City comparison
Cost of living in Warsaw vs Lisbon
One person needs about €1,422 a month in Warsaw and €1,874 in Lisbon, rent included — Warsaw is 32% 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 Warsaw on €3,000, you need
€3,954/ month net
32% more than today (+€954)
- Warsaw today
- Basket €1,422 · left over €1,578 (53%)
- Lisbon at the matched salary
- Basket €1,874 · left over €2,080 (53%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 128% over in Lisbon (tight) vs 218% in Warsaw. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇵🇱 Warsaw
The best pay-to-cost ratio in the EU for engineers right now.
Monthly budget: €1,422
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 Warsaw or Lisbon?
On salary, Warsaw pays more for tech roles (€3,100 versus €2,400 a month), so the money left over after costs is €1,678 in Warsaw at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €900 in Warsaw against €1,300 in Lisbon. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Warsaw at 80 and Lisbon at 83 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.