Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Sines

For one person, living is cheaper in Sines: $1,797 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Sines
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Sines Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Sines

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,797

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Sines

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $1,797 in Sines.

Lisbon $2,223
Sines $1,797

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $2,701 in Sines.

Lisbon $3,271
Sines $2,701

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $3,604 in Sines.

Lisbon $4,319
Sines $3,604

Living in Lisbon is roughly 24% more expensive than in Sines, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 65% above, Sines 33% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$21.36 €19.00

-22.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$76.4 €68.0

-19.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$9.41 €8.37

19.77%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.55 €3.16

-13.80%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$1.96 €1.74

15.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.52 €1.35

13.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$3.57 €3.17

-5.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$3.92 €3.49

-13.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.34 €1.20

-16.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.37 €1.22

35.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.63 €1.45

-6.13%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$4.01 €3.57

-1.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$17.29 €15.38

-26.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$7.56 €6.72

4.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$26.98 €23.99

-37.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$3.18 €2.83

-28.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.27 €1.13

37.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.73 €1.54

6.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$2.20 €1.96

16.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.10 €1.86

-11.43%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$2.01 €1.79

0.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.09 €0.97

32.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.90 €0.80

-8.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$6.89 €6.13

-4.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$6.08 €5.41

-7.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$0.98 €0.88

30.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.58 €1.40

31.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$2.27 €2.02

3.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$40.75 €36.25

8.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$4.05 €3.61

-1.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.14 €1.01

-4.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$16.53 €14.70

0.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$2.15 €1.91

6.05%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$33.0K €29.4K

2.01%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$37.3K €33.2K

5.39%

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

$167 €149

$152 €135

10.02%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$20.92 €18.61

-10.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$55.8 €49.67

-40.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$40.32 €35.87

14.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$17.06 €15.18

12.49%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$9.24 €8.22

6.49%

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

$677 €602

$673 €598

0.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$15.1K €13.4K

12.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$27.46 €24.43

268.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$55.1 €49.04

-17.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$50.4 €44.80

98.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$67.1 €59.6

83.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$962 €856

67.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$771 €686

55.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$1,542 €1,371

85.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$1,189 €1,058

67.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$3,366 €2,994

125.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$2,327 €2,070

85.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$2,549 €2,267

-37.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

4.65

-17.20%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Sines: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Sines

$771 42.9% 35.6% $426

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Sines

$307 17.1% 14.1% $38

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Sines

$281 15.7% 16.2% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Sines

$229 12.7% 4.4% $9.6

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Sines

$90 5% 45.9% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Sines

$59 3.3% 10.5% $6.9

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Sines

$60 3.3% 5.5% $3.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $962 in Sines. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sines pays 61% 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 $76.0 in Sines for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $307 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇵🇹 Sines

🕒 Local time

02:18 2:18 AM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

14,200

💱 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 Sines 87 km

From you

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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 Sines: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Sines differ by about 24% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $1,797 including rent). Sines is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 61% lower in Sines. 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 $962 in Sines. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $673 in Sines. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 14% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,797 in Sines versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sines but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sines 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 Sines 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 Sines gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.