Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Manchester

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,210 a month against $2,499 in Manchester, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
121

Cost of Living Index in Manchester
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Manchester Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Manchester

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,499

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Manchester

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $2,499 in Manchester.

Lisbon $2,210
Manchester $2,499

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $3,623 in Manchester.

Lisbon $3,275
Manchester $3,623

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $4,747 in Manchester.

Lisbon $4,341
Manchester $4,747

Living in Lisbon costs roughly 12% less than in Manchester, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, Manchester 84% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.91

$20.22 £15.10

-17.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$86.0 £64.2

-28.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.17

$10.74 £8.02

5.77%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$4.68 £3.49

-36.54%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$2.44 £1.82

-6.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.62 £1.21

7.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$7.78 £5.81

-56.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$6.70 £5.00

-50.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.51 £1.12

-23.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.88 £1.41

1.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.94 £1.45

-22.16%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$4.08 £3.04

-1.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$9.61 £7.17

34.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.96

$8.98 £6.71

-13.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.91

$15.41 £11.51

15.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$3.09 £2.31

-25.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.58 £1.18

9.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.95 £2.20

-36.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$3.35 £2.50

-22.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.51 £1.13

20.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.35 £1.01

45.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.26 £0.94

16.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.23 £0.92

-41.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$24.05 £17.95

-72.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$10.88 £8.13

-48.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.43 £1.81

-44.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$3.17 £2.36

-32.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$2.73 £2.04

-14.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.01

$108 £80.6

-58.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$4.52 £3.37

-14.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$2.22 £1.66

-51.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.74

$30.82 £23.01

-46.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$2.14 £1.60

2.80%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$38.5K £28.7K

-11.11%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$40.0K £29.9K

-3.31%

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

$161 €144

$252 £189

-36.14%

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

$18.41 €16.49

$16.23 £12.12

13.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.32

$39.58 £29.56

-17.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.90

$42.67 £31.86

4.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.10

$18.05 £13.48

5.82%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$13.44 £10.04

-28.57%

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

$668 €598

$1,494 £1,116

-55.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$19.7K £14.7K

-10.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$83.5 £62.4

22.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.82

$42.97 £32.09

3.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.2

$95.0 £70.9

3.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$106 £79.1

16.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,440

$1,785 £1,333

-9.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$1,222 £913

-2.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,519

$2,930 £2,188

-4.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,803

$1,899 £1,418

6.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,021

$4,668 £3,486

67.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,098

$4,397 £3,283

4.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$3,395 £2,535

-53.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

4.82

-20.12%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Manchester: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Manchester

$1.2K 48.9% 2.7% $32

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Manchester

$299 12% 9.7% $26

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Manchester

$319 12.8% 31.4% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Manchester

$308 12.3% 45.2% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Manchester

$147 5.9% 11.2% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Manchester

$70 2.8% 9.1% $5.8

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Manchester

$134 5.4% 113% $71

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $1,785 in Manchester. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Manchester pays about 2.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $86 in Manchester for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $299 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇬🇧 Manchester

🕒 Local time

21:14 9:14 PM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

503,100

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Manchester 1,720 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
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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 Manchester: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $2,499 in Manchester, so Lisbon is about 12% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 54% 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 $1,785 in Manchester. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $1,494 in Manchester. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 10% higher in Manchester. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Lisbon gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Lisbon is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Manchester, 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 12% less than in Manchester. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.