Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Buckingham

For one person, living costs are similar in Lisbon and in Buckingham: $2,223 and $2,219 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 Buckingham
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Buckingham Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Buckingham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,219

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Buckingham

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $2,219 in Buckingham.

Lisbon $2,223
Buckingham $2,219

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $3,265 in Buckingham.

Lisbon $3,271
Buckingham $3,265

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $4,311 in Buckingham.

Lisbon $4,319
Buckingham $4,311

Monthly costs are close between Lisbon and Buckingham; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$20.03 £15.03

-17.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$78.9 £59.2

-22.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$10.44 £7.83

7.95%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$4.60 £3.45

-33.48%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$2.05 £1.54

10.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.50 £1.12

15.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$5.45 £4.09

-37.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$4.52 £3.39

-24.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.51 £1.13

-25.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.77 £1.33

5.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$2.82 £2.11

-45.74%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$4.04 £3.03

-1.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$9.09 £6.82

40.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$7.72 £5.79

2.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$16.42 £12.32

3.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$3.29 £2.47

-31.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.54 £1.16

13.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.80 £2.10

-33.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$3.20 £2.40

-19.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.16 £0.87

60.34%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.73 £1.30

16.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.29 £0.97

11.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.35 £1.01

-39.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$23.66 £17.75

-72.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$10.10 £7.57

-44.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$3.14 £2.36

-59.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$2.28 £1.71

-9.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$3.38 £2.53

-30.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$94.7 £71.1

-53.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$4.18 £3.14

-4.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$2.69 £2.02

-59.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$32.36 £24.28

-48.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$2.04 £1.53

11.76%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$38.4K £28.8K

-12.25%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$41.3K £31.0K

-4.82%

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

$167 €149

$200 £150

-16.24%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$17.46 £13.10

7.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$43.68 £32.77

-24.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$45.77 £34.34

0.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$13.38 £10.04

-26.46%

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

$677 €602

$1,464 £1,099

-53.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$22.0K £16.5K

-23.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$84.3 £63.2

20.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$31.33 £23.50

46.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$73.7 £55.3

35.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$97.2 £72.9

26.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$1,462 £1,097

10.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$1,036 £777

15.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$2,105 £1,579

35.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$1,659 £1,244

20.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$5,081 £3,812

49.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$3,819 £2,865

12.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$4,447 £3,336

-64.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.06

-23.91%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Buckingham: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Buckingham

$1K 46.7% 13.5% $161

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Buckingham

$297 13.4% 10.3% $28

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Buckingham

$297 13.4% 22.7% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Buckingham

$261 11.8% 19% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Buckingham

$129 5.8% 22.5% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Buckingham

$73 3.3% 10.4% $6.9

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Buckingham

$126 5.7% 99.8% $63

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $1,462 in Buckingham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buckingham pays 180% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $79.0 in Buckingham for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $297 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇬🇧 Buckingham

🕒 Local time

10:16 10:16 AM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

12,890

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Buckingham 1,610 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Buckingham

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 Buckingham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

On paper, salaries run 180% lower in Buckingham. 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $1,462 in Buckingham. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Buckingham runs roughly 114% less than in Lisbon. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 10% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,219 in Buckingham versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Buckingham but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Buckingham 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 Buckingham are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

It comes down to priorities – Buckingham wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.