Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Somerset West

For one person, living is cheaper in Somerset West: $1,160 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 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
56

Cost of Living Index in Somerset West
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Somerset West Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Somerset West

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,160

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Somerset West

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,160 in Somerset West.

Lisbon $2,210
Somerset West $1,160

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,888 in Somerset West.

Lisbon $3,275
Somerset West $1,888

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,615 in Somerset West.

Lisbon $4,341
Somerset West $2,615

Living in Lisbon is roughly 90% more expensive than in Somerset West, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Somerset West is 15% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$12.23 R 204

36.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$45.52 R 759

35.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$5.44 R 90.7

108.82%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.06 R 34.34

44.17%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.06 R 17.74

116.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.84 R 14.01

107.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.58 R 42.91

31.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.27 R 54.5

1.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.03 R 17.13

12.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$0.98 R 16.39

94.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.08 R 34.70

-27.40%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.28 R 38.00

76.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$8.34 R 139

55.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$5.18 R 86.3

50.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$9.22 R 154

92.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.81 R 30.23

27.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.89 R 31.47

-8.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.74 R 29.00

6.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.69 R 28.20

53.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.51 R 25.23

20.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.53 R 25.48

28.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.29 R 21.42

13.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.07 R 17.80

-32.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$3.39 R 56.5

94.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$5.89 R 98.1

-4.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.36 R 22.73

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.75 R 29.17

22.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$1.11 R 18.47

109.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$60.4 R 1,007

-26.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$0.59 R 9.81

552.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.54 R 25.72

-30.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$4.94 R 82.4

233.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.42 R 23.68

54.93%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$29.3K R 487.5K

16.86%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$29.4K R 489.1K

31.92%

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

$161 €145

$82.1 R 1,368

96.44%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$29.05 R 484

-36.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$40.47 R 674

-19.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$44.16 R 736

0.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$10.43 R 174

83.13%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.28 R 121

31.87%

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

$668 €600

$251 R 4,175

166.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$3,596 R 59.9K

389.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$30.99 R 516

229.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$31.32 R 522

41.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$71.3 R 1,189

38.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$56.3 R 939

119.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$643 R 10.7K

150.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$426 R 7,095

179.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$1,341 R 22.3K

109.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$937 R 15.6K

114.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$1,221 R 20.3K

542.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$892 R 14.9K

412.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$1,418 R 23.6K

11.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

10.12

-61.96%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Somerset West: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Somerset West

$426 36.7% 64.2% $764

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Somerset West

$200 17.2% 26.7% $73

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Somerset West

$166 14.3% 31.6% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Somerset West

$152 13.1% 28.6% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Somerset West

$86 7.4% 48.5% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Somerset West

$59 5.1% 7.9% $5

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Somerset West

$73 6.3% 15.8% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $643 in Somerset West. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 11% 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 $46 in Somerset West for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $200 per month, with Somerset West cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Somerset West

🕒 Local time

20:36 8:36 PM

22:36 10:36 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

55,166

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Somerset West 8,590 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Somerset West

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 Somerset West: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,160 in Somerset West, so Somerset West is about 48% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 11% 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $643 in Somerset West. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $251 in Somerset West. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 36% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,160 in Somerset West versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Somerset West but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Somerset West 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 Somerset West are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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