Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Cardiff

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,223 a month against $2,454 in Cardiff, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
119

Cost of Living Index in Cardiff
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Cardiff Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Cardiff

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,454

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Cardiff

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $2,454 in Cardiff.

Lisbon $2,223
Cardiff $2,454

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $3,414 in Cardiff.

Lisbon $3,271
Cardiff $3,414

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $4,373 in Cardiff.

Lisbon $4,319
Cardiff $4,373

Living in Lisbon costs roughly 9% less than in Cardiff, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 65% above, Cardiff 82% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$20.04 £15.04

-17.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$83.4 £62.6

-26.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$10.74 £8.06

4.93%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$4.45 £3.34

-31.24%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$2.92 £2.19

-22.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$2.00 £1.50

-13.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$7.80 £5.85

-56.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$6.32 £4.74

-46.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.72 £1.29

-34.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.43 £1.07

30.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$2.15 £1.61

-28.84%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$3.62 £2.72

9.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$9.47 £7.11

34.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$8.85 £6.64

-10.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$16.18 £12.14

4.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.80 £2.10

-18.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.55 £1.16

12.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$3.03 £2.28

-38.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$3.51 £2.63

-26.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.99 £1.50

-6.53%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.54 £1.15

31.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.09 £0.82

32.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.64 £1.23

-50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$23.08 £17.31

-71.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$11.07 £8.31

-49.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$3.05 £2.29

-58.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$3.31 £2.48

-37.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$3.21 £2.41

-26.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$79.1 £59.3

-44.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$4.58 £3.44

-12.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.66 £1.25

-34.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$35.87 £26.91

-53.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$2.06 £1.55

10.68%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$37.9K £28.4K

-11.03%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$40.9K £30.7K

-3.85%

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

$167 €149

$335 £252

-50.06%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$25.35 £19.02

-25.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$43.54 £32.67

-24.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$37.26 £27.95

23.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$11.37 £8.53

68.78%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$10.36 £7.77

-5.02%

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

$677 €602

$1,990 £1,493

-65.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$32.5K £24.4K

-47.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$97.8 £73.4

3.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$48.54 £36.41

-5.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$116 £86.9

-13.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$99.4 £74.6

23.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$1,168 £876

38.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$1,102 £826

8.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$2,136 £1,602

33.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$1,482 £1,112

34.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$5,255 £3,942

44.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$3,432 £2,575

25.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$3,179 £2,385

-50.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.11

-24.66%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cardiff: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Cardiff

$1.1K 44.9% 8% $95

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Cardiff

$306 12.5% 13.5% $36

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Cardiff

$317 12.9% 31% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Cardiff

$404 16.5% 84.3% $185

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Cardiff

$163 6.6% 2.2% $3.7

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Cardiff

$58 2.4% 11.7% $7.7

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Cardiff

$105 4.3% 66.3% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $1,168 in Cardiff. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cardiff pays 100% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $83.0 in Cardiff for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $306 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇬🇧 Cardiff

🕒 Local time

12:19 12:19 PM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

346,100

💱 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

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Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Cardiff 1,490 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Cardiff

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 Cardiff: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Cardiff differ by about 10% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $2,454 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 100% lower in Cardiff. 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 $1,168 in Cardiff. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Lisbon – a meal for two runs $61.0 versus $83.0 in Cardiff. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,223 per month in Lisbon versus $2,454 in Cardiff – a 10% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,223 in Lisbon versus $2,454 in Cardiff, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in Cardiff. The gap between the two cities makes Lisbon 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 Cardiff are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Lisbon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Cardiff. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.