Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Brakpan

For one person, living is cheaper in Brakpan: $1,103 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Brakpan
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Brakpan Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Brakpan

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,103

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Brakpan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $1,103 in Brakpan.

Lisbon $2,206
Brakpan $1,103

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,655 in Brakpan.

Lisbon $3,276
Brakpan $1,655

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,207 in Brakpan.

Lisbon $4,346
Brakpan $2,207

Living in Lisbon is roughly 100% more expensive than in Brakpan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Brakpan is 18% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.02

$8.98 R 147

87.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.4

$34.49 R 565

76.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.78

$5.40 R 88.5

103.33%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.72

$2.39 R 39.18

27.62%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$1.04 R 16.97

119.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$0.78 R 12.81

115.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$2.26 R 37.04

52.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$2.57 R 42.10

52.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.13 R 18.58

1.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.15 R 18.81

64.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.35 R 22.11

11.11%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.67

$2.31 R 37.89

78.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.59

$10.54 R 173

23.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.17

$4.63 R 75.9

73.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.94

$7.91 R 130

126.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.56 R 25.50

45.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.60 R 26.16

8.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.37 R 22.42

32.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.44 R 23.55

86.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$1.39 R 22.79

27.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.27 R 20.73

52.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.99 R 16.25

47.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.88 R 14.35

-13.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.93

$3.22 R 52.8

106.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.02

$4.69 R 76.9

20.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.03 R 16.88

25.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.38 R 22.63

55.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$1.65 R 27.11

39.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.21

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.55

$0.84 R 13.77

373.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.67 R 11.02

-4.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.86

$10.16 R 166

86.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.53 R 25.01

49.02%

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

$33.4K €29.7K

$37.2K R 608.7K

-10.17%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$33.7K R 552.4K

14.20%

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

$158 €141

$151 R 2,476

4.66%

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

$17.54 €15.62

$33.06 R 542

-46.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.78

$52.5 R 860

-40.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.77

$32.47 R 532

37.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.91

$10.73 R 176

76.89%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.53

$7.78 R 128

23.14%

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

$674 €600

$204 R 3,341

230.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$5,811 R 95.2K

222.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.0

$52.9 R 866

93.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.89

$28.79 R 472

59.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.0

$108 R 1,776

-5.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$94.7 R 1,551

28.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,461

$399 R 6,531

311.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,058

$355 R 5,815

234.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,516

$489 R 8,012

477.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,798

$633 R 10.4K

218.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,980

$668 R 10.9K

1072.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,188

$577 R 9,455

714.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,503

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

10.92

-65.02%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Brakpan: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Brakpan

$355 32.2% 70.1% $832

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Brakpan

$184 16.7% 32.8% $90

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Brakpan

$140 12.7% 42.7% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Brakpan

$237 21.5% 14.4% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Brakpan

$128 11.6% 23.5% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Brakpan

$48 4.4% 24.7% $16

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Brakpan

$11 * 1% 82.1% $50

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 $1,641 in Lisbon and $399 in Brakpan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $34 in Brakpan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $184 per month, with Brakpan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Brakpan

🕒 Local time

22:25 10:25 PM

00:25 12:25 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

305,692

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.39 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Brakpan 8,210 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

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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 Brakpan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brakpan wins on cost – living expenses run 50% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Brakpan the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $3,309 in Lisbon and $1,655 in Brakpan to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $399 in Brakpan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $204 in Brakpan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Brakpan – a meal for two runs $34 versus $61 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Brakpan 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.