Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Pelotas

For one person, living is cheaper in Pelotas: $708 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $18,000 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Pelotas
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Pelotas Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Pelotas

🇧🇷 Brazil

$708

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Pelotas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $708 in Pelotas.

Lisbon $2,210
Pelotas $708

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,099 in Pelotas.

Lisbon $3,275
Pelotas $1,099

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,490 in Pelotas.

Lisbon $4,341
Pelotas $1,490

Living in Lisbon is roughly 212% more expensive than in Pelotas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Pelotas is 48% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.87

$5.51 R$29.93

202.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.2

$16.54 R$89.9

273.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.14

$6.33 R$34.41

79.46%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.65

$2.41 R$13.10

23.24%

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

$2.29 €2.04

$1.21 R$6.59

89.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.65 R$3.55

167.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.04

$1.36 R$7.40

150.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$1.47 R$8.00

125.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.03

$0.82 R$4.45

41.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.12 R$6.08

70.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$0.81 R$4.40

86.42%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.59

$2.17 R$11.78

85.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.56

$9.53 R$51.8

35.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.94

$4.43 R$24.08

75.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.86

$9.10 R$49.45

95.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.20 R$11.99

4.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.10 R$5.98

57.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.33 R$7.21

39.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.31

$1.09 R$5.91

137.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.14 R$6.19

59.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.97 R$5.28

103.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$0.84 R$4.59

75.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.49 R$2.65

46.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.88

$2.22 R$12.06

196.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.01

$7.03 R$38.25

-20.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.63 R$3.44

115.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$0.91 R$4.94

135.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.08

$1.14 R$6.20

104.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €39.91

$48.93 R$266

-8.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.44

$1.24 R$6.74

210.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.79 R$4.28

35.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.70

$7.78 R$42.30

111.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.21 R$6.57

81.82%

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

$34.2K €30.5K

$22.1K R$120.3K

54.53%

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

$38.7K €34.6K

$32.7K R$177.6K

18.54%

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

$161 €144

$72.8 R$396

121.58%

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

$18.41 €16.44

$6.96 R$37.83

164.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.24

$18.74 R$102

74.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.79

$18.93 R$103

135.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.06

$18.43 R$100

3.64%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.57

$4.43 R$24.06

116.70%

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

$668 €596

$524 R$2,850

27.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$21.7K R$118.1K

-18.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.1

$33.08 R$180

208.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.72

$28.06 R$153

58.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.0

$56.2 R$305

75.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €110

$73.4 R$399

68.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,437

$219 R$1,191

634.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,063

$157 R$853

658.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,512

$364 R$1,977

673.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,798

$300 R$1,629

571.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,002

$1,425 R$7,749

449.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,087

$752 R$4,089

508.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,407

$426 R$2,318

269.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

11.5

-66.52%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Pelotas: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Pelotas

$157 22.2% 86.8% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Pelotas

$171 24.2% 37.1% $101

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Pelotas

$109 15.4% 55% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Pelotas

$98 13.9% 53.6% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Pelotas

$86 12.1% 48.3% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Pelotas

$28 3.9% 56.4% $36

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Pelotas

$59 8.3% 7.2% $4.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $219 in Pelotas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 3.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $17 in Pelotas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $171 per month, with Pelotas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇧🇷 Pelotas

🕒 Local time

02:10 2:10 AM

23:10 11:10 PM

3 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

325,685

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.164 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Pelotas 9,020 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

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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 Pelotas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $708 in Pelotas, so Pelotas is about 68% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 3.7 times higher, 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 $219 in Pelotas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $524 in Pelotas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 59% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $708 in Pelotas versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Pelotas but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Pelotas 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.

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