Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Placetas

For one person, living is cheaper in Placetas: $1,240 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $11,600 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Placetas
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Placetas Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Placetas

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,240

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Placetas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $1,240 in Placetas.

Lisbon $2,206
Placetas $1,240

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,462 in Placetas.

Lisbon $3,276
Placetas $1,462

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,685 in Placetas.

Lisbon $4,346
Placetas $1,685

Living in Lisbon is roughly 78% more expensive than in Placetas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Placetas is 8% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.02

$3.67 CUP 88.1

359.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.4

$13.39 CUP 321

355.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.78

$4.98 CUP 120

120.48%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.72

$1.05 CUP 25.20

190.48%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$1.53 CUP 36.67

49.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$0.94 CUP 22.62

78.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$1.22 CUP 29.39

181.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$1.99 CUP 47.72

96.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$2.02 CUP 48.39

-43.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.43 CUP 34.28

32.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$0.97 CUP 23.32

54.64%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.67

$1.23 CUP 29.45

234.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.59

$4.32 CUP 104

201.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.17

$2.97 CUP 71.2

170.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.94

$8.70 CUP 209

105.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.82 CUP 43.73

24.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.03 CUP 24.71

68.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.73 CUP 41.56

5.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.13 CUP 27.13

138.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$1.03 CUP 24.61

71.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.73

$0.97 CUP 23.36

100.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.78 CUP 18.77

87.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.52 CUP 12.58

46.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.93

$1.63 CUP 39.17

308.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.02

$5.38 CUP 129

4.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.78 CUP 42.64

-27.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.12 CUP 50.9

0.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$0.21 CUP 5.00

995.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.21

$19.87 CUP 477

121.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.55

$2.61 CUP 62.7

52.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.36 CUP 8.72

77.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.86

$14.84 CUP 356

27.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.27 CUP 30.50

79.53%

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

$33.4K €29.7K

$77.3K CUP 1.9M

-56.80%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$66.7K CUP 1.6M

-42.29%

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

$158 €141

$34.38 CUP 825

360.12%

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

$17.54 €15.62

$15.03 CUP 361

16.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.78

$88.8 CUP 2,130

-64.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.77

$39.72 CUP 953

12.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.91

$9.88 CUP 237

92.11%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.53

$0.82 CUP 19.72

1068.29%

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

$674 €600

$118 CUP 2,841

469.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$10.9K CUP 260.5K

72.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.0

$44.39 CUP 1,065

130.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.89

$30.35 CUP 728

51.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.0

$50.8 CUP 1,218

101.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$65.0 CUP 1,559

87.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,461

$203 CUP 4,881

706.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,058

$709 CUP 17.0K

67.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,516

$934 CUP 22.4K

202.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,798

$606 CUP 14.6K

232.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,980

$325 CUP 7,805

2309.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,188

$364 CUP 8,742

1190.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,503

$53.6 CUP 1,286

3048.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

9.1

-58.02%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Placetas: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Placetas

$709 57.2% 40.3% $478

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Placetas

$163 13.2% 40.5% $111

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Placetas

$77 6.2% 68.6% $168

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Placetas

$138 11.2% 33.2% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Placetas

$86 6.9% 48.8% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Placetas

$41 3.3% 35.2% $22

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Placetas

$25 2% 58.4% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,641 in Lisbon and $203 in Placetas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 31 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $13 in Placetas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $163 per month, with Placetas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇺 Placetas

🕒 Local time

15:33 3:33 PM

10:33 10:33 AM

5 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

39,615

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.71 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Placetas 6,830 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

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Lisbon
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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 Placetas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $1,240 in Placetas, so Placetas is about 44% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 31 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: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $203 in Placetas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $118 in Placetas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 68% 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. Placetas 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.

Expats usually find Placetas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.