Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Palmas

For one person, living is cheaper in Palmas: $830 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Palmas
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Palmas Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Palmas

🇧🇷 Brazil

$830

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Palmas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $830 in Palmas.

Lisbon $2,206
Palmas $830

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,281 in Palmas.

Lisbon $3,276
Palmas $1,281

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,733 in Palmas.

Lisbon $4,346
Palmas $1,733

Living in Lisbon is roughly 166% more expensive than in Palmas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Palmas is 39% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.04

$3.83 R$21.01

340.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.5

$21.86 R$120

179.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.80

$7.41 R$40.65

48.18%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.72

$1.73 R$9.48

76.30%

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

$2.28 €2.04

$1.63 R$8.96

39.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$0.81 R$4.45

107.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.07

$1.46 R$7.99

135.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$2.72 R$14.91

43.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.02 R$5.60

12.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.34 R$7.36

41.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$2.76 R$15.15

-45.65%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.67

$2.41 R$13.24

70.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.60

$6.62 R$36.36

96.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.18

$2.95 R$16.20

172.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.96

$5.75 R$31.58

211.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.03

$2.18 R$11.97

4.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.56 R$8.57

11.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.13 R$6.21

61.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.40

$1.08 R$5.93

149.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.58

$1.19 R$6.51

48.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.04 R$5.72

86.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$0.75 R$4.13

94.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.71 R$3.90

7.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.94

$2.06 R$11.30

223.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.03

$6.42 R$35.25

-12.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.24 R$6.81

4.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.01 R$11.02

6.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$0.74 R$4.09

210.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.26

$41.72 R$229

5.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.55

$1.30 R$7.14

206.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.70 R$3.83

-8.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.88

$6.26 R$34.35

202.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.11 R$6.08

105.41%

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

$33.4K €29.8K

$19.7K R$108.0K

69.61%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$30.8K R$169.3K

24.83%

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

$158 €141

$106 R$581

49.48%

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

$17.54 €15.64

$10.92 R$59.9

60.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.82

$18.50 R$102

68.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.82

$21.99 R$121

103.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.93

$26.12 R$143

-27.34%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.54

$6.13 R$33.62

56.28%

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

$674 €601

$142 R$779

374.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$6,428 R$35.3K

191.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.2

$33.94 R$186

201.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.94

$49.29 R$271

-6.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.2

$106 R$582

-3.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$66.9 R$367

82.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,463

$309 R$1,696

430.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,059

$233 R$1,276

410.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,519

$611 R$3,354

362.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,800

$461 R$2,532

337.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,989

$1,616 R$8,869

384.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,193

$1,140 R$6,257

312.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,505

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

-65.27%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Palmas: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Palmas

$233 28% 80.4% $955

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Palmas

$167 20.1% 39.3% $108

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Palmas

$96 11.6% 60.8% $149

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Palmas

$135 16.3% 34.6% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Palmas

$115 13.9% 31.2% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Palmas

$34 4.1% 46.3% $30

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Palmas

$49 6% 18.1% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,641 in Lisbon and $309 in Palmas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $22 in Palmas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $167 per month, with Palmas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇧🇷 Palmas

🕒 Local time

06:22 6:22 AM

03:22 3:22 AM

3 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

302,692

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Palmas 6,780 km ≈ 9 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 Palmas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $830 in Palmas, so Palmas is about 62% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,309 in Lisbon and $1,244 in Palmas 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: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $309 in Palmas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $142 in Palmas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 65% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $830 in Palmas versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Palmas but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Palmas 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.

Expats usually find Palmas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.