Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Sao Jose dos Campos

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Jose dos Campos: $1,037 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Sao Jose dos Campos
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Sao Jose dos Campos Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Sao Jose dos Campos

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,037

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Sao Jose dos Campos

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 Sao Jose dos Campos actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,037 in Sao Jose dos Campos.

Lisbon $2,210
Sao Jose dos Campos $1,037

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,613 in Sao Jose dos Campos.

Lisbon $3,275
Sao Jose dos Campos $1,613

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,189 in Sao Jose dos Campos.

Lisbon $4,341
Sao Jose dos Campos $2,189

Living in Lisbon is roughly 113% more expensive than in Sao Jose dos Campos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Sao Jose dos Campos is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.96

$6.55 R$35.07

154.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$37.92 R$203

62.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$8.27 R$44.26

37.36%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.06 R$11.02

44.17%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.58 R$8.46

44.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.12 R$6.01

55.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.54 R$13.59

33.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$4.12 R$22.07

-19.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.16 R$6.20

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.90 R$10.19

0.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.10 R$5.90

37.27%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.58 R$13.79

55.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$8.51 R$45.52

52.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.99

$4.23 R$22.65

83.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.96

$10.17 R$54.4

74.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$2.55 R$13.67

-9.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.75 R$9.34

-1.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.72 R$9.22

8.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.74 R$9.33

48.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.31 R$7.03

38.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.28 R$6.86

53.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.90 R$4.82

63.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.76 R$4.04

-5.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.92

$2.63 R$14.06

150.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$8.41 R$45.00

-33.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.55 R$8.30

-12.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$4.13 R$22.08

-48.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$1.10 R$5.91

111.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$36.63 R$196

21.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$1.19 R$6.35

223.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.33 R$7.10

-19.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$8.66 R$46.36

90.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.23 R$6.57

78.86%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$22.4K R$119.6K

52.94%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$32.0K R$171.5K

20.83%

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

$161 €145

$40.81 R$218

295.05%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$13.39 R$71.6

37.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$17.24 R$92.3

89.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.03

$27.28 R$146

63.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$32.55 R$174

-41.32%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.56 R$40.48

26.98%

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

$668 €600

$404 R$2,162

65.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$7,234 R$38.7K

143.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.7

$51.8 R$277

96.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.95

$55.6 R$298

-20.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$90.2 R$483

9.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$79.9 R$428

54.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$476 R$2,545

238.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$403 R$2,154

195.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,527

$845 R$4,522

232.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,809

$666 R$3,563

202.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,043

$1,986 R$10.6K

294.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,111

$1,434 R$7,676

218.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$765 R$4,094

105.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

11.12

-65.38%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Sao Jose dos Campos: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Sao Jose dos Campos

$403 38.8% 66.2% $788

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Sao Jose dos Campos

$213 20.6% 21.6% $59

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Sao Jose dos Campos

$134 12.9% 44.9% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Sao Jose dos Campos

$71 6.9% 66.4% $141

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Sao Jose dos Campos

$125 12% 24.7% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Sao Jose dos Campos

$42 4.1% 33.5% $21

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Sao Jose dos Campos

$49 4.7% 22.7% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $476 in Sao Jose dos Campos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.1 times 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: $62 in Lisbon vs $38 in Sao Jose dos Campos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $213 per month, with Sao Jose dos Campos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇧🇷 Sao Jose dos Campos

🕒 Local time

09:14 9:14 AM

06:14 6:14 AM

3 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

697,054

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Lisbon Sao Jose dos Campos 7,870 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

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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 Sao Jose dos Campos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Sao Jose dos Campos differ by about 113% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $1,037 including rent). Sao Jose dos Campos is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.1 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 $476 in Sao Jose dos Campos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $404 in Sao Jose dos Campos. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 28% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Sao Jose dos Campos is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

Expats usually find Sao Jose dos Campos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 53% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.