Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Benoni

For one person, living is cheaper in Benoni: $1,067 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Benoni
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Benoni Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Benoni

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,067

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Benoni

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 Benoni actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,067 in Benoni.

Lisbon $2,210
Benoni $1,067

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,318 in Benoni.

Lisbon $3,275
Benoni $1,318

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,568 in Benoni.

Lisbon $4,341
Benoni $1,568

Living in Lisbon is roughly 107% more expensive than in Benoni, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Benoni is 22% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$9.86 R 164

68.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$37.05 R 615

66.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$5.55 R 92.2

104.68%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.17 R 36.00

36.87%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.14 R 18.91

100.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.84 R 14.00

107.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.37 R 39.31

43.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.75 R 45.65

20.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.21 R 20.09

-4.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.12 R 18.55

70.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.79 R 29.65

-15.64%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.49 R 41.28

61.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$8.18 R 136

58.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$4.85 R 80.5

60.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$7.12 R 118

149.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.74 R 28.86

32.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.60 R 26.57

8.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.77 R 29.47

5.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.56 R 25.98

66.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.07 R 17.77

70.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.17 R 19.48

68.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.22 R 20.21

20.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.30 R 21.54

-44.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.52 R 58.5

86.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$4.97 R 82.6

12.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.51 R 25.12

-9.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.98 R 32.94

8.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$0.29 R 4.77

1227.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.93 R 15.47

15.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$14.37 R 239

14.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.53 R 25.46

43.79%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$35.4K R 588.6K

-3.51%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$34.4K R 572.0K

12.45%

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

$161 €144

$197 R 3,275

-18.22%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$39.26 R 652

-53.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$37.82 R 628

-13.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$17.81 R 296

150.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$7.15 R 119

34.27%

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

$668 €598

$246 R 4,085

171.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,379 R 89.3K

227.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$52.1 R 865

95.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$31.79 R 528

39.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$91.2 R 1,515

7.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$82.3 R 1,368

50.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$393 R 6,526

309.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$302 R 5,020

293.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$489 R 8,131

474.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$2,000 R 33.2K

-21.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

10.91

-64.71%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Benoni: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Benoni

$302 28.3% 74.6% $888

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Benoni

$191 17.9% 29.8% $81

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Benoni

$147 13.8% 39.5% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Benoni

$274 25.7% 29.1% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Benoni

$116 10.9% 30.2% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Benoni

$32 3% 49.6% $32

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Benoni

$4.9 * 0.5% 92.2% $58

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $393 in Benoni. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Benoni pays 27% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $37 in Benoni for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $191 per month, with Benoni cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Benoni

🕒 Local time

06:27 6:27 AM

08:27 8:27 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

158,777

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Benoni 8,200 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Benoni

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

Lisbon vs Benoni: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,067 in Benoni, so Benoni is about 52% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 21% lower in Lisbon. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $393 in Benoni. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $1,067 in Benoni – Benoni is about 52% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,067 in Benoni versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Benoni but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Benoni 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 Benoni are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.