Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cambridge, Canada and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,210 a month against $2,527 in Cambridge, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Cambridge
Learn more

Cambridge Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

Jump to prices

Cambridge

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,527

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cambridge 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 Cambridge and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,527 in Cambridge versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Cambridge $2,527
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,443 in Cambridge versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Cambridge $3,443
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,359 in Cambridge versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Cambridge $4,359
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Cambridge is roughly 14% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cambridge 86% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.69 CA$24.72

$16.65 €14.85

6.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.7 CA$79.2

$61.7 €55.1

-8.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.55 CA$14.74

$11.36 €10.13

-7.13%

Cappuccino

$3.56 CA$4.97

$2.97 €2.65

19.87%

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

$1.99 CA$2.78

$2.29 €2.04

-13.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 CA$1.71

$1.74 €1.55

-29.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.19 CA$7.26

$3.40 €3.04

52.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.26 CA$8.75

$3.31 €2.95

89.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.99 CA$2.79

$1.16 €1.03

71.55%

White Bread (500g)

$2.41 CA$3.37

$1.91 €1.71

26.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.19 CA$4.47

$1.51 €1.35

111.26%

Eggs

$3.32 CA$4.64

$4.02 €3.59

-17.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.24 CA$15.71

$12.94 €11.54

-13.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.38 CA$15.90

$7.77 €6.94

46.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.43 CA$20.17

$17.76 €15.85

-18.75%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 CA$5.68

$2.30 €2.06

76.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.33 CA$1.86

$1.73 €1.55

-23.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.05 CA$5.65

$1.86 €1.66

117.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.74 CA$5.22

$2.59 €2.31

44.40%

Potato (1kg)

$2.76 CA$3.85

$1.82 €1.62

51.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 CA$2.71

$1.97 €1.76

-1.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.00 CA$2.80

$1.47 €1.31

36.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 CA$1.81

$0.72 €0.65

79.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.93 CA$18.08

$6.58 €5.87

96.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.40 CA$17.34

$5.61 €5.00

121.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.63 CA$3.67

$1.36 €1.22

93.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.04 CA$5.64

$2.14 €1.91

88.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.80 CA$3.92

$2.33 €2.08

20.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$69.4 CA$97.1

$44.68 €39.86

55.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.56 CA$3.58

$3.85 €3.43

-33.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.80 CA$2.51

$1.07 €0.95

68.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.32 CA$32.60

$16.46 €14.69

41.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 CA$1.71

$2.20 €1.96

-44.55%

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

$26.5K CA$37.0K

$34.2K €30.5K

-22.49%

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

$20.7K CA$28.9K

$38.7K €34.5K

-46.59%

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

$152 CA$213

$161 €144

-5.50%

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

$42.51 CA$59.4

$18.41 €16.43

130.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.5 CA$70.6

$32.74 €29.21

54.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.64 CA$40.03

$44.55 €39.74

-35.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.04

Cinema Ticket

$10.74 CA$15.01

$9.60 €8.56

11.88%

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

$497 CA$695

$668 €596

-25.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.8K CA$22.1K

$17.6K €15.7K

-10.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.5 CA$88.7

$102 €91.0

-37.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.07 CA$46.22

$44.46 €39.67

-25.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.3 CA$115

$98.5 €87.9

-16.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 CA$148

$124 €110

-14.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,529 CA$2,137

$1,608 €1,435

-4.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,395 CA$1,949

$1,190 €1,062

17.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,057 CA$2,876

$2,812 €2,509

-26.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,870 CA$2,614

$2,013 €1,796

-7.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,450 CA$6,220

$7,839 €6,994

-43.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,682 CA$5,147

$4,576 €4,082

-19.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,028 CA$4,232

$1,575 €1,405

92.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.22

3.85

35.58%

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

Last update for Cambridge: October 26, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cambridge

$1.4K 55.2%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 14.7% $205

Groceries & Markets

Cambridge

$349 13.8%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 21.9% $77

Eating Out

Cambridge

$267 10.6%

Lisbon

$243 11% 9.2% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cambridge

$245 9.7%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 13.5% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Cambridge

$128 5.1%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 29.6% $38

Getting Around

Cambridge

$92 3.7%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 31.5% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Cambridge

$50 2%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 27.2% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,529 in Cambridge and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cambridge pays 92% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $57 in Cambridge vs $62 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $349 vs $272, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Cambridge

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

15:36 3:36 PM

20:36 8:36 PM

5 h ahead of Cambridge

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

138,479

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.715 USD

1 CAD = 0.638 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.715 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.638 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cambridge Lisbon 5,810 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cambridge
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

Cambridge vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon is about 13% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, utilities, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 92% higher in Cambridge, 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: $1,529 in Cambridge versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 28% higher in Cambridge. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cambridge – a meal for two runs $57 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Lisbon gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Lisbon wins on affordability, Cambridge on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.