Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Durham

For one person, living is cheaper in Durham: $2,073 a month against $2,203 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

108

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
100

Cost of Living Index in Durham
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Durham Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,203

/mo nomad

Durham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,073

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Durham

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,203 in Lisbon versus $2,073 in Durham.

Lisbon $2,203
Durham $2,073

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,237 in Lisbon versus $3,286 in Durham.

Lisbon $3,237
Durham $3,286

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,272 in Lisbon versus $4,498 in Durham.

Lisbon $4,272
Durham $4,498

Living in Lisbon is roughly 6% more expensive than in Durham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 64% above, Durham 55% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.01 €15.18

$19.57 £14.79

-13.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.7 €56.0

$93.4 £70.6

-32.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.42 €10.19

$11.40 £8.61

0.18%

Cappuccino

$3.09 €2.76

$4.56 £3.44

-32.24%

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

$2.37 €2.11

$2.54 £1.92

-6.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 €1.48

$2.04 £1.54

-18.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.46 €3.09

$6.08 £4.59

-43.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 €2.93

$5.33 £4.03

-38.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.95 £1.47

-40.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.54 £1.17

21.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.52 €1.36

$3.03 £2.29

-49.83%

Eggs

$3.88 €3.46

$4.37 £3.30

-11.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 €11.49

$10.02 £7.57

28.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.94 €7.08

$8.86 £6.69

-10.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.63 €15.73

$21.35 £16.13

-17.42%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$2.93 £2.21

-22.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 €1.57

$2.53 £1.91

-30.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 €1.68

$2.75 £2.08

-31.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 €2.20

$5.08 £3.84

-51.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.56 £1.18

19.23%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.70 £1.29

21.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.06 £0.80

31.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 €0.73

$1.88 £1.42

-56.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.89 €6.15

$23.61 £17.84

-70.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.53 €4.93

$10.64 £8.04

-48.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 €1.19

$3.31 £2.50

-59.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 €1.93

$3.15 £2.38

-31.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.24 €2.00

$3.23 £2.44

-30.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.14 €40.29

$86.9 £65.7

-48.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.00 €3.57

$6.39 £4.83

-37.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.95

$1.93 £1.46

-44.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.53 €14.75

$23.68 £17.89

-30.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.26 €2.02

$1.88 £1.42

20.21%

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

$33.5K €29.9K

$37.8K £28.6K

-11.46%

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

$40.5K €36.1K

$41.1K £31.1K

-1.51%

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

$164 €146

$265 £200

-38.16%

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

$18.54 €16.55

$15.21 £11.49

21.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.21 €29.64

$42.95 £32.45

-22.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €41.06

$46.78 £35.35

-1.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.80 €16.78

Cinema Ticket

$9.47 €8.45

$12.51 £9.45

-24.30%

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

$690 €615

$1,300 £982

-46.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.0K

$25.2K £19.1K

-33.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$105 €93.4

$106 £80.3

-1.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.27 €40.40

$71.4 £53.9

-36.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.0 €88.3

$114 £86.1

-13.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$97.2 £73.5

27.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,583 €1,413

$1,539 £1,163

2.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,209 €1,079

$743 £562

62.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,833 €2,528

$2,661 £2,011

6.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,964 €1,753

$1,565 £1,183

25.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,643 €6,821

$5,034 £3,804

51.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,431 €3,954

$3,862 £2,919

14.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,573 €1,403

$2,064 £1,559

-23.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.79

5.18

-26.83%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 4, 2026

Last update for Durham: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 54%

Durham

$743 35.7% 38.5% $466

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.1%

Durham

$348 16.7% 28% $76

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11%

Durham

$305 14.6% 23.2% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.6%

Durham

$323 15.5% 49.8% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.5%

Durham

$175 8.4% 4.3% $7.2

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 2.9%

Durham

$72 3.5% 10.5% $6.8

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Durham

$116 5.6% 82.7% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,583 in Lisbon and $1,539 in Durham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Durham pays 31% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $63.0 in Lisbon vs $93.0 in Durham for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $348 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇬🇧 Durham

🕒 Local time

11:12 11:12 AM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

42,100

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Durham 1,870 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Durham

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 Durham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Durham differ by about 6% in total monthly costs ($2,203 vs $2,073 including rent). Durham is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 31% lower in Durham. 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: $1,583 in Lisbon versus $1,539 in Durham. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,203 per month in Lisbon versus $2,073 in Durham – a 6% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Durham runs roughly 93% less than in Lisbon. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $2,073 in Durham versus $2,203 in Lisbon, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Durham but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Durham 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 Durham 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 Durham gentler on the wallet – expenses run 6% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.