City comparison
Cost of living in Lisbon vs Málaga
One person needs about €1,874 a month in Lisbon and €1,380 in Málaga, rent included — Málaga is 26% 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 Málaga the way you live in Lisbon on €3,000, you need
€2,209/ month net
26% less than today (-€791)
- Lisbon today
- Basket €1,874 · left over €1,126 (38%)
- Málaga at the matched salary
- Basket €1,380 · left over €829 (38%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 152% over in Málaga (adequate) vs 128% in Lisbon. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇵🇹 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
🇪🇸 Málaga
The current favourite of remote workers: 300 sunny days, fast fibre, and Barcelona living for 40% less.
Monthly budget: €1,380
Sources: INE Spain + Eurostat, HICP & provincial rent index (2025) · 286 community reports
Should you move to Lisbon or Málaga?
On salary, Lisbon pays more for tech roles (€2,400 versus €2,100 a month), so the money left over after costs is €720 in Málaga at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €1,300 in Lisbon against €850 in Málaga. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Lisbon at 83 and Málaga at 88 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.