Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Elgin and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Elgin: $1,803 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

88

Cost of Living Index in Elgin
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Elgin Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Elgin

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,803

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,803 in Elgin versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

Elgin $1,803
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,850 in Elgin versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

Elgin $2,850
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,896 in Elgin versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Elgin $3,896
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Elgin costs roughly 18% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Elgin 33% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.57 £16.19

$17.04 €15.15

26.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.8 £53.9

$62.3 €55.4

15.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.25 £7.69

$11.02 €9.80

-6.99%

Cappuccino

$4.55 £3.41

$3.12 €2.78

45.83%

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

$1.97 £1.48

$2.27 €2.02

-13.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.29 £0.97

$1.74 €1.55

-25.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.42 £3.32

$3.42 €3.04

29.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.01 £4.51

$3.74 €3.33

60.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 £1.25

$1.17 €1.04

42.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.86 €1.66

-11.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.54 €1.37

34.42%

Eggs

$3.84 £2.88

$4.06 €3.61

-5.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.22 £6.91

$12.91 €11.49

-28.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.29 £6.97

$7.90 €7.03

17.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.24 £12.94

$17.64 €15.69

-2.27%

Apples (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$2.26 €2.01

44.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 £1.18

$1.75 €1.55

-10.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.99 £2.25

$1.89 €1.68

58.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.31 £2.48

$2.56 €2.27

29.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.91 £1.43

$1.85 €1.64

3.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.60 £1.20

$1.97 €1.75

-18.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.45 €1.29

-17.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.22

$0.77 €0.69

111.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.90 £17.93

$6.71 €5.97

256.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.15 £8.37

$5.67 €5.04

96.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.35 £2.51

$1.37 €1.22

144.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.34 £2.51

$2.11 €1.88

58.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.56 £2.67

$2.32 €2.07

53.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$122 £91.3

$44.43 €39.52

173.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 £4.27

$3.95 €3.51

44.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.18 £0.89

$1.05 €0.93

12.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.07 £19.56

$17.15 €15.26

52.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.18 £1.63

$2.19 €1.95

-0.46%

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

$38.1K £28.6K

$33.8K €30.0K

12.70%

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

$40.8K £30.6K

$38.3K €34.0K

6.51%

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

$200 £150

$164 €146

22.08%

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

$20.02 £15.02

$18.48 €16.43

8.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.17 £30.14

$32.96 €29.32

21.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.00 £27.76

$45.87 €40.80

-19.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.47 £4.10

$18.68 €16.61

-70.72%

Cinema Ticket

$11.09 £8.32

$9.75 €8.67

13.74%

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

$937 £703

$684 €608

36.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.0K £16.5K

$17.6K €15.7K

24.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.15 £27.12

$104 €92.3

-65.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.40 £34.06

$46.20 €41.09

-1.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.8

$99.7 €88.7

6.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.0 £68.3

$125 €111

-27.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$908 £681

$1,589 €1,414

-42.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$590 £443

$1,169 €1,040

-49.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,784 £1,339

$2,851 €2,536

-37.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,199 £900

$1,993 €1,773

-39.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,068 £3,802

$7,793 €6,932

-34.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,862 £2,897

$4,418 €3,930

-12.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,018 £1,514

$1,600 €1,423

26.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.79

3.85

24.42%

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

Last update for Elgin: October 19, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Elgin

$590 32.7%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 98.2% $579

Groceries & Markets

Elgin

$316 17.5%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 13.5% $43

Eating Out

Elgin

$305 16.9%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 18.9% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Elgin

$260 14.4%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 17.3% $45

Getting Around

Elgin

$148 8.2%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 57.3% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Elgin

$126 7%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 34.2% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Elgin

$59 3.3%

Lisbon

$65 3% 10.5% $6.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $908 in Elgin and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Elgin pays 26% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $72.0 in Elgin vs $62.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $316 vs $273 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Elgin

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

18:13 6:13 PM

Same time as Elgin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

25,040

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 22, 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 22, 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

Elgin Lisbon 2,150 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Elgin
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

Elgin vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Elgin and Lisbon differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($1,803 vs $2,202 including rent). Elgin is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 26% higher in Elgin, 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: $908 in Elgin versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Elgin runs roughly 174% less than in Lisbon. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $937 in Elgin versus $684 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,803 in Elgin versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Elgin but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Elgin 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, Elgin 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 Elgin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.