Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Pretoria

For one person, living is cheaper in Pretoria: $1,328 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 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
65

Cost of Living Index in Pretoria
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Pretoria Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Pretoria

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,328

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Pretoria

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $1,328 in Pretoria.

Lisbon $2,223
Pretoria $1,328

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $2,017 in Pretoria.

Lisbon $3,271
Pretoria $2,017

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $2,707 in Pretoria.

Lisbon $4,319
Pretoria $2,707

Living in Lisbon is roughly 67% more expensive than in Pretoria, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Pretoria is 2% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$9.04 R 149

82.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$37.37 R 616

63.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$5.28 R 87.0

113.45%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.33 R 38.34

31.33%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$1.09 R 17.89

107.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.89 R 14.72

94.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$2.58 R 42.58

31.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$3.24 R 53.5

4.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.19 R 19.62

-5.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.13 R 18.63

64.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.77 R 29.17

-13.56%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$2.55 R 42.00

55.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$8.20 R 135

55.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$4.82 R 79.5

63.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$7.45 R 123

127.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.71 R 28.22

32.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.61 R 26.46

8.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.78 R 29.30

3.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$1.62 R 26.66

58.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.13 R 18.54

64.60%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.18 R 19.39

71.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.17 R 19.33

23.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.33 R 21.97

-38.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$3.18 R 52.4

106.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$5.01 R 82.6

12.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.59 R 26.28

-19.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.92 R 31.65

7.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$4.81 R 79.2

-51.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$176 R 2,893

-74.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$0.31 R 5.19

1187.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.75 R 12.40

45.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$14.28 R 235

16.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.52 R 25.03

50.00%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$35.1K R 578.0K

-4.02%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$33.3K R 549.0K

17.92%

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

$167 €149

$152 R 2,505

10.16%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$36.95 R 609

-49.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$37.42 R 617

-11.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$31.33 R 516

46.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$10.27 R 169

86.85%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$7.46 R 123

31.90%

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

$677 €602

$261 R 4,300

159.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$7,812 R 128.7K

116.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$53.8 R 886

88.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$31.62 R 521

44.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$94.0 R 1,549

6.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$83.9 R 1,383

46.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$456 R 7,514

253.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$401 R 6,610

198.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$981 R 16.2K

191.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$749 R 12.3K

165.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$875 R 14.4K

766.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$692 R 11.4K

522.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$1,420 R 23.4K

11.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

11.34

-66.05%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Pretoria: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Pretoria

$401 30.2% 66.5% $796

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Pretoria

$193 14.6% 28.3% $76

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Pretoria

$143 10.8% 40.8% $99

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Pretoria

$226 17.1% 3.2% $7

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Pretoria

$119 8.9% 28.8% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Pretoria

$46 3.5% 29.6% $19

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Pretoria

$199 15% 216% $136

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $456 in Pretoria. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 12% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $37.00 in Pretoria for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $193 per month, with Pretoria cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Pretoria

🕒 Local time

12:00 12:00 PM

13:00 1:00 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

741,651 Capital

💱 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 19, 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

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Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Pretoria 8,150 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Pretoria

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 Pretoria: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Pretoria differ by about 67% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $1,328 including rent). Pretoria is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 12% higher in Lisbon, 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $456 in Pretoria. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $261 in Pretoria. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 39% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,328 in Pretoria versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Pretoria but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Pretoria 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 Pretoria 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 Pretoria gentler on the wallet – expenses run 67% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.