Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Philipsburg

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,210 a month against $3,094 in Philipsburg, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Philipsburg

🇸🇽 Sint Maarten

$3,094

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Philipsburg

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $3,094 in Philipsburg.

Lisbon $2,210
Philipsburg $3,094

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $6,080 in Philipsburg.

Lisbon $3,275
Philipsburg $6,080

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $9,066 in Philipsburg.

Lisbon $4,341
Philipsburg $9,066

Living in Lisbon costs roughly 29% less than in Philipsburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, Philipsburg 127% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.91

$15.29 ANG 27.37

8.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$68.7 ANG 123

-10.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.17

$8.01 ANG 14.34

41.82%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$4.43 ANG 7.93

-32.96%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$2.86 ANG 5.13

-19.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$4.07 ANG 7.29

-57.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.94 ANG 5.26

15.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$6.65 ANG 11.90

-50.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$3.02 ANG 5.41

-61.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$2.73 ANG 4.89

-30.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$2.46 ANG 4.40

-38.62%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$6.46 ANG 11.56

-37.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$18.14 ANG 32.47

-28.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.96

$13.75 ANG 24.61

-43.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.91

$15.14 ANG 27.10

17.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$5.09 ANG 9.11

-54.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$5.07 ANG 9.07

-65.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$8.79 ANG 15.73

-78.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$7.70 ANG 13.78

-66.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$3.94 ANG 7.04

-53.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$4.06 ANG 7.27

-51.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$4.95 ANG 8.86

-70.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.36 ANG 2.44

-47.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$7.88 ANG 14.11

-16.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$10.95 ANG 19.61

-48.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$4.98 ANG 8.91

-72.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$2.32 ANG 4.15

0.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.01

$1.53 ANG 2.74

2820.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$14.87 ANG 26.61

-74.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.74

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

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

$34.2K €30.6K

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

$38.7K €34.7K

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

$161 €144

$153 ANG 273

5.67%

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

$18.41 €16.49

$32.43 ANG 58.1

-43.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.32

$65.0 ANG 116

-49.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.90

$63.6 ANG 114

-29.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.10

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$11.02 ANG 19.72

-12.89%

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

$668 €598

$253 ANG 452

164.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$12.2K ANG 21.9K

44.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.82

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.2

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,440

$2,126 ANG 3,805

-24.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$1,983 ANG 3,550

-40.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,519

$6,627 ANG 11.9K

-57.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,803

$6,545 ANG 11.7K

-69.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,021

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,098

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$1,111 ANG 1,988

41.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

-23.00%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Philipsburg: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Philipsburg

–

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Philipsburg

–

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Philipsburg

–

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Philipsburg

–

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Philipsburg

–

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Philipsburg

–

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Philipsburg

–

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $2,126 in Philipsburg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 42% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $69 in Philipsburg for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $494 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇸🇽 Philipsburg

🕒 Local time

19:07 7:07 PM

15:07 3:07 PM

4 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,900 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Netherlands Antillean Guilder ANG ƒ

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 ANG = 0.559 USD

1 ANG = 0.5 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ANG, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

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

Netherlands Antillean Guilder exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 1.79 ANG (1 ANG = 0.559 USD). 1 EUR = 2 ANG (1 ANG = 0.5 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Philipsburg 5,660 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

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Philipsburg

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 Philipsburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $3,094 in Philipsburg, so Lisbon is about 29% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 42% 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 $2,126 in Philipsburg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $253 in Philipsburg. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 81% higher in Philipsburg. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,210 in Lisbon versus $3,094 in Philipsburg, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in Philipsburg. The gap between the two cities makes Lisbon 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.