Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Sao Tome

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Tome: $1,219 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Sao Tome
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Sao Tome Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Sao Tome

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

$1,219

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Sao Tome

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $1,219 in Sao Tome.

Lisbon $2,202
Sao Tome $1,219

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $1,924 in Sao Tome.

Lisbon $3,274
Sao Tome $1,924

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,629 in Sao Tome.

Lisbon $4,346
Sao Tome $2,629

Living in Lisbon is roughly 81% more expensive than in Sao Tome, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Sao Tome is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$9.18 STN 200

85.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$45.02 STN 981

38.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$7.99 STN 174

37.92%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$2.33 STN 50.8

33.91%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$1.81 STN 39.49

25.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.27 STN 27.64

37.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$1.66 STN 36.20

106.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$1.88 STN 40.98

98.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.52 STN 33.18

-23.03%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.01 STN 22.12

84.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$2.13 STN 46.40

-27.70%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$4.96 STN 108

-18.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$19.41 STN 423

-33.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$19.50 STN 425

-59.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$24.70 STN 538

-28.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$3.82 STN 83.3

-40.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.78 STN 38.75

-1.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$3.59 STN 78.2

-47.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$3.48 STN 75.9

-26.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.83 STN 61.6

-34.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$2.31 STN 50.4

-14.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.54 STN 11.76

168.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$2.06 STN 45.01

-62.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$2.33 STN 50.8

187.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$7.96 STN 174

-28.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.56 STN 34.09

-12.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.65 STN 36.01

27.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$1.34 STN 29.17

73.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$1.66 STN 36.13

137.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$2.55 STN 55.6

-58.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$13.93 STN 304

23.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.69 STN 36.95

29.59%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$24.3K STN 529.0K

39.22%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$31.6K STN 689.7K

20.94%

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

$164 €146

$233 STN 5,083

-29.75%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$30.60 STN 667

-39.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$65.9 STN 1,436

-49.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$33.92 STN 739

35.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$25.32 STN 552

-26.22%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$19.86 STN 433

-50.91%

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

$684 €608

$226 STN 4,925

202.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$2,179 STN 47.5K

708.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$75.1 STN 1,638

-38.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$18.53 STN 404

572.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$283 STN 6,161

462.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$192 STN 4,184

509.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$929 STN 20.3K

206.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$452 STN 9,846

341.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$1,850 STN 40.3K

321.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$1,160 STN 25.3K

280.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$257 STN 5,595

523.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

7.38

-47.83%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Sao Tome: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Sao Tome

$192 15.7% 83.6% $977

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Sao Tome

$412 33.8% 51% $139

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Sao Tome

$150 12.3% 39.5% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Sao Tome

$330 27% 53.2% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Sao Tome

$42 * 3.5% 75% $126

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Sao Tome

$74 6% 12.6% $8.3

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Sao Tome

$20 * 1.6% 68.6% $43

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 $1,589 in Lisbon and $283 in Sao Tome. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 523% 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: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $45.00 in Sao Tome. Groceries flip the comparison at $273 vs $412, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇸🇹 Sao Tome

🕒 Local time

10:44 10:44 AM

09:44 9:44 AM

1 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

53,300 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra STN Db

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 STN = 4.59 USD

100 STN = 4.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

STN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 21.8 STN (100 STN = 4.59 USD). 1 EUR = 24.51 STN (100 STN = 4.08 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Sao Tome 4,560 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

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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 Sao Tome: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Sao Tome differ by about 81% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $1,219 including rent). Sao Tome is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 523% 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: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $283 in Sao Tome. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 51% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $2,202 per month in Lisbon versus $1,219 in Sao Tome – a 81% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,219 in Sao Tome versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sao Tome but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sao Tome 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 Sao Tome 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 Sao Tome gentler on the wallet – expenses run 81% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.