Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Romford

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,202 a month against $2,706 in Romford, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 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
131

Cost of Living Index in Romford
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Romford Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Romford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,706

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Romford

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $2,706 in Romford.

Lisbon $2,202
Romford $2,706

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $4,122 in Romford.

Lisbon $3,274
Romford $4,122

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $5,538 in Romford.

Lisbon $4,346
Romford $5,538

Living in Lisbon costs roughly 19% less than in Romford, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, Romford 100% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$23.90 £17.93

-28.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$108 £81.3

-42.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$10.75 £8.07

2.51%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$4.88 £3.66

-36.07%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$2.68 £2.01

-15.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.85 £1.39

-5.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$7.62 £5.72

-55.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$6.78 £5.09

-44.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.83 £1.37

-36.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.74 £1.30

6.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$2.62 £1.96

-41.22%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$4.88 £3.66

-16.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$9.51 £7.13

35.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$9.56 £7.17

-17.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$16.02 £12.02

10.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$3.03 £2.28

-25.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.37 £1.03

27.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$3.24 £2.43

-41.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$3.55 £2.66

-27.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.66 £1.25

11.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.82 £1.37

8.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.25 £0.93

16.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$1.80 £1.35

-57.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$23.41 £17.56

-71.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$13.22 £9.92

-57.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$3.21 £2.41

-57.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$4.14 £3.11

-49.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$4.58 £3.43

-49.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$97.1 £72.8

-54.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$5.51 £4.13

-28.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$2.59 £1.94

-59.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$25.48 £19.11

-32.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$2.08 £1.56

5.29%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$38.9K £29.2K

-13.21%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$40.4K £30.3K

-5.23%

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

$164 €146

$381 £286

-57.02%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$18.84 £14.13

-1.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$43.29 £32.48

-23.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$50.6 £37.94

-9.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$17.03 £12.78

-42.75%

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

$684 €608

$2,581 £1,936

-73.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$35.1K £26.4K

-49.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$90.0 £67.6

15.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$46.87 £35.16

-1.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$91.7 £68.8

8.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$130 £97.3

-3.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$1,852 £1,389

-14.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$1,201 £901

-2.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$3,269 £2,452

-12.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$2,259 £1,695

-11.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$5,605 £4,205

39.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$3,693 £2,770

19.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$2,863 £2,148

-44.12%

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 19, 2026

Last update for Romford: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Romford

$1.2K 44.4% 2.7% $32

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Romford

$330 12.2% 20.9% $57

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Romford

$352 13% 42.2% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Romford

$443 16.4% 106% $228

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Romford

$161 6% 4.3% $7.2

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Romford

$85 3.1% 29.5% $19

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Romford

$134 5% 113% $71

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $1,852 in Romford. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Romford pays 79% 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: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $108 in Romford for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $330 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇬🇧 Romford

🕒 Local time

07:17 7:17 AM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

95,894

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Romford 1,600 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Romford

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 Romford: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Romford differ by about 23% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $2,706 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 79% lower in Romford. 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: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $1,852 in Romford. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $684 in Lisbon versus $2,581 in Romford. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Romford. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,202 in Lisbon versus $2,706 in Romford, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in Romford. The gap between the two cities makes Lisbon 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 Romford 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 Lisbon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Romford. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.