Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Sa Pa

For one person, living is cheaper in Sa Pa: $734 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $17,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Sa Pa
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Sa Pa Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Sa Pa

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$734

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Sa Pa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $734 in Sa Pa.

Lisbon $2,206
Sa Pa $734

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,169 in Sa Pa.

Lisbon $3,276
Sa Pa $1,169

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,604 in Sa Pa.

Lisbon $4,346
Sa Pa $1,604

Living in Lisbon is roughly 201% more expensive than in Sa Pa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Sa Pa is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €14.98

$1.89 ₫48.7K

792.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.2

$21.13 ₫544.5K

188.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.75

$4.71 ₫121.4K

133.12%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$1.75 ₫45.2K

74.29%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$0.50 ₫13.0K

356.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.49

$0.28 ₫7,202

500.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.05

$1.00 ₫25.7K

244.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.47

$1.53 ₫39.3K

155.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.42 ₫36.5K

-19.01%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$0.99 ₫25.5K

90.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.33

$0.99 ₫25.5K

51.52%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$1.40 ₫36.1K

194.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.55

$11.73 ₫302.2K

10.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.15

$3.73 ₫96.1K

115.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.89

$9.90 ₫254.9K

80.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.67 ₫68.8K

-14.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.02 ₫26.3K

70.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.28 ₫33.0K

42.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.13 ₫29.0K

138.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$1.07 ₫27.5K

65.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$1.06 ₫27.3K

83.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.70 ₫18.1K

108.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.52 ₫13.4K

46.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.91

$1.31 ₫33.8K

408.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.01

$11.35 ₫292.5K

-50.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$0.80 ₫20.7K

61.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.63 ₫42.0K

31.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.04

$0.31 ₫8,109

641.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.10

$6.43 ₫165.6K

584.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.54

$0.66 ₫17.0K

503.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.62 ₫15.9K

3.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.81

$2.82 ₫72.7K

571.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.02

$0.91 ₫23.4K

150.55%

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

$33.4K €29.6K

$34.5K ₫887.5M

-3.12%

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

$38.5K €34.2K

$31.6K ₫813.0M

22.02%

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

$158 €141

$75.6 ₫1.9M

109.25%

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

$17.54 €15.58

$5.90 ₫151.9K

197.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.70

$8.96 ₫230.7K

247.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.66

$21.79 ₫561.3K

104.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.86

$7.71 ₫198.7K

146.17%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.51

$3.08 ₫79.4K

211.04%

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

$674 €598

$264 ₫6.8M

155.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.6K

$11.7K ₫302.1M

59.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.8

$40.73 ₫1.0M

150.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.77

$23.04 ₫593.4K

99.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €90.8

$85.1 ₫2.2M

20.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €108

$75.3 ₫1.9M

61.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,457

$365 ₫9.4M

349.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,055

$250 ₫6.4M

375.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,509

$738 ₫19.0M

282.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,793

$531 ₫13.7M

279.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,960

$2,073 ₫53.4M

278.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,176

$1,246 ₫32.1M

277.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,499

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

9.1

-58.02%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Sa Pa: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Sa Pa

$250 34.1% 79% $937

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Sa Pa

$192 26.1% 30.1% $83

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Sa Pa

$61 8.4% 74.9% $184

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Sa Pa

$90 12.3% 56.3% $116

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Sa Pa

$101 13.8% 39.8% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Sa Pa

$28 3.8% 56.2% $36

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Sa Pa

$11 1.6% 81.1% $49

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,641 in Lisbon and $365 in Sa Pa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $21 in Sa Pa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $192 per month, with Sa Pa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇻🇳 Sa Pa

🕒 Local time

13:04 1:04 PM

20:04 8:04 PM

7 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

22,882

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.13 USD

100,000 VND = 3.88 USD

100,000 VND = 3.46 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.888 EUR (1 EUR = 1.13 USD).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 25,761 VND (100,000 VND = 3.88 USD). 1 EUR = 28,880 VND (100,000 VND = 3.46 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Sa Pa 10,290 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Sa Pa

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 Sa Pa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $734 in Sa Pa, so Sa Pa is about 67% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,309 in Lisbon and $1,101 in Sa Pa to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $365 in Sa Pa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $264 in Sa Pa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 43% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $734 in Sa Pa versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sa Pa but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sa Pa 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 Sa Pa are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Sa Pa 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.