Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Preston

For one person, living is cheaper in Preston: $2,114 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in Preston
Learn more

Preston Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Preston

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,114

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Preston

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $2,114 in Preston.

Lisbon $2,210
Preston $2,114

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $3,021 in Preston.

Lisbon $3,275
Preston $3,021

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $3,928 in Preston.

Lisbon $4,341
Preston $3,928

Living in Lisbon is roughly 5% more expensive than in Preston, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, Preston 55% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.85

$15.89 £11.85

4.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.1

$74.3 £55.4

-16.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.13

$9.20 £6.86

23.48%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.65

$4.24 £3.16

-29.95%

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

$2.29 €2.04

$2.31 £1.72

-0.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.83 £1.36

-4.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.04

$5.39 £4.02

-36.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.95

$5.20 £3.88

-36.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.03

$1.49 £1.11

-22.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.43 £1.07

33.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.60 £1.19

-5.63%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.59

$3.59 £2.68

11.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.54

$5.30 £3.95

144.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.94

$9.53 £7.10

-18.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.85

$12.68 £9.46

40.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.59 £1.93

-11.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.72 £1.28

0.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.57 £1.92

-27.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.31

$3.96 £2.95

-34.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$2.06 £1.53

-11.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$2.25 £1.68

-12.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.17 £0.87

25.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.65 £1.23

-56.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.87

$21.56 £16.08

-69.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.00

$9.14 £6.81

-38.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$3.18 £2.37

-57.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$3.25 £2.42

-34.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.08

$3.92 £2.92

-40.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €39.86

$98.5 £73.4

-54.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.43

$2.60 £1.94

48.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.95

$2.10 £1.57

-49.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.69

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.96

$1.99 £1.48

10.55%

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

$34.2K €30.5K

$37.9K £28.3K

-9.78%

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

$38.7K €34.5K

$41.1K £30.7K

-5.86%

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

$161 €144

$439 £327

-63.28%

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

$18.41 €16.43

$14.86 £11.08

23.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.21

$43.51 £32.44

-24.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.74

$41.40 £30.87

7.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.04

$16.80 £12.52

13.69%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.56

$17.83 £13.30

-46.16%

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

$668 €596

$1,512 £1,127

-55.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$8,738 £6,515

101.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.0

$75.7 £56.5

34.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.67

$26.16 £19.50

69.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €87.9

$65.4 £48.75

50.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €110

$66.4 £49.50

86.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,435

$969 £723

65.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,062

$767 £572

55.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,509

$1,608 £1,199

74.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,796

$1,211 £903

66.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €6,994

$3,634 £2,709

115.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,082

$2,379 £1,774

92.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,405

$2,994 £2,232

-47.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

4.93

-21.91%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Preston: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Preston

$767 36.3% 35.5% $423

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Preston

$281 13.3% 3.1% $8.3

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Preston

$260 12.3% 7% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Preston

$497 23.5% 134% $285

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Preston

$105 5% 36.6% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Preston

$77 3.6% 20.9% $13

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Preston

$127 6% 101% $64

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $969 in Preston. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Preston 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 in Lisbon vs $74 in Preston for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $281 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇬🇧 Preston

🕒 Local time

15:04 3:04 PM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

114,300

💱 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 Preston 1,740 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Preston

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 Preston: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $2,114 in Preston, so Preston is about 4% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 47% 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 $969 in Preston. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $1,512 in Preston. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 3% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Preston gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.