Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Secunda

For one person, living is cheaper in Secunda: $1,027 a month against $2,202 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Secunda
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Secunda Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Secunda

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,027

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Secunda

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $1,027 in Secunda.

Lisbon $2,202
Secunda $1,027

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $1,667 in Secunda.

Lisbon $3,274
Secunda $1,667

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,306 in Secunda.

Lisbon $4,346
Secunda $2,306

Living in Lisbon is roughly 114% more expensive than in Secunda, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Secunda is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$6.20 R 102

174.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$30.52 R 503

104.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$5.22 R 86.0

111.11%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$2.27 R 37.42

37.44%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$0.81 R 13.38

180.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.51 R 8.33

241.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$1.07 R 17.59

219.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$1.38 R 22.72

171.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.16 R 19.14

0.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$0.87 R 14.33

113.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.84 R 30.33

-16.30%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$2.43 R 40.04

67.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$8.53 R 141

51.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$4.88 R 80.4

61.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$7.11 R 117

148.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.75 R 28.78

29.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.68 R 27.69

4.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.80 R 29.60

5.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$1.65 R 27.15

55.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.12 R 18.50

65.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.18 R 19.52

66.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.24 R 20.38

16.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$1.30 R 21.48

-40.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$3.35 R 55.3

100.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$5.01 R 82.6

13.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.53 R 25.21

-10.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.92 R 31.66

9.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$1.37 R 22.65

69.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$0.29 R 4.74

1262.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.76 R 12.51

38.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$14.36 R 237

19.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.57 R 25.85

39.49%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$35.7K R 587.4K

-5.25%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$35.5K R 584.4K

7.87%

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

$164 €146

$156 R 2,569

5.04%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$38.00 R 626

-51.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$37.12 R 612

-11.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$32.65 R 538

40.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$10.92 R 180

71.06%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$7.33 R 121

33.02%

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

$684 €608

$91.7 R 1,510

646.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$5,457 R 89.9K

222.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$54.3 R 895

91.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$32.82 R 541

40.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$94.2 R 1,553

5.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$82.6 R 1,360

51.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$403 R 6,638

294.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$324 R 5,336

260.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$708 R 11.7K

302.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$841 R 13.8K

137.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$839 R 13.8K

828.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$602 R 9,912

634.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$1,466 R 24.2K

9.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

11.34

-66.05%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Secunda: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Secunda

$324 31.5% 72.3% $845

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Secunda

$191 18.6% 30.1% $82

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Secunda

$106 10.3% 57.2% $142

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Secunda

$231 22.5% 7.4% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Secunda

$119 11.6% 29.5% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Secunda

$47 4.6% 27.6% $18

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Secunda

$9.6 * 0.9% 84.8% $53

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 $403 in Secunda. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 9% 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 $31.00 in Secunda for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $191 per month, with Secunda cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Secunda

🕒 Local time

17:04 5:04 PM

18:04 6:04 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

40,198

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Secunda 8,280 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Secunda

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 Secunda: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Secunda differ by about 114% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $1,027 including rent). Secunda is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 9% 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 $403 in Secunda. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 43% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,202 per month in Lisbon versus $1,027 in Secunda – a 114% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,027 in Secunda versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Secunda but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Secunda 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 Secunda 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 Secunda gentler on the wallet – expenses run 114% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.