Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Polokwane

For one person, living is cheaper in Polokwane: $959 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,200 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
46

Cost of Living Index in Polokwane
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Polokwane Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Polokwane

🇿🇦 South Africa

$959

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Polokwane

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $959 in Polokwane.

Lisbon $2,223
Polokwane $959

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $1,417 in Polokwane.

Lisbon $3,271
Polokwane $1,417

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $1,875 in Polokwane.

Lisbon $4,319
Polokwane $1,875

Living in Lisbon is roughly 132% more expensive than in Polokwane, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Polokwane is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$12.24 R 202

34.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$29.66 R 489

106.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$7.46 R 123

51.07%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.38 R 39.26

28.57%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$0.77 R 12.68

193.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.88 R 14.47

96.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$1.68 R 27.65

101.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$1.88 R 30.95

80.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.32 R 21.71

-15.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.08 R 17.82

72.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.70 R 28.03

-10.00%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$2.65 R 43.69

49.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$7.84 R 129

62.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$4.59 R 75.6

72.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$6.04 R 99.6

180.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.01 R 33.19

12.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.85 R 30.53

-5.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.81 R 29.80

2.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$1.96 R 32.30

31.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.67 R 27.49

11.38%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.50 R 24.73

34.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.12 R 18.48

28.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.82 R 13.46

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$2.68 R 44.22

144.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$4.87 R 80.2

15.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.15 R 18.88

11.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.61 R 26.54

28.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.92 R 15.22

155.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$30.03 R 495

47.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$0.87 R 14.41

358.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.95 R 15.66

14.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$14.36 R 237

15.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.43 R 23.52

59.44%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$26.1K R 430.1K

29.00%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$28.5K R 469.0K

38.03%

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

$167 €149

$138 R 2,281

20.97%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$38.10 R 628

-50.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$32.99 R 544

0.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$23.29 R 384

97.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$8.00 R 132

23.00%

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

$677 €602

$179 R 2,946

278.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$1,452 R 23.9K

1065.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$45.30 R 746

123.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$37.73 R 622

21.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$80.6 R 1,328

24.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$93.7 R 1,544

30.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$290 R 4,785

455.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$203 R 3,338

490.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$420 R 6,922

581.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$284 R 4,683

600.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$1,343 R 22.1K

18.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

10.91

-64.71%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Polokwane: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Polokwane

$203 21.1% 83.1% $994

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Polokwane

$185 19.3% 31.3% $84

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Polokwane

$168 17.5% 30.8% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Polokwane

$210 21.8% 4.5% $9.8

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Polokwane

$116 12.1% 30.4% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Polokwane

$39 4.1% 40.2% $26

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Polokwane

$39 4.1% 37.5% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $290 in Polokwane. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 18% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $30.00 in Polokwane for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $185 per month, with Polokwane cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Polokwane

🕒 Local time

18:48 6:48 PM

19:48 7:48 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

628,999

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Polokwane 8,040 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Polokwane: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Polokwane differ by about 132% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $959 including rent). Polokwane is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 18% 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $290 in Polokwane. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $179 in Polokwane. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 45% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $959 in Polokwane versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Polokwane but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Polokwane 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 Polokwane are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Polokwane gentler on the wallet – expenses run 132% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.