Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Porto Alegre

For one person, living is cheaper in Porto Alegre: $965 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,900 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 Porto Alegre
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Porto Alegre Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Porto Alegre

🇧🇷 Brazil

$965

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Porto Alegre

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $965 in Porto Alegre.

Lisbon $2,210
Porto Alegre $965

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,487 in Porto Alegre.

Lisbon $3,275
Porto Alegre $1,487

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,009 in Porto Alegre.

Lisbon $4,341
Porto Alegre $2,009

Living in Lisbon is roughly 129% more expensive than in Porto Alegre, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Porto Alegre is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$7.55 R$40.38

120.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$37.17 R$199

66.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$6.43 R$34.40

76.67%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.42 R$12.93

22.73%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.26 R$6.72

81.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.03 R$5.50

68.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.28 R$12.21

49.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.73 R$14.57

21.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$0.96 R$5.15

20.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.57 R$8.37

21.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.04 R$5.57

45.19%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.35 R$12.59

71.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$9.78 R$52.3

32.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$4.57 R$24.45

70.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$9.43 R$50.4

88.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.29 R$12.26

0.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.35 R$7.22

28.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.32 R$7.08

40.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.54 R$8.21

68.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.13 R$6.07

61.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.05 R$5.63

87.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.86 R$4.61

70.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.77 R$4.10

-6.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$2.36 R$12.63

178.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$7.26 R$38.79

-22.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.04 R$5.56

30.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.03 R$10.88

5.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.95 R$5.08

145.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

$56.3 R$301

-20.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$1.19 R$6.36

223.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.79 R$4.24

35.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$7.50 R$40.10

119.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.25 R$6.68

76.00%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$22.1K R$118.2K

54.59%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$31.7K R$169.2K

22.33%

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

$161 €144

$72.6 R$388

122.19%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$11.86 R$63.4

55.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$20.42 R$109

60.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$27.19 R$145

63.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$29.04 R$155

-34.23%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$6.89 R$36.81

39.33%

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

$668 €598

$516 R$2,757

29.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$23.5K R$125.6K

-25.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$47.70 R$255

113.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$54.6 R$292

-18.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$94.6 R$506

4.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$73.5 R$393

68.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$425 R$2,271

278.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$304 R$1,626

291.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$707 R$3,781

297.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$474 R$2,532

325.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$1,456 R$7,784

438.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$1,127 R$6,024

306.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$521 R$2,784

202.42%

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 Porto Alegre: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Porto Alegre

$304 31.5% 74.4% $886

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Porto Alegre

$194 20.1% 28.8% $78

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Porto Alegre

$135 14% 44.5% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Porto Alegre

$105 10.9% 50.6% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Porto Alegre

$122 12.6% 26.7% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Porto Alegre

$41 4.2% 35.7% $23

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Porto Alegre

$65 6.8% 3.2% $2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $425 in Porto Alegre. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $37 in Porto Alegre for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $194 per month, with Porto Alegre cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇧🇷 Porto Alegre

🕒 Local time

04:03 4:03 AM

01:03 1:03 AM

3 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,332,833

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Porto Alegre 8,800 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

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 Porto Alegre: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $965 in Porto Alegre, so Porto Alegre is about 56% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 3 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 $425 in Porto Alegre. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $516 in Porto Alegre. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 40% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Porto Alegre 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.

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