Cost of living comparison

 Bucharest, Romania
compared to
 Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon vs. Bucharest Cost of Living Summary

Lisbon is 38.5% more expensive than Bucharest.

Restaurants
pay 0.5% less in Lisbon
Groceries
pay 27.2% more in Lisbon
Transportation
pay 65.0% more in Lisbon
Housing
pay 2.6 times more in Lisbon
Childcare
pay 26.4% more in Lisbon
Entertainment and Sports
pay 6.7% less in Lisbon
Clothing
pay 0.9% more in Lisbon

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

Lisbon vs. Bucharest Cost Breakdown

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

pay 0.5% less for restaurants

 
Bucharest
Lisbon
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $11.85
RON52.79
$13.66
€12.04
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$7.54
RON33.59
$9.65
€8.50
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.00
RON8.90
$1.86
€1.64

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pay 27.2% more for groceries

 
Bucharest
Lisbon
Bread
1 loaf
$1.17
RON5.23
$1.48
€1.31
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.52
RON20.15
$5.58
€4.92
Milk (1 gallon) $6.34
RON28.25
$3.87
€3.41

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pay 65.0% more for transportation

 
Bucharest
Lisbon
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.09
RON27.14
$7.21
€6.35
Monthly public transit pass $17.24
RON76.78
$42.87
€37.78
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $26,003.12
RON115,828.28
$32,152.89
€28,334.42

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pay 2.6 times more for housing

 
Bucharest
Lisbon
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$9.35
RON41.67
$39.90
€35.16
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $601.94
RON2,681.27
$1,514.21
€1,334.38
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $397.23
RON1,769.42
$1,070.61
€943.47

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pay 26.4% more for childcare

 
Bucharest
Lisbon
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $527.95
RON2,351.70
$576.40
€507.95
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,631.65
RON47,357.62
$15,251.75
€13,440.45

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pay 6.7% less for entertainment and sports

 
Bucharest
Lisbon
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.23
RON14.40
$3.22
€2.83
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.17
RON14.11
$2.61
€2.30
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$5.98
RON26.63
$6.00
€5.29

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pay 0.9% more for clothing

 
Bucharest
Lisbon
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$78.42
RON349.29
$86.58
€76.30
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$39.68
RON176.74
$37.63
€33.16
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$85.94
RON382.83
$82.49
€72.69

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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: June 2025
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