Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Mossel Bay

For one person, living is cheaper in Mossel Bay: $1,094 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Mossel Bay
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Mossel Bay Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Mossel Bay

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,094

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Mossel Bay

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,094 in Mossel Bay.

Lisbon $2,210
Mossel Bay $1,094

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,720 in Mossel Bay.

Lisbon $3,275
Mossel Bay $1,720

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,346 in Mossel Bay.

Lisbon $4,341
Mossel Bay $2,346

Living in Lisbon is roughly 102% more expensive than in Mossel Bay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Mossel Bay is 20% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$14.39 R 239

15.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$48.69 R 809

26.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$8.51 R 141

33.49%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.56 R 42.60

16.02%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.39 R 23.09

64.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.95 R 15.72

83.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.45 R 40.63

38.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.97 R 49.41

11.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.10 R 18.20

5.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.07 R 17.84

78.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.68 R 44.53

-43.66%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$3.14 R 52.1

28.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$9.54 R 158

35.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$5.28 R 87.7

47.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$7.90 R 131

124.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.94 R 32.18

18.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.31 R 21.84

32.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.78 R 29.59

4.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$2.02 R 33.63

28.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.45 R 24.02

25.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.70 R 28.18

15.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.21 R 20.13

21.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.22 R 20.22

-40.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.71 R 61.7

77.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$4.92 R 81.7

14.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.06 R 34.17

-33.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.87 R 30.98

14.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$1.37 R 22.71

70.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$0.62 R 10.23

520.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.89 R 14.72

20.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$11.37 R 189

44.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.44 R 23.87

52.78%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$28.6K R 475.1K

19.53%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$27.1K R 449.5K

43.10%

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

$161 €144

$109 R 1,805

48.38%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$17.95 R 298

2.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$42.87 R 712

-23.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$21.03 R 349

111.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$10.91 R 181

75.07%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$7.18 R 119

33.70%

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

$668 €598

$275 R 4,573

142.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,404 R 89.8K

225.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$47.97 R 797

112.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$21.02 R 349

111.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$98.6 R 1,638

-0.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$66.6 R 1,106

85.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$503 R 8,350

219.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$364 R 6,051

226.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$1,033 R 17.2K

172.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$686 R 11.4K

193.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$597 R 9,913

1213.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$610 R 10.1K

650.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$1,505 R 25.0K

4.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

11.75

-67.23%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Mossel Bay: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Mossel Bay

$364 33.3% 69.4% $826

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Mossel Bay

$210 19.2% 23.1% $63

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Mossel Bay

$199 18.2% 18% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Mossel Bay

$169 15.5% 20.2% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Mossel Bay

$105 9.6% 36.5% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Mossel Bay

$35 3.2% 44.5% $28

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Mossel Bay

$11 * 1% 83.4% $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 $503 in Mossel Bay. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 5% 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: $62 in Lisbon vs $49 in Mossel Bay for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $210 per month, with Mossel Bay cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Mossel Bay

🕒 Local time

06:17 6:17 AM

08:17 8:17 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

60,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Mossel Bay 8,720 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

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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 Mossel Bay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,094 in Mossel Bay, so Mossel Bay is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 5% 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $503 in Mossel Bay. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% 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 $1,094 in Mossel Bay – Mossel Bay is about 51% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,094 in Mossel Bay versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mossel Bay but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Mossel Bay 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 Mossel Bay are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Mossel Bay wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.