Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and San Miguel

For one person, living is cheaper in San Miguel: $1,317 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in San Miguel
Learn more

San Miguel Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

San Miguel

🇸🇻 El Salvador

$1,317

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,317 in San Miguel.

Lisbon $2,210
San Miguel $1,317

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,946 in San Miguel.

Lisbon $3,275
San Miguel $1,946

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,575 in San Miguel.

Lisbon $4,341
San Miguel $2,575

Living in Lisbon is roughly 68% more expensive than in San Miguel, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, San Miguel is 3% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$3.98 $3.98

318.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$24.56 $24.56

151.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$6.75 $6.75

68.30%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$3.08 $3.08

-3.57%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.76 $0.76

201.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.59 $0.59

194.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$1.96 $1.96

73.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.59 $3.59

-7.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.86 $1.86

-37.63%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$2.81 $2.81

-32.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.38 $1.38

9.42%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$3.06 $3.06

31.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$7.91 $7.91

63.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$7.05 $7.05

10.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$10.15 $10.15

74.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$5.02 $5.02

-54.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.38 $1.38

25.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$2.56 $2.56

-27.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$3.54 $3.54

-26.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$2.99 $2.99

-39.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$3.25 $3.25

-39.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.95 $0.95

54.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.98 $0.98

-26.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$3.93 $3.93

67.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$12.21 $12.21

-54.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.29 $2.29

-40.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.94 $2.94

-27.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.33 $0.33

606.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$27.10 $27.10

64.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$6.18 $6.18

-37.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$2.92 $2.92

-63.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$10.02 $10.02

64.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.30 $1.30

69.23%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$25.0K $25.0K

36.60%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$27.2K $27.2K

42.52%

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

$161 €145

$128 $128

25.60%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$19.90 $19.90

-7.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$24.90 $24.90

31.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$28.30 $28.30

57.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$21.76 $21.76

-12.22%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$5.04 $5.04

90.48%

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

$668 €600

$165 $165

303.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$4,340 $4,340

305.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$65.5 $65.5

55.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$46.48 $46.48

-4.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$120 $120

-17.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$115 $115

7.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$701 $701

129.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$501 $501

137.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$980 $980

187.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$832 $832

142.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$1,377 $1,377

469.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$944 $944

384.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$382 $382

311.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

8.5

-54.71%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for San Miguel: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

San Miguel

$501 38% 57.9% $689

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

San Miguel

$288 21.9% 5.7% $16

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

San Miguel

$111 8.5% 54.1% $131

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

San Miguel

$173 13.2% 18.5% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

San Miguel

$156 11.9% 5.9% $9.8

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

San Miguel

$38 2.9% 39.8% $25

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

San Miguel

$49 3.7% 22.2% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $701 in San Miguel. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 4.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $25 in San Miguel. Groceries flip the comparison at $272 vs $288, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇸🇻 San Miguel

🕒 Local time

12:10 12:10 PM

06:10 6:10 AM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

247,126

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 USD = 0.899 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon San Miguel 8,130 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
San Miguel

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 San Miguel: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and San Miguel differ by about 68% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $1,317 including rent). San Miguel is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 4.1 times higher, 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 $701 in San Miguel. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $165 in San Miguel. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 5% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,317 in San Miguel versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in San Miguel but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes San Miguel 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 are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

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