Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Sendai

For one person, living is cheaper in Sendai: $1,176 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Sendai
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Sendai Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Sendai

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,176

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Sendai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $1,176 in Sendai.

Lisbon $2,206
Sendai $1,176

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,851 in Sendai.

Lisbon $3,276
Sendai $1,851

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,527 in Sendai.

Lisbon $4,346
Sendai $2,527

Living in Lisbon is roughly 88% more expensive than in Sendai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Sendai is 13% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.08

$6.41 ¥1,014

163.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.6

$34.38 ¥5,440

77.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.82

$4.72 ¥747

132.63%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.73

$3.63 ¥575

-15.98%

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

$2.28 €2.04

$1.02 ¥162

123.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$0.86 ¥136

95.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.07

$1.86 ¥294

84.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.49

$3.08 ¥487

26.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.03

$1.41 ¥223

-18.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.69

$1.49 ¥236

26.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$6.79 ¥1,075

-77.91%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.68

$2.10 ¥332

96.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.63

$10.84 ¥1,716

20.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.19

$11.60 ¥1,835

-30.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €16.00

$8.85 ¥1,400

102.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.03

$3.42 ¥541

-33.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.56

$2.21 ¥350

-21.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$4.64 ¥734

-60.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.40

$3.15 ¥499

-14.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.58

$2.51 ¥397

-29.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.73

$2.27 ¥359

-14.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.40 ¥222

4.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$1.24 ¥196

-38.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.95

$4.50 ¥712

48.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.04

$6.79 ¥1,075

-16.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.64 ¥259

-21.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.76 ¥437

-22.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.51 ¥239

52.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.36

$37.94 ¥6,003

16.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.56

$5.35 ¥846

-25.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.92

$18.36 ¥2,905

3.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.11 ¥176

105.41%

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

$33.4K €29.8K

$16.0K ¥2.5M

108.03%

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

$38.5K €34.4K

$25.5K ¥4.0M

51.13%

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

$158 €141

$140 ¥22.2K

12.92%

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

$17.54 €15.68

$30.45 ¥4,819

-42.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.89

$35.00 ¥5,539

-10.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.92

$45.12 ¥7,140

-1.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.97

$12.64 ¥2,001

50.16%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.56

$10.11 ¥1,599

-5.24%

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

$674 €602

$225 ¥35.6K

199.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$3,760 ¥595.0K

398.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$57.2 ¥9,045

78.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €41.04

$33.55 ¥5,309

36.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.4

$35.61 ¥5,636

187.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$53.4 ¥8,448

128.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,467

$581 ¥91.9K

182.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,062

$336 ¥53.2K

253.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,526

$683 ¥108.1K

313.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,805

$728 ¥115.2K

177.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €7,007

$2,713 ¥429.2K

188.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,204

$1,403 ¥221.9K

235.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,508

$975 ¥154.3K

73.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

2.73

39.93%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Sendai: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Sendai

$336 28.6% 71.7% $851

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Sendai

$306 26% 11.5% $32

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Sendai

$132 11.2% 46.2% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Sendai

$206 17.5% 0.7% $1.4

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Sendai

$81 6.9% 51.7% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Sendai

$65 5.6% 2.4% $1.5

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Sendai

$49 * 4.2% 18.4% $11

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 $1,641 in Lisbon and $581 in Sendai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 73% 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: $61 in Lisbon vs $34 in Sendai. Groceries flip the comparison at $275 vs $306, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇯🇵 Sendai

🕒 Local time

15:34 3:34 PM

00:34 12:34 AM

9 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,082,159

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 JPY = 6.32 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.894 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.32 USD). 1 EUR = 177 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.64 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Sendai 10,920 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Sendai

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 Sendai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $1,176 in Sendai, so Sendai is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 73% 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: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $581 in Sendai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $674 in Lisbon versus $225 in Sendai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 10% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

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

For families, Sendai is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Lisbon, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Lisbon and Sendai are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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