Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Howick

For one person, living is cheaper in Howick: $1,081 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Howick
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Howick Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Howick

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,081

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Howick

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,081 in Howick.

Lisbon $2,210
Howick $1,081

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,676 in Howick.

Lisbon $3,275
Howick $1,676

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,271 in Howick.

Lisbon $4,341
Howick $2,271

Living in Lisbon is roughly 105% more expensive than in Howick, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Howick is 21% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$8.03 R 133

107.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$38.85 R 645

58.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$5.50 R 91.3

106.55%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.66 R 44.23

11.65%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.09 R 18.19

110.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.92 R 15.32

89.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.39 R 39.69

42.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.52 R 41.80

31.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.21 R 20.08

-4.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.98 R 16.30

94.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.56 R 25.92

-3.21%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.34 R 38.88

71.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$8.23 R 137

57.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$5.28 R 87.7

47.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$7.20 R 120

146.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.99 R 33.03

15.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.88 R 31.24

-7.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.92 R 31.86

-3.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.70 R 28.22

52.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.49 R 24.76

22.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.46 R 24.33

34.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.21 R 20.17

21.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.19 R 19.78

-39.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.68 R 61.1

78.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$4.84 R 80.4

15.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.45 R 24.15

-6.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.88 R 31.23

13.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$1.54 R 25.52

51.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$0.45 R 7.49

755.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.75 R 12.41

42.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$7.56 R 126

117.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.37 R 22.68

60.58%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$36.1K R 600.3K

-5.39%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$33.1K R 550.2K

16.91%

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

$161 €144

$150 R 2,491

7.51%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$15.25 R 253

20.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$40.18 R 667

-18.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$31.93 R 530

39.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$10.99 R 183

73.79%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$7.09 R 118

35.40%

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

$668 €598

$309 R 5,141

115.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$7,814 R 129.8K

125.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$54.1 R 899

88.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$30.61 R 508

45.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$98.5 R 1,636

0.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$84.3 R 1,400

46.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$395 R 6,567

306.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$366 R 6,078

225.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$735 R 12.2K

282.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$734 R 12.2K

174.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$868 R 14.4K

803.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$675 R 11.2K

577.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

11.78

-67.32%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Howick: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Howick

$366 33.9% 69.3% $824

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Howick

$195 18% 28.5% $77

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Howick

$138 12.8% 43.2% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Howick

$205 19% 3.3% $7

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Howick

$120 11.1% 27.4% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Howick

$46 4.3% 27.7% $18

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Howick

$10 * 1% 83.7% $53

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 $1,608 in Lisbon and $395 in Howick. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $39 in Howick for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $195 per month, with Howick cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Howick

🕒 Local time

08:58 8:58 AM

10:58 10:58 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

32,453

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.54 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Howick 8,610 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Howick

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 Howick: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Howick is about 51% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $3,315 in Lisbon and $1,621 in Howick 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $395 in Howick. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $309 in Howick. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Howick – a meal for two runs $39 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,081 in Howick versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Howick but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Howick 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 Howick are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.