Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Sale

For one person, living is cheaper in Sale: $635 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $19,100 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
31

Cost of Living Index in Sale
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Sale Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Sale

🇲🇦 Morocco

$635

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Sale

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $635 in Sale.

Lisbon $2,223
Sale $635

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $1,044 in Sale.

Lisbon $3,271
Sale $1,044

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $1,453 in Sale.

Lisbon $4,319
Sale $1,453

Living in Lisbon is roughly 250% more expensive than in Sale, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Sale is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$3.63 MAD 35.42

354.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$17.82 MAD 174

243.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$7.19 MAD 70.1

56.75%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$1.76 MAD 17.20

73.86%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$0.60 MAD 5.81

276.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.32 MAD 3.16

440.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$2.63 MAD 25.63

28.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$3.05 MAD 29.76

11.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$0.90 MAD 8.77

24.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.65 MAD 6.36

186.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.90 MAD 18.57

-19.47%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$1.86 MAD 18.10

112.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$11.31 MAD 110

12.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$6.89 MAD 67.2

14.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$12.38 MAD 121

37.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.34 MAD 13.05

69.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.18 MAD 11.48

48.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$0.84 MAD 8.23

120.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$0.90 MAD 8.76

185.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.68 MAD 6.62

173.53%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$0.73 MAD 7.15

176.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.47 MAD 4.58

206.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.62 MAD 6.03

32.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$3.75 MAD 36.51

74.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$4.74 MAD 46.23

18.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$2.23 MAD 21.75

-42.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$2.13 MAD 20.81

-2.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.55 MAD 5.32

327.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$23.03 MAD 225

91.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$0.69 MAD 6.78

478.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.50 MAD 4.85

118.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$4.03 MAD 39.30

312.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.48 MAD 14.46

54.05%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$31.0K MAD 301.9K

8.74%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$30.8K MAD 300.4K

27.52%

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

$167 €149

$37.71 MAD 368

344.15%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$10.53 MAD 103

78.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$40.93 MAD 399

-19.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$16.62 MAD 162

176.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$40.69 MAD 397

-52.84%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$5.29 MAD 51.6

86.01%

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

$677 €602

$104 MAD 1,010

554.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$5,903 MAD 57.6K

186.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$32.27 MAD 315

213.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$46.59 MAD 454

-1.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$71.9 MAD 701

39.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$66.4 MAD 648

84.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$208 MAD 2,025

677.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$102 MAD 994

1074.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$356 MAD 3,473

703.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$260 MAD 2,532

666.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$1,126 MAD 11.0K

572.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$838 MAD 8,167

414.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$516 MAD 5,033

207.60%

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 11, 2026

Last update for Sale: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Sale

$102 16.1% 91.5% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Sale

$195 30.8% 27.5% $74

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Sale

$95 14.9% 60.9% $147

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Sale

$89 14.1% 59.4% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Sale

$98 15.4% 41.3% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Sale

$27 4.3% 58.6% $38

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Sale

$28 4.5% 54.9% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $208 in Sale. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 208% 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 $18.00 in Sale for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $195 per month, with Sale cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇦 Sale

🕒 Local time

15:26 3:26 PM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

890,403

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MAD = 10.26 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Sale 560 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Sale

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 Sale: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Sale differ by about 250% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $635 including rent). Sale is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 208% 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 $208 in Sale. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $104 in Sale. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 38% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $635 in Sale versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sale but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sale 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 Sale 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 Sale gentler on the wallet – expenses run 250% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.