Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Albufeira

For one person, living costs are similar in Lisbon and in Albufeira: $2,223 and $2,208 a month, rent and utilities included.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Albufeira
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Albufeira Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Albufeira

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Albufeira

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $2,208 in Albufeira.

Lisbon $2,223
Albufeira $2,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $3,063 in Albufeira.

Lisbon $3,271
Albufeira $3,063

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $3,918 in Albufeira.

Lisbon $4,319
Albufeira $3,918

Living in Lisbon is roughly 1% more expensive than in Albufeira, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 65% above, Albufeira 64% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$13.24 €11.78

24.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$55.7 €49.51

10.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$10.15 €9.03

11.03%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.57 €2.28

19.07%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$1.55 €1.38

45.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.32 €1.18

31.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$3.40 €3.03

-0.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$4.33 €3.85

-21.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.07 €0.95

4.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.20 €1.06

55.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.55 €1.37

-1.29%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$3.01 €2.67

31.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$15.68 €13.94

-18.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$8.01 €7.13

-1.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$22.41 €19.94

-24.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.56 €2.28

-11.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.31 €1.16

33.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.87 €1.67

-1.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$3.14 €2.79

-18.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.79 €1.59

3.91%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$2.82 €2.51

-28.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.57 €1.39

-8.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.54 €0.48

51.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$6.14 €5.46

6.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$5.14 €4.57

9.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.34 €1.20

-4.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.80 €1.60

15.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$3.05 €2.72

-22.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$55.2 €49.06

-19.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$3.56 €3.17

12.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$16.45 €14.63

1.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$2.02 €1.80

12.87%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$33.5K €29.8K

0.63%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$32.7K €29.1K

20.02%

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

$167 €149

$108 €96.0

55.13%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$21.27 €18.92

-11.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$34.44 €30.64

-3.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$52.8 €47.00

-12.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$11.28 €10.04

70.12%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$8.76 €7.79

12.33%

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

$677 €602

$482 €428

40.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$11.1K €9,837

53.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$105 €93.8

-3.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$45.52 €40.49

0.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$83.3 €74.1

20.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$145 €129

-15.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$1,292 €1,149

24.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$1,239 €1,102

-3.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$2,971 €2,642

-3.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$1,670 €1,485

19.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$2,306 €2,051

228.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$2,233 €1,986

92.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$1,541 €1,371

3.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.54

8.76%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Albufeira: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Albufeira

$1.2K 56.1% 3.5% $42

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Albufeira

$283 12.8% 5.2% $14

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Albufeira

$204 9.3% 15.6% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Albufeira

$164 7.4% 25.4% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Albufeira

$171 7.7% 2.6% $4.3

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Albufeira

$70 3.2% 7.1% $4.7

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Albufeira

$76 3.5% 21.3% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $1,292 in Albufeira. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 3% 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: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $56.0 in Albufeira. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $283, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇵🇹 Albufeira

🕒 Local time

02:18 2:18 AM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

44,168

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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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

Lisbon vs Albufeira: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Albufeira differ by about 1% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $2,208 including rent). Albufeira is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 3% higher in Lisbon, 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $1,292 in Albufeira. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $482 in Albufeira. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 5% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,208 in Albufeira versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Albufeira but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Albufeira 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, Lisbon and Albufeira 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 Albufeira gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.