Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Port Shepstone

For one person, living is cheaper in Port Shepstone: $1,058 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Port Shepstone
Learn more

Port Shepstone Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Port Shepstone

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,058

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Port Shepstone

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $1,058 in Port Shepstone.

Lisbon $2,202
Port Shepstone $1,058

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $1,592 in Port Shepstone.

Lisbon $3,274
Port Shepstone $1,592

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,126 in Port Shepstone.

Lisbon $4,346
Port Shepstone $2,126

Living in Lisbon is roughly 108% more expensive than in Port Shepstone, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Port Shepstone is 22% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$7.68 R 127

121.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$38.93 R 641

60.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$6.06 R 99.8

81.85%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$2.72 R 44.89

14.71%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$1.11 R 18.28

104.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.85 R 13.98

104.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$2.46 R 40.54

39.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$2.61 R 42.96

43.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$0.89 R 14.70

31.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$0.71 R 11.74

161.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.20 R 19.80

28.33%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$1.50 R 24.68

170.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$7.14 R 118

80.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$3.63 R 59.8

117.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$7.22 R 119

144.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.19 R 19.63

89.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$0.72 R 11.85

143.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$0.62 R 10.27

204.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$1.55 R 25.49

65.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$0.60 R 9.83

208.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.46 R 24.11

34.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.92 R 15.18

57.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.59 R 9.64

30.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$3.73 R 61.5

79.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$4.73 R 78.0

19.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.48 R 24.39

-7.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.95 R 32.05

8.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$1.72 R 28.37

34.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$0.41 R 6.78

863.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.75 R 12.42

40.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$7.83 R 129

119.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.33 R 21.86

64.66%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$34.9K R 575.0K

-3.20%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$33.1K R 544.9K

15.69%

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

$164 €146

$123 R 2,025

33.25%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$18.38 R 303

0.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$37.21 R 613

-11.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$31.90 R 526

43.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$9.48 R 156

97.05%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$7.50 R 124

30.00%

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

$684 €608

$314 R 5,180

117.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$7,567 R 124.7K

132.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$54.0 R 889

92.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$30.29 R 499

52.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$100 R 1,653

-0.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$84.3 R 1,389

47.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$426 R 7,013

273.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$418 R 6,887

179.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$634 R 10.5K

349.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$729 R 12.0K

173.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$927 R 15.3K

740.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$775 R 12.8K

469.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$3,033 R 50.0K

-47.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

11.78

-67.32%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Port Shepstone: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Port Shepstone

$418 39.5% 64.2% $751

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Port Shepstone

$145 13.7% 47% $128

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Port Shepstone

$138 13% 44.4% $110

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Port Shepstone

$179 16.9% 17.1% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Port Shepstone

$121 11.4% 28.2% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Port Shepstone

$47 4.4% 28.3% $18

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Port Shepstone

$11 * 1.1% 82.4% $52

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $426 in Port Shepstone. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Port Shepstone pays 90% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $39.00 in Port Shepstone for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $145 per month, with Port Shepstone cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Port Shepstone

🕒 Local time

20:14 8:14 PM

21:14 9:14 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

52,793

💱 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 20, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Port Shepstone 8,740 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Port Shepstone

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 Port Shepstone: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Port Shepstone differ by about 108% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $1,058 including rent). Port Shepstone is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 90% lower in Port Shepstone. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $426 in Port Shepstone. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 89% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,202 per month in Lisbon versus $1,058 in Port Shepstone – a 108% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,058 in Port Shepstone versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Port Shepstone but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Port Shepstone 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 Port Shepstone 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 Port Shepstone gentler on the wallet – expenses run 108% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.