Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Pai

For one person, living is cheaper in Pai: $887 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 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 Pai
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Pai Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Pai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$887

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Pai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $887 in Pai.

Lisbon $2,210
Pai $887

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,447 in Pai.

Lisbon $3,275
Pai $1,447

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,006 in Pai.

Lisbon $4,341
Pai $2,006

Living in Lisbon is roughly 149% more expensive than in Pai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Pai is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.96

$2.99 ฿101

456.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$24.41 ฿824

152.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$6.89 ฿233

64.88%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.04 ฿68.8

45.59%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.71 ฿23.94

222.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.37 ฿12.50

370.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.12 ฿71.6

60.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.60 ฿122

-8.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.77 ฿59.7

-34.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.40 ฿47.23

36.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.26 ฿42.56

19.84%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.12 ฿71.5

89.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$16.96 ฿573

-23.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.99

$3.09 ฿104

151.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.96

$10.89 ฿368

63.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$2.91 ฿98.3

-20.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.18 ฿39.89

46.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.86 ฿63.0

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.52 ฿51.5

70.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.55 ฿52.5

17.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.25 ฿42.08

57.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.98 ฿33.08

50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.51 ฿17.37

41.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.92

$4.25 ฿143

54.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$18.32 ฿619

-69.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.80 ฿60.9

-24.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.76 ฿93.3

-22.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.95 ฿32.06

145.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$1.10 ฿37.00

250.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.19 ฿40.15

-10.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$6.31 ฿213

160.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.31 ฿44.12

67.94%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$27.4K ฿925.0K

24.82%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$27.0K ฿911.5K

43.47%

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

$161 €145

$72.5 ฿2,448

122.37%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$13.31 ฿449

38.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$18.34 ฿619

78.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.03

$50.2 ฿1,696

-11.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$13.12 ฿443

45.58%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$6.78 ฿229

41.59%

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

$668 €600

$293 ฿9,888

128.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$9,600 ฿324.2K

83.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.7

$32.04 ฿1,082

218.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.95

$34.86 ฿1,177

27.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$82.1 ฿2,774

19.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$67.5 ฿2,279

83.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$446 ฿15.1K

260.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$270 ฿9,135

339.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,527

$822 ฿27.7K

242.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,809

$650 ฿22.0K

209.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,043

$2,474 ฿83.5K

216.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,111

$1,826 ฿61.7K

150.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.45

-29.36%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Pai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Pai

$270 30.5% 77.3% $920

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Pai

$249 28.1% 8.4% $23

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Pai

$91 10.3% 62.4% $151

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Pai

$104 11.7% 51% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Pai

$97 11% 41.3% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Pai

$64 7.2% 0.1% $0

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Pai

$11 * 1.2% 82.8% $52

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 $446 in Pai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $24 in Pai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $249 per month, with Pai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇹🇭 Pai

🕒 Local time

13:01 1:01 PM

20:01 8:01 PM

7 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

2,284

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Pai 10,100 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Pai

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 Pai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Pai differ by about 149% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $887 including rent). Pai 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 $1,331 in Pai 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 $446 in Pai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% 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 $887 in Pai – a 149% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $887 in Pai versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Pai but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Pai 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 Pai are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.