Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Gwangju

For one person, living is cheaper in Gwangju: $1,341 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 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
64

Cost of Living Index in Gwangju
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Gwangju Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Gwangju

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,341

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Gwangju

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,341 in Gwangju.

Lisbon $2,210
Gwangju $1,341

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $2,048 in Gwangju.

Lisbon $3,275
Gwangju $2,048

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,756 in Gwangju.

Lisbon $4,341
Gwangju $2,756

Living in Lisbon is roughly 65% more expensive than in Gwangju, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Gwangju is 2% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$6.02 ₩8,080

176.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$34.32 ₩46.1K

79.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$5.82 ₩7,817

95.19%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$3.17 ₩4,258

-6.31%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.59 ₩2,141

44.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.63 ₩848

176.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.38 ₩3,197

42.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$4.59 ₩6,170

-27.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.72 ₩2,312

-32.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$2.49 ₩3,348

-23.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.29 ₩3,075

-34.06%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.64 ₩3,541

52.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$8.80 ₩11.8K

47.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$7.82 ₩10.5K

-0.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$11.15 ₩15.0K

59.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$5.16 ₩6,934

-55.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$3.02 ₩4,050

-42.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$3.72 ₩5,000

-50.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$3.09 ₩4,144

-16.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$3.60 ₩4,835

-49.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.89 ₩2,541

4.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$2.11 ₩2,838

-30.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.28 ₩1,725

-43.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$3.36 ₩4,515

95.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$11.19 ₩15.0K

-49.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.51 ₩2,031

-9.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.31 ₩3,100

-7.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$1.01 ₩1,351

130.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$68.8 ₩92.4K

-35.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$3.06 ₩4,102

25.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.64 ₩854

67.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$7.84 ₩10.5K

109.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.20 ₩1,617

83.33%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$28.1K ₩37.7M

21.82%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$35.2K ₩47.3M

9.94%

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

$161 €145

$212 ₩284.5K

-23.90%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$44.13 ₩59.3K

-58.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$20.64 ₩27.7K

58.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$55.4 ₩74.3K

-19.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$14.36 ₩19.3K

33.01%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$11.20 ₩15.0K

-14.29%

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

$668 €600

$299 ₩401.2K

123.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$17.5K ₩23.5M

0.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$32.50 ₩43.6K

213.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$26.36 ₩35.4K

68.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$63.9 ₩85.8K

54.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$89.9 ₩120.7K

37.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$508 ₩682.6K

216.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$370 ₩496.4K

221.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$1,163 ₩1.6M

141.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$744 ₩998.6K

170.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$7,980 ₩10.7M

-1.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$6,343 ₩8.5M

-27.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$2,834 ₩3.8M

-44.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.6

6.94%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Gwangju: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Gwangju

$370 27.6% 68.9% $820

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Gwangju

$308 23% 13.1% $36

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Gwangju

$134 10% 44.9% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Gwangju

$277 20.6% 30.3% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Gwangju

$96 7.1% 42.3% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Gwangju

$78 5.8% 22% $14

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Gwangju

$79 5.9% 25.2% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $508 in Gwangju. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Gwangju pays 80% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $34 in Gwangju. Groceries flip the comparison at $272 vs $308, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇰🇷 Gwangju

🕒 Local time

22:05 10:05 PM

07:05 7:05 AM

9 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,467,996

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

10,000 KRW = 7.45 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,343 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.45 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Gwangju 10,640 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

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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 Gwangju: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gwangju is about 39% cheaper overall, especially in eating out and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 44% lower in Lisbon. 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $508 in Gwangju. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Gwangju – a meal for two runs $34 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $1,341 in Gwangju – Gwangju is about 39% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,341 in Gwangju versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Gwangju but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Gwangju 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 Gwangju are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.