Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Hillcrest

For one person, living is cheaper in Hillcrest: $1,081 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Hillcrest
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Hillcrest Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Hillcrest

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,081

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Hillcrest

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

A single person spends $2,206 per month in Lisbon vs $1,081 in Hillcrest, rent included.

Lisbon $2,206
Hillcrest $1,081

A couple spends around $3,276 per month in Lisbon vs $1,686 in Hillcrest, rent included.

Lisbon $3,276
Hillcrest $1,686

A family of three spends $4,346 per month in Lisbon vs $2,292 in Hillcrest, rent included.

Lisbon $4,346
Hillcrest $2,292

Lisbon costs about 104% more than Hillcrest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Lisbon sits 63% above the global median, while Hillcrest is 20% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.00

$7.87 R 129

114.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.3

$38.34 R 629

59.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.77

$6.01 R 98.6

82.70%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$2.71 R 44.53

12.55%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$1.14 R 18.70

100.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$0.90 R 14.71

86.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$2.45 R 40.23

40.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$2.50 R 41.05

56.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.18 R 19.28

-2.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$0.98 R 16.13

92.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.50 R 24.59

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$2.32 R 38.10

77.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.57

$8.19 R 134

58.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.16

$5.05 R 82.8

59.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.92

$7.27 R 119

146.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.29 R 21.22

75.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.93 R 31.60

-9.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.95 R 31.93

-6.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.73 R 28.43

55.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$1.46 R 23.99

21.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$1.44 R 23.67

34.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.21 R 19.77

20.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$1.14 R 18.71

-33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.92

$3.71 R 60.8

79.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.02

$4.80 R 78.7

17.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.41 R 23.10

-8.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.96 R 32.19

9.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$1.54 R 25.19

49.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.17

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.54

$0.44 R 7.14

804.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.71 R 11.61

-9.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.84

$7.70 R 126

145.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.45 R 23.84

57.24%

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

$33.4K €29.7K

$35.2K R 577.7K

-5.21%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$33.1K R 542.3K

16.50%

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

$158 €141

$153 R 2,511

3.37%

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

$17.54 €15.61

$35.61 R 584

-50.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.75

$39.04 R 641

-20.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.73

$33.00 R 541

35.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.89

$13.55 R 222

40.07%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.52

$7.29 R 120

31.41%

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

$674 €599

$310 R 5,092

117.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$7,429 R 121.9K

152.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.9

$51.6 R 846

98.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.85

$27.96 R 459

64.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.0

$97.0 R 1,591

5.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$79.2 R 1,299

54.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,460

$377 R 6,179

335.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,057

$353 R 5,785

236.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,514

$640 R 10.5K

341.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,796

$732 R 12.0K

175.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,973

$764 R 12.5K

926.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,183

$575 R 9,430

717.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,501

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

11.78

-67.57%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Hillcrest: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Hillcrest

$353 32.6% 70.3% $835

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Hillcrest

$189 17.5% 31% $85

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Hillcrest

$139 12.9% 43.3% $106

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Hillcrest

$228 21.1% 10% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Hillcrest

$115 10.6% 31.3% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Hillcrest

$48 4.4% 25.4% $16

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Hillcrest

$10 * 0.9% 83.3% $50

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,641 in Lisbon versus $377 in Hillcrest. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Lisbon versus $38 in Hillcrest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $275 vs $189 – making Hillcrest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Hillcrest

🕒 Local time

04:32 4:32 AM

06:32 6:32 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.09 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.41 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.09 USD). 1 EUR = 18.47 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Hillcrest 8,670 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Hillcrest

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 Hillcrest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon, $1,081 in Hillcrest – Hillcrest comes out roughly 51% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,309 per month in Lisbon and $1,622 in Hillcrest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Hillcrest, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $377 there versus $1,641 in Lisbon.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Lisbon and $38 in Hillcrest. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 45% more in Lisbon, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Hillcrest, where all-in costs run around $1,081, than in Lisbon at $2,206. In Hillcrest it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lisbon it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Hillcrest costs $1,081 versus $2,206 in Lisbon. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.