Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and San Miguel de Allende

For one person, living is cheaper in San Miguel de Allende: $1,610 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in San Miguel de Allende
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San Miguel de Allende Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

San Miguel de Allende

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,610

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in San Miguel de Allende

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 San Miguel de Allende actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $1,610 in San Miguel de Allende.

Lisbon $2,223
San Miguel de Allende $1,610

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $2,579 in San Miguel de Allende.

Lisbon $3,271
San Miguel de Allende $2,579

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $3,548 in San Miguel de Allende.

Lisbon $4,319
San Miguel de Allende $3,548

Living in Lisbon is roughly 38% more expensive than in San Miguel de Allende, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 65% above, San Miguel de Allende 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$15.19 MX$281

8.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$43.08 MX$796

42.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.02

$10.21 MX$189

10.38%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.76 MX$69.5

-18.62%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$1.62 MX$29.88

39.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.00 MX$18.51

73.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$3.61 MX$66.7

-6.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$5.94 MX$110

-42.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.48 MX$27.43

-24.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$3.17 MX$58.6

-41.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.79 MX$33.12

-14.53%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$3.06 MX$56.6

29.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$8.55 MX$158

49.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$12.38 MX$229

-36.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$18.60 MX$344

-8.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$3.86 MX$71.4

-41.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.59 MX$29.38

10.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.93 MX$54.2

-36.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$2.88 MX$53.2

-10.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.56 MX$47.34

-27.34%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$3.07 MX$56.7

-34.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.13 MX$20.94

27.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.30 MX$23.94

-36.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$4.51 MX$83.3

45.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$16.34 MX$302

-65.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$2.47 MX$45.71

-48.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$3.90 MX$72.1

-46.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.57 MX$10.61

312.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.29

$6.72 MX$124

557.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$4.32 MX$79.8

-7.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$4.39 MX$81.2

-75.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.80

$10.82 MX$200

53.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.54 MX$28.41

48.05%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$21.1K MX$390.3K

59.42%

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

$39.3K €34.9K

$23.9K MX$442.3K

64.14%

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

$167 €149

$41.10 MX$759

307.52%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$15.93 MX$294

18.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$41.65 MX$770

-20.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.92

$37.28 MX$689

23.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$41.50 MX$767

-53.76%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$6.67 MX$123

47.53%

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

$677 €602

$357 MX$6,605

89.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.0K

$4,837 MX$89.4K

249.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.0

$65.7 MX$1,214

54.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$61.0 MX$1,127

-24.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$114 MX$2,108

-12.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$145 MX$2,680

-15.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,435

$1,086 MX$20.1K

48.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$663 MX$12.2K

80.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$2,365 MX$43.7K

21.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$1,326 MX$24.5K

50.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,739

$2,673 MX$49.4K

183.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$1,602 MX$29.6K

168.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$631 MX$11.7K

151.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

12.05

-68.05%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for San Miguel de Allende: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

San Miguel de Allende

$663 41.2% 44.6% $534

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

San Miguel de Allende

$351 21.8% 30.3% $82

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

San Miguel de Allende

$238 14.8% 1.8% $4.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

San Miguel de Allende

$99 6.1% 55% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

San Miguel de Allende

$174 10.8% 4.3% $7.2

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

San Miguel de Allende

$51 3.1% 22.9% $15

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

San Miguel de Allende

$35 2.2% 44% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $1,086 in San Miguel de Allende. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 152% 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 $43.00 in San Miguel de Allende. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $351, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇽 San Miguel de Allende

🕒 Local time

15:59 3:59 PM

08:59 8:59 AM

7 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

72,452

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Lisbon San Miguel de Allende 8,710 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

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Lisbon
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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 San Miguel de Allende: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and San Miguel de Allende differ by about 38% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $1,610 including rent). San Miguel de Allende is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 152% 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 $1,086 in San Miguel de Allende. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $357 in San Miguel de Allende. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 30% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,610 in San Miguel de Allende versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in San Miguel de Allende but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes San Miguel de Allende 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 San Miguel de Allende 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 San Miguel de Allende gentler on the wallet – expenses run 38% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.