City comparison
Cost of living in Milan vs Lisbon
One person needs about €2,149 a month in Milan and €1,874 in Lisbon, rent included — Lisbon is 13% 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 Milan on €3,000, you need
€2,616/ month net
13% less than today (-€384)
- Milan today
- Basket €2,149 · left over €851 (28%)
- Lisbon at the matched salary
- Basket €1,874 · left over €742 (28%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 128% over in Lisbon (tight) vs 149% in Milan. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇮🇹 Milan
Italy's business capital: better salaries than Rome, and rents to match.
Monthly budget: €2,149
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 Milan or Lisbon?
On salary, Milan pays more for tech roles (€3,200 versus €2,400 a month), so the money left over after costs is €1,051 in Milan at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €1,450 in Milan against €1,300 in Lisbon. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Milan at 71 and Lisbon at 83 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.