Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and San Pawl Il-bahar

For one person, living is cheaper in San Pawl Il-bahar: $1,697 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 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
83

Cost of Living Index in San Pawl Il-bahar
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San Pawl Il-bahar Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

San Pawl Il-bahar

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,697

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in San Pawl Il-bahar

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 Pawl Il-bahar actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $1,697 in San Pawl Il-bahar.

Lisbon $2,223
San Pawl Il-bahar $1,697

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $2,593 in San Pawl Il-bahar.

Lisbon $3,271
San Pawl Il-bahar $2,593

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $3,489 in San Pawl Il-bahar.

Lisbon $4,319
San Pawl Il-bahar $3,489

Living in Lisbon is roughly 31% more expensive than in San Pawl Il-bahar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 65% above, San Pawl Il-bahar 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$19.75 €17.57

-16.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$82.2 €73.1

-25.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$11.28 €10.03

-0.09%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.58 €2.30

18.60%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$2.47 €2.20

-8.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.95 €1.74

-11.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$4.50 €4.00

-24.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$5.18 €4.60

-34.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.31 €1.17

-14.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.16 €1.03

60.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$3.82 €3.40

-59.95%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$3.62 €3.22

9.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$8.44 €7.50

51.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$7.75 €6.89

1.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$9.41 €8.37

80.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.98 €2.65

-23.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.05 €1.82

-14.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.93 €2.60

-36.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$2.86 €2.54

-10.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.57 €1.40

18.47%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.84 €1.64

9.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.19 €1.06

21.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.20 €1.07

-31.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$6.33 €5.63

3.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$8.30 €7.38

-32.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.49 €1.32

-14.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$2.00 €1.78

3.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$2.76 €2.46

-14.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$5.72 €5.09

-30.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$2.17 €1.93

-49.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$26.51 €23.58

-37.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.47 €1.30

55.10%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$38.3K €34.1K

-12.08%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$39.6K €35.2K

-0.71%

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

$167 €149

$58.9 €52.4

184.56%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$20.63 €18.35

-8.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$39.96 €35.54

-17.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$49.65 €44.17

-7.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$13.51 €12.02

42.04%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$9.96 €8.86

-1.20%

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

$677 €602

$371 €330

82.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$11.1K €9,915

51.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$22.55 €20.06

348.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$33.53 €29.83

36.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$96.5 €85.8

3.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$75.4 €67.1

62.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$981 €872

64.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$848 €755

41.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$1,640 €1,459

74.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$1,348 €1,199

47.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$3,441 €3,061

120.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$2,867 €2,550

50.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$1,670 €1,485

-4.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

2.9

32.76%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for San Pawl Il-bahar: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

San Pawl Il-bahar

$848 50% 29.1% $349

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

San Pawl Il-bahar

$256 15.1% 5.1% $14

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

San Pawl Il-bahar

$273 16.1% 12.9% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

San Pawl Il-bahar

$119 7% 45.6% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

San Pawl Il-bahar

$103 6.1% 38.4% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

San Pawl Il-bahar

$70 4.1% 5.9% $3.9

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

San Pawl Il-bahar

$28 * 1.6% 56.2% $35

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 $981 in San Pawl Il-bahar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Pawl Il-bahar pays 5% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $82.0 in San Pawl Il-bahar. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $256, with San Pawl Il-bahar cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇹 San Pawl Il-bahar

🕒 Local time

13:28 1:28 PM

14:28 2:28 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

21,046

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon San Pawl Il-bahar 2,100 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
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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 Pawl Il-bahar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and San Pawl Il-bahar differ by about 31% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $1,697 including rent). San Pawl Il-bahar is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 5% lower in San Pawl Il-bahar. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $981 in San Pawl Il-bahar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 5% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,223 per month in Lisbon versus $1,697 in San Pawl Il-bahar – a 31% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,697 in San Pawl Il-bahar versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,500 budget is realistic in San Pawl Il-bahar but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes San Pawl Il-bahar 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 Pawl Il-bahar 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 Pawl Il-bahar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.