Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,599 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 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
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Cape Town

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

A single person spends $2,202 per month in Lisbon vs $1,599 in Cape Town, rent included.

Lisbon $2,202
Cape Town $1,599

A couple spends around $3,274 per month in Lisbon vs $2,460 in Cape Town, rent included.

Lisbon $3,274
Cape Town $2,460

A family of three spends $4,346 per month in Lisbon vs $3,320 in Cape Town, rent included.

Lisbon $4,346
Cape Town $3,320

Lisbon costs about 38% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Lisbon and Cape Town sit above the global median – Lisbon by 62%, Cape Town by 18%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$12.07 R 199

41.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$46.65 R 769

33.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$6.20 R 102

77.74%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$2.50 R 41.13

24.80%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$1.35 R 22.28

68.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.00 R 16.47

74.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$3.06 R 50.4

11.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$3.67 R 60.5

1.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.30 R 21.45

-10.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.27 R 20.89

46.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$2.17 R 35.68

-29.03%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$3.09 R 50.9

31.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$8.98 R 148

43.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$6.99 R 115

13.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$9.67 R 159

82.42%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.87 R 30.78

20.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.93 R 31.72

-9.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.77 R 29.13

6.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$2.18 R 35.86

17.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.52 R 25.07

21.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.56 R 25.63

26.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.32 R 21.74

9.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$1.15 R 18.97

-33.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$3.72 R 61.4

80.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$6.01 R 99.0

-5.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.34 R 22.13

2.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$2.13 R 35.11

-0.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$1.55 R 25.53

49.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$61.3 R 1,010

-27.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$0.60 R 9.85

558.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$1.54 R 25.36

-31.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$5.01 R 82.5

242.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.60 R 26.33

36.87%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$35.4K R 583.4K

-4.60%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$34.7K R 570.9K

10.43%

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

$164 €146

$119 R 1,955

38.08%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$29.42 R 485

-37.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$39.81 R 656

-17.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$50.8 R 836

-9.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$10.93 R 180

70.91%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$8.99 R 148

8.45%

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

$684 €608

$261 R 4,303

161.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$6,966 R 114.8K

153.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$56.1 R 925

84.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$33.26 R 548

38.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$121 R 1,999

-17.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$108 R 1,779

15.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$1,028 R 16.9K

54.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$720 R 11.9K

62.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$1,835 R 30.2K

55.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$1,360 R 22.4K

46.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$2,407 R 39.6K

223.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$1,504 R 24.8K

193.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$1,649 R 27.2K

-2.97%

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 19, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Cape Town

$720 45% 38.4% $449

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Cape Town

$226 14.2% 17.1% $47

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Cape Town

$177 11.1% 28.4% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Cape Town

$188 11.8% 12.7% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Cape Town

$143 9% 14.9% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Cape Town

$69 4.3% 5.2% $3.4

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Cape Town

$76 4.7% 20.4% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,589 in Lisbon versus $1,028 in Cape Town. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 3% higher in Cape Town, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62.0 in Lisbon versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $273 vs $226 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

16:45 4:45 PM

17:45 5:45 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Cape Town 8,560 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Cape Town

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 Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon costs about 38% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,302 per month in Lisbon and $2,398 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cape Town, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,202 in Lisbon and $1,599 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 38%.

Public transport costs about 38% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cape Town, where all-in costs run around $1,599, than in Lisbon at $2,202. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lisbon it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,599 versus $2,202 in Lisbon. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Cape Town. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Lisbon makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.