City comparison
Cost of living in Dublin vs Lisbon
One person needs about €3,040 a month in Dublin and €1,874 in Lisbon, rent included — Lisbon is 38% 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 Dublin on €3,000, you need
€1,849/ month net
38% less than today (-€1,151)
- Dublin today
- Basket €3,040 · left over -€40 (-1%)
- Lisbon at the matched salary
- Basket €1,874 · left over -€25 (-1%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 128% over in Lisbon (tight) vs 171% in Dublin. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇮🇪 Dublin
Big-tech salaries almost entirely absorbed by a chronic housing shortage.
Monthly budget: €3,040
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 Dublin or Lisbon?
On salary, Dublin pays more for tech roles (€5,200 versus €2,400 a month), so the money left over after costs is €2,160 in Dublin at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €2,100 in Dublin against €1,300 in Lisbon. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Dublin at 63 and Lisbon at 83 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.