Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Sal

For one person, living is cheaper in Sal: $850 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Sal
Learn more

Sal Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Sal

🇨🇻 Cape Verde

$850

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Sal

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $850 in Sal.

Lisbon $2,223
Sal $850

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $1,313 in Sal.

Lisbon $3,271
Sal $1,313

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $1,777 in Sal.

Lisbon $4,319
Sal $1,777

Living in Lisbon is roughly 162% more expensive than in Sal, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Sal is 37% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$5.51 CVE 540

199.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$44.18 CVE 4,332

38.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$11.03 CVE 1,081

2.18%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.32 CVE 227

31.90%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$2.54 CVE 249

-11.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.09 CVE 107

58.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$4.61 CVE 452

-26.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$3.07 CVE 301

10.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.58 CVE 155

-29.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.27 CVE 223

-18.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.20 CVE 118

27.50%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$2.79 CVE 273

41.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$9.03 CVE 886

41.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$7.51 CVE 736

5.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$15.99 CVE 1,568

6.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$3.16 CVE 310

-28.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.49 CVE 245

-29.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$3.33 CVE 326

-44.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$3.98 CVE 391

-35.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.64 CVE 161

13.41%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.85 CVE 182

9.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.55 CVE 152

-7.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.10 CVE 108

-25.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$4.57 CVE 448

43.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$6.40 CVE 628

-12.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$4.03 CVE 395

-68.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.88 CVE 184

10.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.99 CVE 96.6

137.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$2.08 CVE 204

91.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$3.08 CVE 302

-64.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$12.65 CVE 1,240

31.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.38 CVE 135

65.22%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

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

$39.3K €35.0K

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

$167 €149

$60.8 CVE 5,964

175.39%

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

$18.80 €16.72

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$49.23 CVE 4,827

-32.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$27.47 CVE 2,694

67.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

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

$677 €602

$115 CVE 11.2K

490.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$30.09 CVE 2,950

236.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$144 CVE 14.1K

-14.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$252 CVE 24.7K

540.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$168 CVE 16.5K

613.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$307 CVE 30.1K

831.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$206 CVE 20.2K

864.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$654 CVE 64.1K

1058.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$331 CVE 32.5K

1200.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$257 CVE 25.2K

517.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.25

-26.67%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Sal: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Sal

$168 19.8% 86% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Sal

$296 34.8% 9.8% $26

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Sal

$149 17.5% 38.6% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Sal

$110 * 13% 49.8% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Sal

$78 * 9.2% 53% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Sal

$27 * 3.2% 58.2% $38

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Sal

$21 * 2.5% 66% $42

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 $1,614 in Lisbon and $252 in Sal. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 518% 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: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $44.00 in Sal. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $296, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇻 Sal

🕒 Local time

04:42 4:42 AM

02:42 2:42 AM

2 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,288

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Cabo Verdean Escudo CVE $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CVE = 10.2 USD

1,000 CVE = 9.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CVE, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Cabo Verdean Escudo exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 98.05 CVE (100 CVE = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 110 CVE (1,000 CVE = 9.07 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Sal 2,790 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Sal

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 Sal: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Sal differ by about 162% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $850 including rent). Sal is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 518% 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $252 in Sal. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 10% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $2,223 per month in Lisbon versus $850 in Sal – a 162% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $850 in Sal versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sal but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sal 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 Sal 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 Sal gentler on the wallet – expenses run 162% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.