Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Reading

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,210 a month against $2,763 in Reading, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
134

Cost of Living Index in Reading
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Reading Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Reading

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,763

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Reading

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $2,763 in Reading.

Lisbon $2,210
Reading $2,763

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $4,013 in Reading.

Lisbon $3,275
Reading $4,013

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $5,264 in Reading.

Lisbon $4,341
Reading $5,264

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.91

$27.16 £20.28

-38.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$92.3 £68.9

-33.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.17

$10.43 £7.79

8.92%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$4.98 £3.72

-40.36%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$2.89 £2.16

-20.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$2.78 £2.07

-37.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$8.66 £6.47

-60.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$6.48 £4.84

-48.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.49 £1.11

-22.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.75 £1.31

9.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$2.93 £2.19

-48.46%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$3.73 £2.78

7.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$11.34 £8.47

14.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.96

$8.52 £6.36

-8.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.91

$12.90 £9.63

37.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.98 £2.23

-22.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.47 £1.10

17.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.91 £2.17

-36.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$3.21 £2.40

-19.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.55 £1.16

17.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.40 £1.05

40.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.92 £0.68

59.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.50 £1.12

-52.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$24.01 £17.92

-72.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$13.89 £10.37

-59.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.32 £1.73

-41.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$3.08 £2.30

-30.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$3.91 £2.92

-40.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.01

$83.8 £62.6

-46.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$6.55 £4.89

-41.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$4.58 £3.42

-76.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.74

$13.37 £9.98

23.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$2.00 £1.49

10.00%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$39.3K £29.3K

-12.96%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$40.6K £30.3K

-4.50%

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

$161 €144

$282 £211

-42.90%

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

$18.41 €16.49

$20.55 £15.35

-10.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.32

$46.40 £34.64

-29.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.90

$44.80 £33.45

-0.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.10

$21.12 £15.77

-9.56%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$13.18 £9.84

-27.16%

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

$668 €598

$1,905 £1,422

-64.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$29.2K £21.8K

-39.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$74.5 £55.6

36.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.82

$67.7 £50.5

-34.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.2

$115 £85.6

-14.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$109 £81.0

13.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,440

$1,739 £1,298

-7.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$1,361 £1,016

-12.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,519

$2,904 £2,169

-3.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,803

$2,165 £1,616

-7.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,021

$7,218 £5,389

8.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,098

$5,527 £4,127

-17.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$3,446 £2,573

-54.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

-23.00%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Reading: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Reading

$1.4K 49.3% 14.4% $171

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Reading

$300 10.9% 10.3% $28

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Reading

$387 14% 59.6% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Reading

$349 12.6% 64.5% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Reading

$164 6% 0.9% $1.5

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Reading

$71 2.6% 11.6% $7.4

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Reading

$129 4.7% 104% $66

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $1,739 in Reading. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Reading 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 $92 in Reading for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $300 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇬🇧 Reading

🕒 Local time

11:39 11:39 AM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

162,666

💱 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

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Between locations

Lisbon Reading 1,550 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Reading

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 Reading: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $2,763 in Reading, 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 $1,739 in Reading. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $1,905 in Reading. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 10% higher in Reading. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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 Reading are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Lisbon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Reading. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.