Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Randburg

For one person, living is cheaper in Randburg: $1,061 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 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
51

Cost of Living Index in Randburg
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Randburg Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Randburg

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,061

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Randburg

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,061 in Randburg.

Lisbon $2,210
Randburg $1,061

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,716 in Randburg.

Lisbon $3,275
Randburg $1,716

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,370 in Randburg.

Lisbon $4,341
Randburg $2,370

Living in Lisbon is roughly 108% more expensive than in Randburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Randburg is 22% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$10.36 R 173

60.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$44.80 R 748

37.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$5.29 R 88.2

114.74%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.49 R 41.50

19.28%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.27 R 21.27

80.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.91 R 15.23

91.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.57 R 42.98

32.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.29 R 54.9

0.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.27 R 21.25

-8.66%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.14 R 19.05

67.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.70 R 28.40

-11.18%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.74 R 45.81

46.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$8.57 R 143

50.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$5.62 R 93.8

38.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$7.17 R 120

147.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.98 R 33.10

16.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.60 R 26.65

8.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.81 R 30.20

2.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.61 R 26.90

60.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.69 R 28.24

7.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.66 R 27.79

18.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.15 R 19.27

27.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.29 R 21.54

-44.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.42 R 57.0

92.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$4.96 R 82.7

13.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.51 R 25.26

-9.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.16 R 35.98

-0.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$0.29 R 4.83

1227.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.92 R 15.36

16.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$14.52 R 242

13.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.48 R 24.64

48.65%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$35.6K R 593.7K

-3.87%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$34.7K R 578.7K

11.70%

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

$161 €144

$152 R 2,533

6.25%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$38.96 R 650

-52.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$37.21 R 621

-12.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$20.38 R 340

118.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$4.46 R 74.5

328.25%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$7.35 R 123

30.61%

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

$668 €598

$262 R 4,373

154.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,433 R 90.7K

224.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$53.8 R 898

89.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$45.23 R 755

-1.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$113 R 1,881

-12.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$82.7 R 1,380

49.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$313 R 5,230

413.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$302 R 5,038

294.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$616 R 10.3K

356.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$713 R 11.9K

182.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$608 R 10.2K

1189.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$764 R 12.8K

499.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$1,885 R 31.5K

-16.43%

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 27, 2026

Last update for Randburg: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Randburg

$302 28.4% 74.6% $888

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Randburg

$202 19.1% 25.7% $70

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Randburg

$157 14.8% 35.4% $86

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Randburg

$228 21.5% 7.3% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Randburg

$132 12.5% 20.2% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Randburg

$35 3.3% 45% $29

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Randburg

$4.9 * 0.5% 92.3% $58

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $313 in Randburg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Randburg pays 20% 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 $45 in Randburg for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $202 per month, with Randburg cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Randburg

🕒 Local time

06:08 6:08 AM

08:08 8:08 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

335,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.69 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.64 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Randburg 8,180 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Randburg

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 Randburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,061 in Randburg, so Randburg is about 52% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 16% 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 $313 in Randburg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $1,061 in Randburg – Randburg is about 52% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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