Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Paarl

For one person, living is cheaper in Paarl: $1,168 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,500 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
56

Cost of Living Index in Paarl
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Paarl Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Paarl

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,168

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Paarl

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,168 in Paarl.

Lisbon $2,210
Paarl $1,168

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $2,018 in Paarl.

Lisbon $3,275
Paarl $2,018

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,867 in Paarl.

Lisbon $4,341
Paarl $2,867

Living in Lisbon is roughly 89% more expensive than in Paarl, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Paarl is 14% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$12.17 R 203

36.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$46.36 R 772

33.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$5.98 R 99.7

89.97%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.11 R 35.22

40.76%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.03 R 17.23

122.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.97 R 16.17

79.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.34 R 39.07

45.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.78 R 46.34

19.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.35 R 22.44

-14.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.11 R 18.49

72.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.19 R 36.46

-31.05%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.68 R 44.62

50.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$7.43 R 124

74.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$5.49 R 91.5

41.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$9.67 R 161

83.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.91 R 31.86

20.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.94 R 32.39

-10.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.69 R 28.16

10.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.90 R 31.74

36.32%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$0.63 R 10.57

188.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.39 R 23.14

41.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.29 R 21.56

13.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.02 R 17.00

-29.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$3.68 R 61.4

78.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$4.53 R 75.5

23.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.38 R 22.98

-1.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.15 R 35.89

-0.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$1.52 R 25.30

53.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$88.9 R 1,481

-49.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$0.62 R 10.27

520.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.47 R 7.80

127.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$5.00 R 83.4

229.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.42 R 23.60

54.93%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$34.8K R 580.6K

-1.88%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$33.5K R 558.7K

15.49%

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

$161 €145

$79.8 R 1,329

102.08%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$28.84 R 481

-36.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$40.48 R 675

-19.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$40.90 R 682

8.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$10.94 R 182

74.59%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$8.94 R 149

7.38%

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

$668 €600

$266 R 4,436

150.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$3,664 R 61.0K

380.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$54.9 R 915

85.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$32.81 R 547

35.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$114 R 1,906

-13.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$105 R 1,755

17.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$805 R 13.4K

99.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$355 R 5,916

235.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$1,242 R 20.7K

126.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$1,009 R 16.8K

99.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$900 R 15.0K

771.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$668 R 11.1K

584.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$1,130 R 18.8K

39.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

10.97

-64.90%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Paarl: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Paarl

$355 30.4% 70.2% $835

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Paarl

$203 17.4% 25.6% $70

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Paarl

$166 14.2% 31.6% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Paarl

$149 12.8% 29.8% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Paarl

$138 11.9% 16.6% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Paarl

$59 5% 7.8% $5

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Paarl

$98 8.4% 54.9% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $805 in Paarl. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 39% 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 $46 in Paarl for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $203 per month, with Paarl cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Paarl

🕒 Local time

22:56 10:56 PM

00:56 12:56 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

112,045

💱 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 Paarl 8,560 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Paarl

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 Paarl: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,168 in Paarl, so Paarl is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 39% 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 $805 in Paarl. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $266 in Paarl. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 34% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Paarl is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

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