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$750 €667

$1,993 €1,773

-62.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,474 €3,090

$7,793 €6,932

-55.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,597 €2,310

$4,418 €3,930

-41.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,960 €1,743

$1,600 €1,423

22.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.93

3.85

2.08%

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

Last update for Tartu: 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

Tartu

$432 26%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 171% $737

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tartu

$364 21.9%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 40.9% $149

Eating Out

Tartu

$296 17.8%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 16.3% $48

Groceries & Markets

Tartu

$286 17.2%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 4.6% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Tartu

$174 10.5%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 3% $5.2

Sport & Entertainment

Tartu

$63 3.8%

Lisbon

$65 3% 3.2% $2.1

Getting Around

Tartu

$46 2.8%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 36.5% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $619 in Tartu and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tartu pays 22% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $70.0 in Tartu vs $62.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $286 vs $273 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇪 Tartu

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

14:42 2:42 PM

12:42 12:42 PM

2 h behind Tartu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

102,414

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

Tartu Lisbon 3,360 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Tartu
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

Tartu vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tartu and Lisbon differ by about 33% in total monthly costs ($1,661 vs $2,202 including rent). Tartu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 22% higher in Tartu, 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: $619 in Tartu versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $436 in Tartu versus $684 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 5% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,661 in Tartu versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Tartu but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Tartu 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, Tartu 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 Tartu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.