Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Margate

For one person, living is cheaper in Margate: $889 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,000 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Margate
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Margate Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Margate

🇿🇦 South Africa

$889

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Margate

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $889 in Margate.

Lisbon $2,223
Margate $889

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $1,410 in Margate.

Lisbon $3,271
Margate $1,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $1,932 in Margate.

Lisbon $4,319
Margate $1,932

Living in Lisbon is roughly 150% more expensive than in Margate, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Margate is 34% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$7.83 R 129

110.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$35.95 R 592

70.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$5.97 R 98.4

88.78%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$1.80 R 29.58

70.00%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$1.03 R 16.99

119.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.76 R 12.60

127.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$2.43 R 39.96

39.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$2.27 R 37.38

49.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.02 R 16.77

9.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.92 R 15.10

102.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.05 R 17.37

45.71%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$2.36 R 38.87

67.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$4.98 R 82.0

156.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$3.37 R 55.6

134.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$6.05 R 99.7

180.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.15 R 18.87

97.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.19 R 19.54

47.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.05 R 17.37

76.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$1.44 R 23.78

78.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.08 R 17.78

72.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.30 R 21.43

55.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.09 R 17.96

32.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.95 R 15.63

-13.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$1.58 R 26.04

315.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$3.49 R 57.5

61.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.45 R 23.92

-11.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.81 R 29.90

14.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.52 R 25.09

54.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$0.41 R 6.75

873.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.74 R 12.23

47.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$7.46 R 123

123.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.35 R 22.31

68.89%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$35.5K R 584.5K

-5.08%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$30.9K R 508.8K

27.23%

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

$167 €149

$60.9 R 1,003

175.07%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$18.27 R 301

2.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$33.36 R 550

-0.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$32.27 R 532

42.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$10.59 R 174

81.21%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$4.12 R 68.0

138.83%

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

$677 €602

$304 R 5,016

122.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$7,507 R 123.7K

125.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$54.2 R 893

86.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$18.33 R 302

149.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$71.8 R 1,183

39.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$48.57 R 800

152.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$396 R 6,527

307.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$366 R 6,028

227.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$741 R 12.2K

286.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$722 R 11.9K

175.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$888 R 14.6K

753.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$666 R 11.0K

547.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$1,528 R 25.2K

3.89%

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 11, 2026

Last update for Margate: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Margate

$366 41.2% 69.4% $831

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Margate

$147 16.5% 45.6% $123

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Margate

$126 14.2% 48% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Margate

$113 12.7% 48.7% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Margate

$87 9.8% 47.8% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Margate

$41 4.6% 38.3% $25

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Margate

$10 * 1.2% 83.8% $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 $1,614 in Lisbon and $396 in Margate. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 4% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $36.00 in Margate for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $147 per month, with Margate cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Margate

🕒 Local time

07:48 7:48 AM

08:48 8:48 AM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

34,407

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Margate 8,750 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Margate

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 Margate: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Margate differ by about 150% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $889 including rent). Margate is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 4% higher in Lisbon, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $396 in Margate. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 84% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,223 per month in Lisbon versus $889 in Margate – a 150% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $889 in Margate versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Margate but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Margate 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 Margate are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Margate gentler on the wallet – expenses run 150% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.