Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and El Calafate

For one person, living is cheaper in El Calafate: $961 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,100 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
47

Cost of Living Index in El Calafate
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El Calafate Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

El Calafate

🇦🇷 Argentina

$961

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in El Calafate

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $961 in El Calafate.

Lisbon $2,223
El Calafate $961

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $1,574 in El Calafate.

Lisbon $3,271
El Calafate $1,574

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $2,187 in El Calafate.

Lisbon $4,319
El Calafate $2,187

Living in Lisbon is roughly 131% more expensive than in El Calafate, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, El Calafate is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$10.66 ARS 16.2K

54.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$33.87 ARS 51.4K

80.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$8.85 ARS 13.4K

27.34%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.77 ARS 4,198

10.47%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$1.64 ARS 2,484

37.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.49 ARS 2,268

16.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$2.08 ARS 3,157

62.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$2.93 ARS 4,452

16.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.24 ARS 1,887

-9.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.61 ARS 2,446

15.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.93 ARS 2,930

-20.73%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$2.20 ARS 3,346

80.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$10.29 ARS 15.6K

24.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$6.07 ARS 9,209

30.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$9.50 ARS 14.4K

78.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.95 ARS 2,963

16.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.11 ARS 3,205

-17.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.33 ARS 2,015

39.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$2.62 ARS 3,973

-1.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.19 ARS 1,808

56.30%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.20 ARS 1,821

68.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.30 ARS 1,973

10.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.48 ARS 2,245

-44.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$3.16 ARS 4,800

107.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$4.97 ARS 7,536

13.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$2.06 ARS 3,133

-37.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$3.16 ARS 4,799

-34.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.76 ARS 1,159

209.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$1.51 ARS 2,293

164.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.87 ARS 1,322

25.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$5.89 ARS 8,934

182.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.05 ARS 1,600

117.14%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$27.4K ARS 41.6M

22.75%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$30.2K ARS 45.9M

29.99%

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

$167 €149

$66.5 ARS 100.9K

151.90%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$16.85 ARS 25.6K

11.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$22.42 ARS 34.0K

47.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$26.64 ARS 40.4K

72.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$13.53 ARS 20.5K

41.83%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$6.34 ARS 9,617

55.21%

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

$677 €602

$224 ARS 340.0K

202.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$2,679 ARS 4.1M

531.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$72.7 ARS 110.3K

39.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$70.7 ARS 107.3K

-35.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$114 ARS 173.7K

-12.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$114 ARS 172.2K

8.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$342 ARS 518.6K

372.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$235 ARS 357.2K

408.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$695 ARS 1.1M

311.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$533 ARS 809.3K

273.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

307.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$1,600 ARS 2.4M

169.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

58.5

-93.42%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for El Calafate: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

El Calafate

$235 24.5% 80.3% $962

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

El Calafate

$231 24% 14.2% $38

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

El Calafate

$174 18.1% 28.2% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

El Calafate

$106 11% 51.8% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

El Calafate

$167 17.4% 0.4% $0.7

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

El Calafate

$39 4.1% 40.1% $26

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

El Calafate

$8.9 * 0.9% 85.8% $54

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $342 in El Calafate. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $34.00 in El Calafate for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $231 per month, with El Calafate cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇦🇷 El Calafate

🕒 Local time

15:04 3:04 PM

11:04 11:04 AM

4 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

22,844

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon El Calafate 11,660 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
El Calafate

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 El Calafate: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and El Calafate differ by about 131% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $961 including rent). El Calafate is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,335 in Lisbon and $1,442 in El Calafate to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $342 in El Calafate. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $224 in El Calafate. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in El Calafate – a meal for two runs $34.00 versus $61.0 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $961 in El Calafate versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in El Calafate but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes El Calafate 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 El Calafate 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 El Calafate gentler on the wallet – expenses run 131% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.