Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cardiff and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,223 a month against $2,454 in Cardiff, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

119

Cost of Living Index in Cardiff
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Cardiff Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Cardiff

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,454

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,454 in Cardiff versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Cardiff $2,454
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,414 in Cardiff versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Cardiff $3,414
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,373 in Cardiff versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Cardiff $4,373
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Cardiff is roughly 10% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cardiff 82% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.04 £15.04

$16.50 €14.67

21.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.4 £62.6

$61.3 €54.5

36.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.74 £8.06

$11.27 €10.03

-4.70%

Cappuccino

$4.45 £3.34

$3.06 €2.72

45.42%

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

$2.92 £2.19

$2.26 €2.01

29.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 £1.50

$1.73 €1.54

15.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.80 £5.85

$3.39 €3.02

130.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.32 £4.74

$3.40 €3.02

85.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.12 €1.00

53.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.86 €1.65

-23.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.15 £1.61

$1.53 €1.36

40.52%

Eggs

$3.62 £2.72

$3.96 €3.53

-8.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.47 £7.11

$12.76 €11.35

-25.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.85 £6.64

$7.90 €7.02

12.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.18 £12.14

$16.97 €15.09

-4.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 £2.10

$2.27 €2.02

23.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.75 €1.55

-11.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 £2.28

$1.85 €1.64

63.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.51 £2.63

$2.57 €2.28

36.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 £1.50

$1.86 €1.65

6.99%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 £1.15

$2.02 €1.80

-23.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 £0.82

$1.44 €1.28

-24.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 £1.23

$0.82 €0.73

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.08 £17.31

$6.56 €5.83

251.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.07 £8.31

$5.62 €5.00

96.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.05 £2.29

$1.28 €1.14

138.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 £2.48

$2.07 €1.84

59.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.21 £2.41

$2.35 €2.09

36.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$79.1 £59.3

$44.18 €39.30

78.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.58 £3.44

$3.99 €3.55

14.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 £1.25

$1.09 €0.97

52.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.87 £26.91

$16.64 €14.81

115.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.55

$2.28 €2.03

-9.65%

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

$37.9K £28.4K

$33.7K €30.0K

12.40%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$39.3K €35.0K

4.00%

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

$335 £252

$167 €149

100.26%

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

$25.35 £19.02

$18.80 €16.72

34.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.54 £32.67

$33.09 €29.43

31.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.26 £27.95

$46.01 €40.93

-19.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.37 £8.53

$19.19 €17.07

-40.75%

Cinema Ticket

$10.36 £7.77

$9.84 €8.75

5.28%

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

$1,990 £1,493

$677 €602

193.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.5K £24.4K

$16.9K €15.1K

92.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$97.8 £73.4

$101 €90.1

-3.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.54 £36.41

$45.76 €40.70

6.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 £86.9

$100.0 €88.9

15.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.4 £74.6

$123 €109

-19.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,168 £876

$1,614 €1,436

-27.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,102 £826

$1,197 €1,065

-7.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,136 £1,602

$2,862 €2,545

-25.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,482 £1,112

$1,990 €1,770

-25.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,255 £3,942

$7,577 €6,740

-30.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,432 £2,575

$4,307 €3,831

-20.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,179 £2,385

$1,588 €1,412

100.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

3.85

32.73%

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

Last update for Cardiff: October 12, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cardiff

$1.1K 44.9%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 8.7% $95

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cardiff

$404 16.5%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 45.7% $185

Eating Out

Cardiff

$317 12.9%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 23.7% $75

Groceries & Markets

Cardiff

$306 12.5%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 11.9% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Cardiff

$163 6.6%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 2.3% $3.7

Getting Around

Cardiff

$105 4.3%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 39.9% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Cardiff

$58 2.4%

Lisbon

$66 3% 13.3% $7.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,168 in Cardiff and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cardiff pays 100% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $83.0 in Cardiff vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $306 vs $269 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Cardiff

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

16:00 4:00 PM

Same time as Cardiff

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

346,100

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 18, 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cardiff Lisbon 1,490 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Cardiff
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

Cardiff vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cardiff and Lisbon differ by about 10% in total monthly costs ($2,454 vs $2,223 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 100% higher in Cardiff, 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: $1,168 in Cardiff versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Lisbon – a meal for two runs $61.0 versus $83.0 in Cardiff. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,454 per month in Cardiff versus $2,223 in Lisbon – a 10% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,223 in Lisbon versus $2,454 in Cardiff, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in Cardiff. The gap between the two cities makes Lisbon the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Cardiff and Lisbon are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Lisbon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Cardiff. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.