City comparison
Cost of living in Amsterdam vs Lisbon
One person needs about €2,767 a month in Amsterdam and €1,874 in Lisbon, rent included — Lisbon is 32% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Lisbon the way you live in Amsterdam on €3,000, you need
€2,032/ month net
32% less than today (-€968)
- Amsterdam today
- Basket €2,767 · left over €233 (8%)
- Lisbon at the matched salary
- Basket €1,874 · left over €158 (8%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 128% over in Lisbon (tight) vs 181% in Amsterdam. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇳🇱 Amsterdam
High pay and a 30% ruling for expats, wiped out by one of Europe's tightest housing markets.
Monthly budget: €2,767
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
🇵🇹 Lisbon
Visa-friendly and well connected, but local salaries lag far behind expat-driven rents.
Monthly budget: €1,874
Sources: Statistics Portugal (INE) + Eurostat, HICP & house-rent statistics (2025) · 331 community reports
Should you move to Amsterdam or Lisbon?
On salary, Amsterdam pays more for tech roles (€5,000 versus €2,400 a month), so the money left over after costs is €2,233 in Amsterdam at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €1,900 in Amsterdam against €1,300 in Lisbon. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Amsterdam at 70 and Lisbon at 83 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.