Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bhisho and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Bhisho: $1,142 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Bhisho
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Bhisho Living Index
106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

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Bhisho

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,142

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bhisho and in Lisbon

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bhisho and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,142 in Bhisho versus $2,206 in Lisbon.

Bhisho $1,142
Lisbon $2,206

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,813 in Bhisho versus $3,273 in Lisbon.

Bhisho $1,813
Lisbon $3,273

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,485 in Bhisho versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Bhisho $2,485
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Bhisho costs roughly 48% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bhisho is 16% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.99 R 182

$16.86 €15.06

-34.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.60 R 707

$61.0 €54.5

-30.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 97.7

$10.98 €9.81

-46.45%

Cappuccino

$2.06 R 34.16

$3.05 €2.72

-32.46%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 R 16.92

$2.28 €2.04

-55.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 R 12.17

$1.68 €1.50

-56.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.66 R 44.09

$3.44 €3.07

-22.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 R 52.9

$3.91 €3.49

-18.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 R 18.80

$1.15 €1.03

-1.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 R 17.31

$1.89 €1.69

-44.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 R 25.00

$1.50 €1.34

0.67%

Eggs

$2.71 R 44.93

$4.12 €3.68

-34.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.81 R 146

$13.01 €11.62

-32.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.20 R 86.4

$8.04 €7.18

-35.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.53 R 142

$17.89 €15.98

-52.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.18 R 36.19

$2.27 €2.03

-3.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 R 25.40

$1.74 €1.56

-12.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.68 R 27.83

$1.82 €1.63

-7.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 R 28.75

$2.69 €2.40

-35.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.71

$1.77 €1.58

-5.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 R 23.62

$1.94 €1.73

-26.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 R 20.71

$1.46 €1.31

-14.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.32

$0.76 €0.68

28.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.30 R 54.8

$6.66 €5.95

-50.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.70 R 78.1

$5.64 €5.04

-16.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 R 20.18

$1.29 €1.15

-5.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 R 29.26

$2.14 €1.91

-17.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.78 R 29.54

$2.30 €2.06

-22.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.99 R 398

$44.02 €39.32

-45.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.83 R 13.70

$3.98 €3.56

-79.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.50 R 8.30

$0.64 €0.57

-21.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.31 R 138

$18.93 €16.90

-56.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 R 24.45

$2.28 €2.03

-35.53%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$34.4K R 571.1K

$33.4K €29.8K

3.06%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$35.4K R 587.9K

$38.5K €34.4K

-8.07%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$124 R 2,066

$158 €141

-21.35%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$34.58 R 574

$17.54 €15.67

97.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.53 R 756

$31.18 €27.85

46.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.31 R 537

$44.64 €39.88

-27.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.98 R 199

$18.98 €16.95

-36.88%

Cinema Ticket

$10.38 R 172

$9.58 €8.55

8.35%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$177 R 2,945

$674 €602

-73.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,036 R 100.2K

$18.7K €16.7K

-67.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.7 R 1,173

$102 €91.3

-30.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.97 R 647

$45.90 €41.00

-15.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 R 1,828

$102 €91.3

7.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.3 R 1,615

$122 €109

-20.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$398 R 6,602

$1,641 €1,465

-75.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$355 R 5,888

$1,187 €1,060

-70.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.9K

$2,825 €2,523

-74.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$724 R 12.0K

$2,018 €1,803

-64.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$771 R 12.8K

$7,836 €6,999

-90.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$671 R 11.1K

$4,701 €4,199

-85.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,243 R 53.8K

$1,687 €1,507

92.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.94

3.82

212.57%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Bhisho: November 1, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Bhisho

$355 31.1%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 235% $833

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bhisho

$205 17.9%

Lisbon

$207 9.4% 1.2% $2.4

Groceries & Markets

Bhisho

$196 17.1%

Lisbon

$275 12.5% 40.3% $79

Eating Out

Bhisho

$157 13.7%

Lisbon

$245 11.1% 56.4% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Bhisho

$143 12.5%

Lisbon

$168 7.6% 17.4% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Bhisho

$53 4.7%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 20.2% $11

Getting Around

Bhisho

$34 3%

Lisbon

$60 2.7% 75.5% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $389 in Bhisho and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bhisho pays about 2.1 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $42 in Bhisho vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $199 vs $272 per month, with Bhisho cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Bhisho

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

13:32 1:32 PM

11:32 11:32 AM

2 h behind Bhisho

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

137,287

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bhisho Lisbon 8,810 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Bhisho
Lisbon

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Bhisho vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bhisho wins on cost – living expenses run 48% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Bhisho the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Bhisho is about 2.1 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $389 in Bhisho versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $179 in Bhisho versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 37% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Bhisho is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Bhisho gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.