Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cambridge and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,202 a month against $3,191 in Cambridge, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

155

Cost of Living Index in Cambridge
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Cambridge Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Cambridge

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,191

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/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.

A single person spends $3,191 per month in Cambridge vs $2,202 in Lisbon, rent included.

Cambridge $3,191
Lisbon $2,202

A couple spends around $4,509 per month in Cambridge vs $3,274 in Lisbon, rent included.

Cambridge $4,509
Lisbon $3,274

A family of three spends $5,827 per month in Cambridge vs $4,346 in Lisbon, rent included.

Cambridge $5,827
Lisbon $4,346

Cambridge costs about 45% more than Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cambridge and Lisbon sit above the global median – Cambridge by 136%, Lisbon by 62%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.56 £16.17

$17.04 €15.15

26.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.5 £66.4

$62.3 €55.4

42.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.83 £8.12

$11.02 €9.80

-1.72%

Cappuccino

$4.49 £3.37

$3.12 €2.78

43.91%

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

$2.79 £2.09

$2.27 €2.02

22.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 £1.41

$1.74 €1.55

8.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.90 £5.93

$3.42 €3.04

130.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.54 £4.91

$3.74 €3.33

74.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.17 €1.04

40.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 £1.34

$1.86 €1.66

-3.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 £1.87

$1.54 €1.37

61.69%

Eggs

$4.53 £3.40

$4.06 €3.61

11.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.93 £7.45

$12.91 €11.49

-23.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.43 £7.07

$7.90 €7.03

19.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.44 £11.59

$17.64 €15.69

-12.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 £2.22

$2.26 €2.01

30.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 £1.30

$1.75 €1.55

-1.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.70 £2.77

$1.89 €1.68

95.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.39 £2.54

$2.56 €2.27

32.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.84 £1.38

$1.85 €1.64

-0.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 £1.42

$1.97 €1.75

-4.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 £0.93

$1.45 €1.29

-14.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 £1.47

$0.77 €0.69

153.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.36 £16.77

$6.71 €5.97

233.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.97 £8.23

$5.67 €5.04

93.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.27 £2.45

$1.37 €1.22

138.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.15 £3.11

$2.11 €1.88

96.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$2.32 €2.07

75.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.1 £71.3

$44.43 €39.52

114.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.76 £5.82

$3.95 €3.51

96.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.70 £2.02

$1.05 €0.93

157.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$50.9 £38.18

$17.15 €15.26

196.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$2.19 €1.95

-5.48%

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

$37.9K £28.4K

$33.8K €30.0K

12.04%

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

$41.1K £30.8K

$38.3K €34.0K

7.35%

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

$345 £258

$164 €146

110.30%

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

$18.37 £13.78

$18.48 €16.43

-0.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.78 £32.10

$32.96 €29.32

29.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$65.4 £49.09

$45.87 €40.80

42.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.63 £15.48

$18.68 €16.61

10.44%

Cinema Ticket

$17.15 £12.86

$9.75 €8.67

75.90%

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

$2,590 £1,943

$684 €608

278.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.8K £26.9K

$17.6K €15.7K

103.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.4 £67.8

$104 €92.3

-12.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.74 £35.82

$46.20 €41.09

3.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.4 £68.6

$99.7 €88.7

-8.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$127 £95.5

$125 €111

2.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,115 £1,587

$1,589 €1,414

33.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,736 £1,302

$1,169 €1,040

48.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,193 £2,396

$2,851 €2,536

12.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,694 £2,021

$1,993 €1,773

35.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,107 £6,832

$7,793 €6,932

16.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,803 £4,353

$4,418 €3,930

31.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,405 £3,305

$1,600 €1,423

175.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.04

3.85

30.91%

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

Last update for Cambridge: October 18, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cambridge

$1.7K 54.4%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 32.6% $567

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cambridge

$406 12.7%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 46.9% $190

Eating Out

Cambridge

$330 10.3%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 25% $83

Groceries & Markets

Cambridge

$327 10.2%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 16.5% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Cambridge

$161 5%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 4.9% $7.9

Getting Around

Cambridge

$133 4.2%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 52.5% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Cambridge

$100 3.1%

Lisbon

$65 3% 34.5% $34

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,115 in Cambridge versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 175% higher in Cambridge, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $88.0 in Cambridge versus $62.0 in Lisbon. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $327 vs $273 – making Lisbon the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Cambridge

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

11:48 11:48 AM

Same time as Cambridge

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

145,818

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cambridge Lisbon 1,660 km ≈ 2 h 30 min 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

Yes – Cambridge is pricier by about 45%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,787 per month in Cambridge and $3,302 in Lisbon. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Lisbon, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $88.0 in Cambridge and $62.0 in Lisbon. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,191 in Cambridge and $2,202 in Lisbon. That's a gap of about 45%.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Lisbon, where all-in costs run around $2,202, than in Cambridge at $3,191. In Lisbon it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cambridge it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Lisbon – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Lisbon. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cambridge makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.