Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Cape Town Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Cape Town

😐 Solo nomad: Lisbon is 29.2% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 78.6% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Lisbon is 36.3% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 59.5% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Lisbon
Cape Town
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$15.92 €13.67
$11.12 R 182
43.17%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$64.5 €55.4
$44.86 R 733
43.71%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.54 €9.06
$5.00 R 81.7
110.80%
Cappuccino
$2.91 €2.50
$2.05 R 33.54
41.95%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.30 €1.97
$1.12 R 18.28
105.36%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.57 €1.35
$0.81 R 13.25
93.83%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.44 €2.96
$2.85 R 46.60
20.70%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.87 €3.32
$2.58 R 42.08
50.00%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Lisbon
Cape Town
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.14 €0.98
$1.15 R 18.85
-0.87%
White Bread (500g)
$1.79 €1.54
$1.04 R 17.03
72.12%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.75 €1.50
$1.85 R 30.16
-5.41%
Eggs
$3.23 €2.78
$2.43 R 39.64
32.92%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$13.22 €11.36
$8.49 R 139
55.71%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.03 €6.89
$5.17 R 84.5
55.32%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$16.00 €13.74
$7.49 R 122
113.62%
Apples (1kg)
$2.33 €2.00
$1.51 R 24.74
54.30%
Banana (1kg)
$1.65 €1.42
$1.44 R 23.52
14.58%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.94 €1.67
$1.45 R 23.71
33.79%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.44 €2.09
$1.58 R 25.80
54.43%
Potato (1kg)
$1.83 €1.57
$1.12 R 18.22
63.39%
Onion (1kg)
$2.08 €1.79
$1.23 R 20.03
69.11%
Lettuce (1 head)
$2.00 €1.72
$1.08 R 17.72
85.19%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.80 €0.69
$1.00 R 16.32
-20.00%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.74 €5.79
$3.10 R 50.7
117.42%
Wine (Bottle)
$5.80 €4.98
$6.46 R 106
-10.22%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.34 €1.15
$1.39 R 22.75
-3.60%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.01 €2.59
$1.74 R 28.35
72.99%
🚌 Getting Around
Lisbon
Cape Town
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.37 €2.03
$0.93 R 15.23
154.84%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$46.20 €39.69
$47.00 R 768
-1.70%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.07 €3.50
$1.43 R 23.29
184.62%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.87 €0.75
$0.98 R 16.08
-11.22%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$18.58 €15.96
$4.35 R 71.1
327.13%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.09 €1.79
$1.25 R 20.43
67.20%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$34.8K €29.9K
$21.5K R 351.7K
61.54%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$38.8K €33.3K
$24.0K R 391.9K
61.69%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lisbon
Cape Town
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$150 €129
$101 R 1,644
49.37%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$20.62 €17.71
$32.78 R 536
-37.10%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$40.09 €34.44
$41.87 R 684
-4.25%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Lisbon
Cape Town
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$47.85 €41.10
$41.03 R 670
16.62%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.37 €15.78
$8.21 R 134
123.75%
Cinema Ticket
$9.32 €8.00
$6.91 R 113
34.88%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Lisbon
Cape Town
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$615 €528
$213 R 3,488
188.09%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$16.4K €14.1K
$5,248 R 85.8K
213.16%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Lisbon
Cape Town
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$104 €89.5
$54.6 R 893
90.76%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$41.10 €35.30
$33.30 R 544
23.42%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$95.3 €81.9
$111 R 1,818
-14.37%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$120 €103
$83.4 R 1,362
44.16%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Lisbon
Cape Town
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,630 €1,400
$749 R 12.2K
117.51%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,229 €1,056
$517 R 8,441
137.87%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$3,018 €2,592
$1,460 R 23.9K
106.75%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,004 €1,722
$1,008 R 16.5K
98.79%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$7,872 €6,762
$2,156 R 35.2K
265.10%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$4,319 €3,710
$1,484 R 24.3K
190.95%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Lisbon
Cape Town
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,611 €1,384
$1,625 R 26.5K
-0.83%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.81
11.77
-67.63%

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

Last update for Lisbon: March 1, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: March 2, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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