Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Midrand

For one person, living is cheaper in Midrand: $1,097 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,400 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Midrand
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Midrand Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Midrand

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,097

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Midrand

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,097 in Midrand.

Lisbon $2,210
Midrand $1,097

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,641 in Midrand.

Lisbon $3,275
Midrand $1,641

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,185 in Midrand.

Lisbon $4,341
Midrand $2,185

Living in Lisbon is roughly 102% more expensive than in Midrand, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Midrand is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$5.71 R 95.1

191.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$30.15 R 502

104.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$3.12 R 52.0

264.10%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$1.78 R 29.64

66.85%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.23 R 20.45

86.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.92 R 15.35

89.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.37 R 39.41

43.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.39 R 39.88

38.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.33 R 22.21

-12.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.19 R 19.90

60.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.31 R 21.79

15.27%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.80 R 46.64

43.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$9.06 R 151

42.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$5.55 R 92.5

40.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$9.05 R 151

96.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$2.02 R 33.67

13.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.09 R 18.11

58.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.75 R 29.24

6.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.49 R 24.83

73.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.72 R 28.65

5.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.85 R 30.78

6.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.23 R 20.53

19.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.27 R 21.24

-43.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$3.29 R 54.9

100.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$5.42 R 90.3

3.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.94 R 15.68

44.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.24 R 20.70

72.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$1.50 R 25.07

55.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$0.83 R 13.84

363.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.58 R 9.68

84.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$14.67 R 245

12.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.46 R 24.29

50.68%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$34.4K R 572.5K

-0.47%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$30.3K R 504.1K

28.01%

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

$161 €145

$108 R 1,798

49.39%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$24.41 R 407

-24.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$37.64 R 627

-13.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$32.28 R 538

38.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$10.71 R 178

78.34%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$8.73 R 145

9.97%

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

$668 €600

$183 R 3,054

264.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,471 R 91.2K

221.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$59.3 R 987

72.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$45.72 R 762

-2.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$84.3 R 1,405

16.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$84.2 R 1,403

46.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$492 R 8,205

226.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$441 R 7,341

170.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$834 R 13.9K

237.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$758 R 12.6K

165.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$867 R 14.4K

804.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$694 R 11.6K

559.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

10.91

-64.71%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Midrand: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Midrand

$441 40.2% 63% $750

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Midrand

$202 18.4% 25.8% $70

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Midrand

$102 9.3% 58.1% $141

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Midrand

$170 15.5% 20% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Midrand

$123 11.2% 25.8% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Midrand

$50 4.5% 22% $14

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Midrand

$9.8 * 0.9% 84.6% $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 $492 in Midrand. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $30 in Midrand for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $202 per month, with Midrand cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Midrand

🕒 Local time

17:13 5:13 PM

19:13 7:13 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

87,387

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 ZAR = 6 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Midrand 8,170 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Midrand

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 Midrand: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Midrand differ by about 102% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $1,097 including rent). Midrand is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,315 in Lisbon and $1,645 in Midrand 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 $492 in Midrand. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $1,097 in Midrand – a 102% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,097 in Midrand versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Midrand but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Midrand 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.