Cost of living comparison

compared to

Lisbon vs. Bucharest Cost of Living Summary

Lisbon is 36.0% more expensive than Bucharest.

Restaurants
pay 7.6% more in Lisbon
Groceries
pay 24.6% more in Lisbon
Transportation
pay 63.7% more in Lisbon
Housing
pay 2.4 times more in Lisbon
Childcare
pay 4.2% more in Lisbon
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.5% less in Lisbon
Clothing
pay 12.6% more in Lisbon

The cost of housing, transportation, groceries, clothing, restaurants, and childcare in Lisbon are more expensive than in Bucharest. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Lisbon.

Lisbon vs. Bucharest Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lisbon instead of Bucharest, you would:

pay 7.6% more for restaurants

 
Bucharest
Lisbon
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $13.80
RON60.61
$16.35
€14.10
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.05
RON35.35
$10.51
€9.06
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.27
RON9.99
$2.43
€2.10

Improve prices ·

pay 24.6% more for groceries

 
Bucharest
Lisbon
Bread
1 loaf
$1.44
RON6.34
$1.80
€1.55
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.98
RON21.89
$6.60
€5.69
Milk (1 gallon) $6.67
RON29.29
$4.37
€3.77

Improve prices ·

pay 63.7% more for transportation

 
Bucharest
Lisbon
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.36
RON27.92
$7.84
€6.76
Monthly public transit pass $23.00
RON101.01
$46.72
€40.29
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $28,745.54
RON126,267.68
$35,922.69
€30,977.10

Improve prices ·

pay 2.4 times more for housing

 
Bucharest
Lisbon
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$11.39
RON50.03
$39.69
€34.22
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $647.24
RON2,843.08
$1,643.37
€1,417.12
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $432.85
RON1,901.35
$1,233.04
€1,063.29

Improve prices ·

pay 4.2% more for childcare

 
Bucharest
Lisbon
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $664.86
RON2,920.48
$628.37
€541.86
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $14,582.52
RON64,055.17
$16,617.31
€14,329.55

Improve prices ·

pay 2.5% less for entertainment and sports

 
Bucharest
Lisbon
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.45
RON15.15
$3.50
€3.02
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.28
RON14.42
$2.76
€2.38
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.67
RON29.29
$6.83
€5.89

Improve prices ·

pay 12.6% more for clothing

 
Bucharest
Lisbon
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$80.54
RON353.78
$111.27
€95.95
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$45.47
RON199.75
$42.18
€36.37
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$93.98
RON412.80
$97.12
€83.75

Improve prices ·
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Romania vs. Portugal. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Romania and Portugal.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Lisbon or Bucharest. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.