Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and London

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,210 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $22,500 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
195

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in London

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $4,086 in London.

Lisbon $2,210
London $4,086

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $5,891 in London.

Lisbon $3,275
London $5,891

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $7,696 in London.

Lisbon $4,341
London $7,696

Living in Lisbon costs roughly 46% less than in London, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, London 200% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.93

$26.55 £19.93

-37.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.4

$107 £80.3

-42.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.19

$10.78 £8.10

5.38%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$5.71 £4.29

-47.99%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$3.01 £2.26

-23.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$2.29 £1.72

-24.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$9.08 £6.82

-62.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$8.07 £6.06

-58.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.90 £1.43

-38.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$2.03 £1.52

-5.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.45 £1.84

-38.37%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$5.07 £3.81

-20.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.61

$12.71 £9.54

1.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$10.61 £7.97

-26.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.93

$17.68 £13.28

0.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$3.17 £2.38

-27.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.45 £1.09

19.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$3.13 £2.35

-40.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$3.41 £2.56

-24.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.67 £1.25

8.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.77 £1.33

11.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.43 £1.08

2.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.87 £1.40

-61.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$23.91 £17.95

-72.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.03

$13.48 £10.12

-58.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$3.08 £2.31

-55.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$4.39 £3.30

-51.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$4.08 £3.06

-42.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.08

$252 £189

-82.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$5.74 £4.31

-32.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$3.35 £2.52

-68.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.77

$57.2 £42.97

-71.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$2.08 £1.56

5.77%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$38.0K £28.5K

-10.00%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$40.4K £30.3K

-4.16%

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

$161 €145

$387 £291

-58.34%

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

$18.41 €16.51

$18.57 £13.95

-0.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.37

$40.69 £30.55

-19.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.96

$57.6 £43.22

-22.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.13

$19.75 £14.83

-3.29%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.61

$18.33 £13.76

-47.63%

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

$668 €599

$2,957 £2,220

-77.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$35.9K £26.9K

-50.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.5

$119 £89.2

-14.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.89

$56.3 £42.24

-20.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.4

$131 £98.3

-24.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$165 £124

-24.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,443

$2,811 £2,111

-42.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,067

$2,291 £1,720

-48.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,523

$5,185 £3,893

-45.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,806

$3,805 £2,857

-47.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,032

$17.7K £13.3K

-55.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,104

$8,405 £6,310

-45.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,413

$5,070 £3,807

-68.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

4.79

-19.62%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for London: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

London

$2.3K 56.1% 92.5% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

London

$356 8.7% 30.6% $83

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

London

$396 9.7% 63.3% $153

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

London

$446 10.9% 110% $234

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

London

$212 5.2% 27.6% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

London

$94 2.3% 47.8% $30

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

London

$291 7.1% 361% $228

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $2,811 in London. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays about 3.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $107 in London for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $356 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇬🇧 London

🕒 Local time

09:57 9:57 AM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

8,908,083 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon London 1,590 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
London

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 London: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and London differ by about 85% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $4,086 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 69% 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 $2,811 in London. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $2,957 in London. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in London. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,210 in Lisbon versus $4,086 in London, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Lisbon the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Lisbon is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in London, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Lisbon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 46% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.