Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Caruaru

For one person, living is cheaper in Caruaru: $611 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $19,100 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
29

Cost of Living Index in Caruaru
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Caruaru Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Caruaru

🇧🇷 Brazil

$611

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Caruaru

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $611 in Caruaru.

Lisbon $2,206
Caruaru $611

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,000 in Caruaru.

Lisbon $3,276
Caruaru $1,000

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,388 in Caruaru.

Lisbon $4,346
Caruaru $1,388

Living in Lisbon is roughly 261% more expensive than in Caruaru, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Caruaru is 55% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.06

$5.36 R$29.16

214.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.5

$27.77 R$151

119.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.81

$7.57 R$41.18

45.05%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.72

$1.48 R$8.06

106.08%

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

$2.28 €2.04

$0.97 R$5.30

135.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$0.60 R$3.24

180.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.07

$1.55 R$8.41

121.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.49

$2.25 R$12.24

73.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.03

$1.08 R$5.85

6.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.69

$1.03 R$5.59

83.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.26 R$6.86

19.05%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.68

$1.88 R$10.23

119.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.62

$4.19 R$22.76

210.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.18

$4.51 R$24.53

78.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.98

$6.99 R$38.02

155.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.03

$1.26 R$6.86

80.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.91 R$4.95

91.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.76 R$4.15

139.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.40

$1.08 R$5.87

149.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.58

$1.49 R$8.13

18.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.18 R$6.43

64.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.69 R$3.75

111.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.77 R$4.17

-1.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.95

$2.71 R$14.74

145.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.04

$7.41 R$40.29

-23.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.57 R$8.52

-17.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.17 R$11.78

-1.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.06

$0.80 R$4.33

187.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.32

$24.98 R$136

76.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.56

$1.07 R$5.82

271.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$1.82 R$9.88

-64.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.90

$2.88 R$15.68

557.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.22 R$6.66

86.89%

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

$33.4K €29.8K

$21.8K R$118.7K

52.82%

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

$38.5K €34.4K

$30.4K R$165.4K

26.54%

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

$158 €141

$51.8 R$282

205.21%

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

$17.54 €15.67

$7.32 R$39.81

139.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.85

$9.16 R$49.83

240.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.88

$13.86 R$75.4

222.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.95

$27.91 R$152

-32.00%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.55

$6.75 R$36.72

41.93%

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

$674 €602

$102 R$556

559.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$6,162 R$33.5K

203.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.3

$36.72 R$200

178.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €41.00

$45.83 R$249

0.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.3

$81.4 R$443

25.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$60.0 R$326

103.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,465

$152 R$825

980.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,060

$119 R$645

900.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,523

$329 R$1,787

759.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,803

$235 R$1,280

757.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,999

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,199

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,507

$238 R$1,296

607.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

-65.27%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Caruaru: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Caruaru

$119 19.4% 90% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Caruaru

$156 25.5% 43.3% $119

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Caruaru

$102 16.7% 58.4% $143

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Caruaru

$68 11.2% 67% $139

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Caruaru

$101 16.5% 39.8% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Caruaru

$27 4.5% 57.1% $36

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Caruaru

$38 6.3% 36.6% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,641 in Lisbon and $152 in Caruaru. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 7.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $28 in Caruaru for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $156 per month, with Caruaru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇧🇷 Caruaru

🕒 Local time

14:01 2:01 PM

11:01 11:01 AM

3 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

377,911

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.164 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Caruaru 5,920 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

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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 Caruaru: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $611 in Caruaru, so Caruaru is about 72% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 7.1 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $152 in Caruaru. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $102 in Caruaru. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 76% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $611 in Caruaru versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Caruaru but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Caruaru 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.

Expats usually find Caruaru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 72% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.