Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Middlesbrough

For one person, living is cheaper in Middlesbrough: $2,089 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
102

Cost of Living Index in Middlesbrough
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Middlesbrough Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Middlesbrough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,089

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Middlesbrough

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $2,089 in Middlesbrough.

Lisbon $2,223
Middlesbrough $2,089

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $3,001 in Middlesbrough.

Lisbon $3,271
Middlesbrough $3,001

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $3,913 in Middlesbrough.

Lisbon $4,319
Middlesbrough $3,913

Living in Lisbon is roughly 6% more expensive than in Middlesbrough, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 65% above, Middlesbrough 55% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$23.80 £17.85

-30.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$72.5 £54.4

-15.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$10.73 £8.05

5.03%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$4.69 £3.52

-34.75%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$2.41 £1.81

-6.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.79 £1.35

-3.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$4.70 £3.53

-27.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$7.17 £5.38

-52.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.22 £0.92

-8.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.41 £1.06

31.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$2.45 £1.84

-37.55%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$3.70 £2.77

7.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$7.68 £5.76

66.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$7.29 £5.47

8.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$14.41 £10.81

17.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.48 £1.86

-8.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.38 £1.79

-26.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.57 £1.93

-28.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$2.60 £1.95

-1.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.78 £1.34

4.49%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.54 £1.15

31.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.16 £0.87

24.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$3.03 £2.27

-72.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$22.39 £16.79

-70.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$9.42 £7.07

-40.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$4.43 £3.32

-71.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$3.68 £2.76

-43.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$5.53 £4.15

-57.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$92.6 £69.5

-52.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$4.39 £3.29

-9.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$25.94 £19.46

-35.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.99 £1.49

14.57%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$37.6K £28.2K

-10.54%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$39.8K £29.9K

-1.39%

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

$167 €149

$346 £260

-51.64%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$16.93 £12.70

11.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$41.87 £31.41

-20.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$49.69 £37.28

-7.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$32.46 £24.35

-40.88%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$14.43 £10.83

-31.81%

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

$677 €602

$795 £596

-14.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$40.4K £30.3K

-58.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$106 £79.8

-4.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$53.8 £40.36

-14.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$110 £82.7

-9.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$104 £78.2

17.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$997 £748

61.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$683 £513

75.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$961 £721

197.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$955 £716

108.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$2,303 £1,728

-31.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.64

-31.74%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Middlesbrough: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Middlesbrough

$683 32.7% 42.9% $514

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Middlesbrough

$301 14.4% 11.9% $32

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Middlesbrough

$334 16% 37.7% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Middlesbrough

$405 19.4% 84.7% $186

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Middlesbrough

$169 8.1% 1.3% $2.2

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Middlesbrough

$79 3.8% 19.6% $13

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Middlesbrough

$119 * 5.7% 89% $56

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 $997 in Middlesbrough. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Middlesbrough pays 45% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $72.0 in Middlesbrough for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $301 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇬🇧 Middlesbrough

🕒 Local time

07:25 7:25 AM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

139,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Lisbon Middlesbrough 1,860 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

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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 Middlesbrough: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Middlesbrough differ by about 6% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $2,089 including rent). Middlesbrough is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 45% lower in Middlesbrough. 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $997 in Middlesbrough. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $795 in Middlesbrough. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 12% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,089 in Middlesbrough versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Middlesbrough but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Middlesbrough 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 Middlesbrough 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 Middlesbrough gentler on the wallet – expenses run 6% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.