City comparison
Cost of living in Berlin vs Lisbon
One person needs about €2,258 a month in Berlin and €1,874 in Lisbon, rent included — Lisbon is 17% cheaper overall.
🇩🇪 Berlin
Highest tech salaries on this list, offset by heating bills and a brutal rental market.
Monthly budget: €2,258
Sources: Destatis + Eurostat, HICP & Mietspiegel (2025) · 377 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 Berlin or Lisbon?
On salary, Berlin pays more for tech roles (€4,600 versus €2,400 a month), so the money left over after costs is €2,342 in Berlin at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €1,500 in Berlin against €1,300 in Lisbon. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Berlin at 76 and Lisbon at 83 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.