Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zagreb and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Zagreb: $1,761 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

85

Cost of Living Index in Zagreb
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Zagreb Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Zagreb

🇭🇷 Croatia

$1,761

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,761 in Zagreb versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Zagreb $1,761
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,604 in Zagreb versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Zagreb $2,604
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,447 in Zagreb versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Zagreb $3,447
Lisbon $4,319

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.50 €11.12

$16.50 €14.67

-24.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.6 €56.6

$61.3 €54.5

3.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.33 €7.41

$11.27 €10.03

-26.09%

Cappuccino

$2.51 €2.23

$3.06 €2.72

-17.97%

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

$3.00 €2.67

$2.26 €2.01

32.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 €2.26

$1.73 €1.54

46.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.27 €2.91

$3.39 €3.02

-3.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 €3.88

$3.40 €3.02

28.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 €1.09

$1.12 €1.00

9.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.66 €1.48

$1.86 €1.65

-10.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.72 €2.42

$1.53 €1.36

77.78%

Eggs

$3.87 €3.45

$3.96 €3.53

-2.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.61 €12.99

$12.76 €11.35

14.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.95 €10.63

$7.90 €7.02

51.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.44 €15.51

$16.97 €15.09

2.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.31 €2.05

$2.27 €2.02

1.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 €1.59

$1.75 €1.55

1.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.85 €1.64

14.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.50 €2.22

$2.57 €2.28

-2.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.86 €1.65

-29.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 €1.06

$2.02 €1.80

-41.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.44 €1.28

-18.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$0.82 €0.73

67.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.78 €5.14

$6.56 €5.83

-11.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.23 €9.10

$5.62 €5.00

82.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 €1.43

$1.28 €1.14

25.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 €2.20

$2.07 €1.84

19.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 €0.51

$2.35 €2.09

-75.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.5 €47.63

$44.18 €39.30

21.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.19 €1.95

$3.99 €3.55

-45.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.09 €0.97

30.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.67 €10.38

$16.64 €14.81

-29.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.84 €1.64

$2.28 €2.03

-19.30%

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

$27.6K €24.6K

$33.7K €30.0K

-17.91%

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

$27.2K €24.2K

$39.3K €35.0K

-30.84%

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

$214 €190

$167 €149

27.73%

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

$23.36 €20.77

$18.80 €16.72

24.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.16 €36.61

$33.09 €29.43

24.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.1 €45.48

$46.01 €40.93

11.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.82 €16.74

$19.19 €17.07

-1.93%

Cinema Ticket

$9.13 €8.12

$9.84 €8.75

-7.22%

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

$501 €445

$677 €602

-26.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,878 €8,787

$16.9K €15.1K

-41.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$111 €98.3

$101 €90.1

9.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.93 €38.19

$45.76 €40.70

-6.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.0 €87.1

$100.0 €88.9

-2.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 €98.3

$123 €109

-10.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$868 €772

$1,614 €1,436

-46.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$668 €594

$1,197 €1,065

-44.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,463 €1,301

$2,862 €2,545

-48.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,039 €924

$1,990 €1,770

-47.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,031 €4,475

$7,577 €6,740

-33.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,468 €3,085

$4,307 €3,831

-19.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,937 €1,723

$1,588 €1,412

22.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.3

3.85

-14.29%

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

Last update for Zagreb: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Zagreb

$668 37.9%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 79.3% $529

Groceries & Markets

Zagreb

$315 17.9%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 14.6% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zagreb

$278 15.8%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 21.2% $59

Eating Out

Zagreb

$202 11.5%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 19.7% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Zagreb

$163 9.3%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 2.2% $3.5

Sport & Entertainment

Zagreb

$69 3.9%

Lisbon

$66 3% 5.3% $3.7

Getting Around

Zagreb

$65 3.7%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 3.2% $2.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $868 in Zagreb and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zagreb 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: $64.0 in Zagreb vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $315 vs $269 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇷 Zagreb

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

01:41 1:41 AM

00:41 12:41 AM

1 h behind Zagreb

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

767,131 Capital

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Zagreb Lisbon 2,200 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Zagreb
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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

Zagreb vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zagreb and Lisbon differ by about 26% in total monthly costs ($1,761 vs $2,223 including rent). Zagreb is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 22% higher in Zagreb, 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: $868 in Zagreb versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $501 in Zagreb 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 17% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,761 in Zagreb versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Zagreb but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Zagreb 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, Zagreb 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 Zagreb 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.