Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Brackenfell

For one person, living is cheaper in Brackenfell: $1,038 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Brackenfell
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Brackenfell Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Brackenfell

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,038

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Brackenfell

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,038 in Brackenfell.

Lisbon $2,210
Brackenfell $1,038

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,651 in Brackenfell.

Lisbon $3,275
Brackenfell $1,651

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,264 in Brackenfell.

Lisbon $4,341
Brackenfell $2,264

Living in Lisbon is roughly 113% more expensive than in Brackenfell, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Brackenfell is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$9.25 R 154

80.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$24.23 R 404

154.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$6.11 R 102

85.92%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.49 R 41.44

19.28%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.09 R 18.13

110.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.99 R 16.45

75.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.42 R 40.26

40.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.51 R 41.76

31.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.07 R 17.86

8.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.16 R 19.27

64.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.12 R 35.26

-28.77%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.91 R 31.77

110.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$8.12 R 135

59.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$2.75 R 45.81

182.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$6.85 R 114

159.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.44 R 23.97

59.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.97 R 32.80

-12.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.71 R 28.43

8.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.69 R 28.10

53.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.39 R 23.21

30.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.05 R 17.50

87.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.95 R 15.79

54.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.08 R 18.02

-33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$3.59 R 59.8

83.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$4.23 R 70.5

32.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.41 R 23.43

-3.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.01 R 33.45

6.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$1.54 R 25.68

51.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$0.62 R 10.38

520.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.93 R 15.57

15.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$4.96 R 82.7

231.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.37 R 22.76

60.58%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$18.1K R 301.3K

89.08%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$19.7K R 329.1K

96.10%

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

$161 €145

$117 R 1,946

38.08%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$28.72 R 479

-35.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$40.08 R 668

-18.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$23.95 R 399

86.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$10.85 R 181

76.04%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$9.05 R 151

6.08%

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

$668 €600

$151 R 2,512

342.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$7,043 R 117.4K

150.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$42.85 R 714

138.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$22.96 R 383

93.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$67.4 R 1,123

46.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$50.7 R 845

143.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$646 R 10.8K

149.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$395 R 6,581

201.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$1,295 R 21.6K

117.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$927 R 15.4K

117.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$880 R 14.7K

791.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$681 R 11.3K

571.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$1,850 R 30.8K

-14.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

10.97

-64.90%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Brackenfell: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Brackenfell

$395 38.1% 66.8% $795

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Brackenfell

$174 16.7% 36.2% $98

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Brackenfell

$148 14.2% 39.2% $95

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Brackenfell

$186 17.9% 12.6% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Brackenfell

$83 8% 50.1% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Brackenfell

$42 4.1% 34% $22

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Brackenfell

$11 * 1.1% 81.9% $52

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 $646 in Brackenfell. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brackenfell pays 17% 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 $24 in Brackenfell for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $174 per month, with Brackenfell cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Brackenfell

🕒 Local time

20:26 8:26 PM

22:26 10:26 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

80,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Brackenfell 8,570 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
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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 Brackenfell: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brackenfell wins on cost – living expenses run 53% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Brackenfell the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 15% 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 $646 in Brackenfell. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $151 in Brackenfell. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Brackenfell – a meal for two runs $24 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Brackenfell is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.