Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Portsmouth

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,210 a month against $2,765 in Portsmouth, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 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
134

Cost of Living Index in Portsmouth
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Portsmouth Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Portsmouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,765

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Portsmouth

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $2,765 in Portsmouth.

Lisbon $2,210
Portsmouth $2,765

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $3,781 in Portsmouth.

Lisbon $3,275
Portsmouth $3,781

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $4,798 in Portsmouth.

Lisbon $4,341
Portsmouth $4,798

Living in Lisbon costs roughly 20% less than in Portsmouth, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, Portsmouth 103% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$20.08 £15.00

-17.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$66.5 £49.64

-7.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$10.54 £7.87

7.78%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$4.78 £3.57

-37.87%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$2.74 £2.05

-16.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$2.31 £1.73

-24.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$6.28 £4.69

-45.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$5.85 £4.37

-43.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.39 £1.04

-16.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.61 £1.20

18.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$3.67 £2.74

-58.86%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$3.46 £2.58

16.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$13.49 £10.07

-4.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$8.16 £6.09

-4.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$13.18 £9.85

34.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$3.89 £2.91

-40.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.93 £1.45

-10.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.92 £2.18

-36.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$3.38 £2.52

-23.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.67 £1.25

8.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.67 £1.25

17.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.21 £0.90

21.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.47 £1.10

-51.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$22.69 £16.95

-71.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$11.13 £8.32

-49.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$3.13 £2.34

-56.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.16 £1.61

-0.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$3.94 £2.94

-40.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

$86.3 £64.5

-48.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$5.31 £3.97

-27.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.54 £1.15

-30.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$19.93 £14.89

-17.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$2.09 £1.56

5.26%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$38.5K £28.8K

-11.23%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$41.1K £30.7K

-5.73%

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

$161 €144

$661 £494

-75.60%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$15.19 £11.35

21.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$43.05 £32.16

-23.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$34.53 £25.80

29.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$17.24 £12.88

10.79%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$10.80 £8.07

-11.11%

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

$668 €598

$1,602 £1,197

-58.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$20.0K £15.0K

-12.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$91.2 £68.1

11.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$39.80 £29.74

11.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$100 £75.0

-1.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$119 £89.2

3.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$1,493 £1,115

7.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$1,092 £816

9.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$2,146 £1,603

31.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$1,669 £1,247

20.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$4,574 £3,417

71.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$3,680 £2,749

24.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$3,397 £2,537

-53.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.16

-25.39%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Portsmouth: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Portsmouth

$1.1K 39.5% 8.3% $98

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Portsmouth

$312 11.3% 14.5% $40

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Portsmouth

$313 11.3% 29% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Portsmouth

$719 26% 239% $507

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Portsmouth

$158 5.7% 4.9% $8.1

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Portsmouth

$56 2% 11.9% $7.6

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Portsmouth

$115 4.2% 82% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $1,493 in Portsmouth. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Portsmouth pays about 2.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $66 in Portsmouth for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $312 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇬🇧 Portsmouth

🕒 Local time

03:22 3:22 AM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

198,974

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Portsmouth 1,490 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Portsmouth

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 Portsmouth: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $2,765 in Portsmouth, so Lisbon is about 20% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 54% lower in Lisbon. 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $1,493 in Portsmouth. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $1,602 in Portsmouth. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Portsmouth. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both work as nomad bases, but Lisbon delivers better value at $2,210 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Lisbon hard to pass up.

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