Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Praia

For one person, living is cheaper in Praia: $1,195 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,200 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Praia
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Praia Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Praia

🇨🇻 Cape Verde

$1,195

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Praia

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,195 in Praia.

Lisbon $2,210
Praia $1,195

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,794 in Praia.

Lisbon $3,275
Praia $1,794

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,394 in Praia.

Lisbon $4,341
Praia $2,394

Living in Lisbon is roughly 85% more expensive than in Praia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Praia is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$5.05 CVE 501

229.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$35.98 CVE 3,564

71.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$7.24 CVE 717

56.91%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.68 CVE 265

10.82%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.60 CVE 158

43.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.18 CVE 117

47.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.48 CVE 245

37.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$1.90 CVE 189

74.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.33 CVE 132

-12.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$2.03 CVE 201

-5.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$3.61 CVE 358

-58.17%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.38 CVE 236

68.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$25.48 CVE 2,523

-49.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$4.65 CVE 461

67.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$16.52 CVE 1,636

7.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$5.16 CVE 511

-55.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$3.01 CVE 298

-42.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$4.08 CVE 404

-54.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$4.39 CVE 434

-41.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.51 CVE 149

20.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.43 CVE 142

37.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.01 CVE 99.7

45.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.51 CVE 149

-52.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$5.38 CVE 533

22.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$7.90 CVE 782

-28.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.77 CVE 175

-23.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.73 CVE 171

23.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.76 CVE 75.4

206.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

$29.34 CVE 2,906

52.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$1.80 CVE 178

113.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.21 CVE 120

-11.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.55 CVE 154

41.94%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$28.5K CVE 2.8M

19.91%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$38.6K CVE 3.8M

0.29%

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

$161 €144

$179 CVE 17.8K

-10.06%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$18.06 CVE 1,789

1.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$51.7 CVE 5,116

-36.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$32.24 CVE 3,193

38.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$10.14 CVE 1,004

88.36%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$5.51 CVE 545

74.23%

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

$668 €598

$125 CVE 12.4K

432.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$3,111 CVE 308.1K

466.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$61.1 CVE 6,047

67.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$25.85 CVE 2,560

71.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$66.4 CVE 6,577

48.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$92.9 CVE 9,203

33.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$570 CVE 56.5K

182.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$283 CVE 28.1K

319.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$886 CVE 87.7K

217.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$478 CVE 47.4K

321.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$1,360 CVE 134.7K

476.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$994 CVE 98.5K

360.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$300 CVE 29.8K

424.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

-51.88%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Praia: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Praia

$283 23.7% 76.2% $907

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Praia

$346 29% 27.2% $74

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Praia

$122 10.2% 49.9% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Praia

$249 20.8% 17.2% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Praia

$111 9.3% 33.2% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Praia

$43 3.6% 32.1% $20

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Praia

$40 3.4% 36.4% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $570 in Praia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 5.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $36 in Praia. Groceries flip the comparison at $272 vs $346, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇻 Praia

🕒 Local time

05:13 5:13 AM

04:13 4:13 AM

1 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

127,832 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Cabo Verdean Escudo CVE $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CVE = 10.1 USD

1,000 CVE = 9.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CVE, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Cabo Verdean Escudo exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 99.04 CVE (100 CVE = 1.01 USD). 1 EUR = 110 CVE (1,000 CVE = 9.07 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Praia 3,000 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

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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 Praia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,195 in Praia, so Praia is about 46% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 5.2 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 $570 in Praia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $125 in Praia. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 21% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Praia 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.

Safety-wise, Lisbon and Praia are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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