Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Roodepoort

For one person, living is cheaper in Roodepoort: $1,172 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,500 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
56

Cost of Living Index in Roodepoort
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Roodepoort Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Roodepoort

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,172

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Roodepoort

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,172 in Roodepoort.

Lisbon $2,210
Roodepoort $1,172

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,767 in Roodepoort.

Lisbon $3,275
Roodepoort $1,767

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,362 in Roodepoort.

Lisbon $4,341
Roodepoort $2,362

Living in Lisbon is roughly 89% more expensive than in Roodepoort, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Roodepoort is 14% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.85

$12.00 R 200

38.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.1

$44.96 R 748

37.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.13

$7.11 R 118

59.77%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.65

$2.43 R 40.47

22.22%

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

$2.29 €2.04

$1.13 R 18.87

102.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.98 R 16.28

77.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.04

$2.44 R 40.53

39.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.95

$2.78 R 46.26

19.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.03

$1.21 R 20.16

-4.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.15 R 19.12

66.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.78 R 29.68

-15.17%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.59

$2.51 R 41.77

60.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.54

$8.79 R 146

47.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.94

$5.38 R 89.5

44.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.85

$8.88 R 148

100.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.86 R 30.94

23.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.79 R 29.77

-3.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.73 R 28.78

7.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.31

$2.13 R 35.43

21.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.72 R 28.58

5.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.77 R 29.40

11.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.21 R 20.18

21.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.26 R 20.91

-42.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.87

$3.50 R 58.2

88.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.00

$5.85 R 97.3

-4.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.52 R 25.34

-10.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.91 R 31.75

12.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.08

$0.81 R 13.43

187.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €39.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.43

$0.81 R 13.40

375.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.95

$0.88 R 14.71

21.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.69

$14.69 R 244

12.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.96

$1.56 R 25.91

41.03%

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

$34.2K €30.5K

$34.7K R 577.7K

-1.53%

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

$38.7K €34.5K

$35.1K R 583.8K

10.35%

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

$161 €144

$226 R 3,761

-28.69%

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

$18.41 €16.43

$39.16 R 652

-52.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.21

$37.33 R 621

-12.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.74

$47.68 R 793

-6.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.04

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.56

$7.35 R 122

30.61%

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

$668 €596

$238 R 3,967

180.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$5,476 R 91.1K

221.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.0

$52.1 R 866

95.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.67

$32.49 R 541

36.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €87.9

$110 R 1,822

-10.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €110

$88.4 R 1,471

39.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,435

$598 R 9,957

168.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,062

$289 R 4,800

312.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,509

$1,530 R 25.5K

83.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,796

$531 R 8,828

279.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €6,994

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,082

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,405

$1,519 R 25.3K

3.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

11.25

-65.78%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Roodepoort: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Roodepoort

$289 24.6% 75.8% $902

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Roodepoort

$210 17.9% 22.9% $62

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Roodepoort

$173 14.7% 28.8% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Roodepoort

$303 25.8% 42.5% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Roodepoort

$127 10.9% 23.4% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Roodepoort

$62 5.3% 2.1% $1.4

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Roodepoort

$8.5 * 0.7% 86.6% $55

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 $598 in Roodepoort. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 4% 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 in Lisbon vs $45 in Roodepoort for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $210 per month, with Roodepoort cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Roodepoort

🕒 Local time

15:55 3:55 PM

17:55 5:55 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

325,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.01 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 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 = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.64 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.01 USD). 1 EUR = 18.57 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Roodepoort 8,180 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

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Lisbon
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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 Roodepoort: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,172 in Roodepoort, so Roodepoort is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 4% 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $598 in Roodepoort. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% 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 $1,172 in Roodepoort – Roodepoort is about 47% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,172 in Roodepoort versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Roodepoort but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Roodepoort 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.

It comes down to priorities – Roodepoort wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.