City comparison
Cost of living in Sofia vs Lisbon
One person needs about €1,050 a month in Sofia and €1,874 in Lisbon, rent included — Sofia is 78% 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 Sofia on €3,000, you need
€5,354/ month net
78% more than today (+€2,354)
- Sofia today
- Basket €1,050 · left over €1,950 (65%)
- Lisbon at the matched salary
- Basket €1,874 · left over €3,480 (65%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 128% over in Lisbon (tight) vs 210% in Sofia. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇧🇬 Sofia
Flat 10% income tax, mountains at the tram terminus, and very low fixed costs.
Monthly budget: €1,050
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 Sofia or Lisbon?
On salary, Lisbon pays more for tech roles (€2,400 versus €2,200 a month), so the money left over after costs is €1,150 in Sofia at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €600 in Sofia against €1,300 in Lisbon. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Sofia at 76 and Lisbon at 83 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.