Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zalau and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Zalau: $871 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Zalau
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Zalau Living Index
106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Zalau

🇷🇴 Romania

$871

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $871 in Zalau versus $2,206 in Lisbon.

Zalau $871
Lisbon $2,206

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,330 in Zalau versus $3,276 in Lisbon.

Zalau $1,330
Lisbon $3,276

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,789 in Zalau versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Zalau $1,789
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Zalau costs roughly 61% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Zalau is 36% below, Lisbon is 63% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.46 RON 35.64

$16.86 €15.08

-55.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.98 RON 162

$61.0 €54.6

-44.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.33 RON 25.45

$10.98 €9.82

-51.46%

Cappuccino

$2.12 RON 10.14

$3.05 €2.73

-30.49%

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

$1.52 RON 7.25

$2.28 €2.04

-33.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 RON 5.85

$1.68 €1.50

-27.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.65 RON 7.90

$3.44 €3.07

-52.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 RON 11.27

$3.91 €3.49

-39.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 RON 6.36

$1.15 €1.03

15.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 RON 5.27

$1.89 €1.69

-41.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.86

$1.50 €1.34

-18.00%

Eggs

$1.97 RON 9.43

$4.12 €3.68

-52.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.05 RON 38.45

$13.01 €11.63

-38.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.58 RON 26.65

$8.04 €7.19

-30.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.27 RON 49.06

$17.89 €16.00

-42.59%

Apples (1kg)

$0.87 RON 4.15

$2.27 €2.03

-61.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 RON 6.04

$1.74 €1.56

-27.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.44 RON 6.90

$1.82 €1.63

-20.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.81 RON 8.66

$2.69 €2.40

-32.71%

Potato (1kg)

$0.66 RON 3.14

$1.77 €1.58

-62.71%

Onion (1kg)

$0.54 RON 2.60

$1.94 €1.73

-72.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.61 RON 2.93

$1.46 €1.31

-58.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 RON 3.38

$0.76 €0.68

-6.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.07 RON 24.21

$6.66 €5.95

-23.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.27 RON 25.20

$5.64 €5.04

-6.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 RON 4.90

$1.29 €1.15

-20.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.14 RON 5.43

$2.14 €1.91

-46.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 RON 4.14

$2.30 €2.06

-62.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.03 RON 105

$44.02 €39.36

-49.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.23 RON 5.87

$3.98 €3.56

-69.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.22 RON 5.84

$0.64 €0.57

90.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.42 RON 59.3

$18.93 €16.92

-34.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 RON 7.28

$2.28 €2.03

-33.33%

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

$28.5K RON 136.1K

$33.4K €29.8K

-14.64%

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

$25.4K RON 121.5K

$38.5K €34.4K

-33.96%

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

$102 RON 487

$158 €141

-35.51%

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

$4.14 RON 19.76

$17.54 €15.68

-76.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$6.31 RON 30.13

$31.18 €27.89

-79.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.74 RON 156

$44.64 €39.92

-26.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.10 RON 96.1

$18.98 €16.97

5.90%

Cinema Ticket

$5.35 RON 25.55

$9.58 €8.56

-44.15%

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

$433 RON 2,067

$674 €602

-35.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,275 RON 39.5K

$18.7K €16.7K

-55.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.6 RON 246

$102 €91.4

-49.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.85 RON 143

$45.90 €41.04

-34.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$57.6 RON 275

$102 €91.4

-43.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$63.2 RON 302

$122 €109

-48.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$381 RON 1,818

$1,641 €1,467

-76.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$287 RON 1,372

$1,187 €1,062

-75.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$614 RON 2,932

$2,825 €2,526

-78.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$457 RON 2,184

$2,018 €1,805

-77.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,910 RON 9,125

$7,836 €7,007

-75.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,369 RON 6,542

$4,701 €4,204

-70.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$615 RON 2,937

$1,687 €1,508

-63.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.85

3.82

79.32%

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

Last update for Zalau: November 3, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Zalau

$287 33%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 314% $900

Groceries & Markets

Zalau

$179 20.5%

Lisbon

$275 12.5% 53.6% $96

Eating Out

Zalau

$125 14.4%

Lisbon

$245 11.1% 96.1% $120

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zalau

$112 12.9%

Lisbon

$207 9.4% 84% $94

Clothing & Footwear

Zalau

$91 10.5%

Lisbon

$168 7.6% 84.1% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Zalau

$43 5%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 46.9% $20

Getting Around

Zalau

$33 3.8%

Lisbon

$60 2.7% 84% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $381 in Zalau and $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $34 in Zalau vs $61 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $179 vs $275 per month, with Zalau cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Zalau

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

14:57 2:57 PM

12:57 12:57 PM

2 h behind Zalau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

56,202

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.894 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Zalau Lisbon 2,760 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Zalau
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

Zalau vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $871 in Zalau and $2,206 in Lisbon, so Zalau is about 61% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 64% lower in Zalau. 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: $381 in Zalau versus $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $433 in Zalau versus $674 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 54% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $871 in Zalau versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Zalau but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Zalau 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, Zalau and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Zalau gentler on the wallet – expenses run 61% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.