Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and South Africa

Name: South Africa
Address: ZA

For one person, living is cheaper in South Africa: $1,182 a month against $2,203 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

108

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in South Africa
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South Africa Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,203

/mo nomad

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,182

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Lisbon is 24.7% more expensive than South Africa without rent, and 86.4% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Lisbon is 34.6% more expensive than South Africa without rent, and 69.3% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.01 €15.18

$10.64 R 176

59.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.7 €56.0

$41.40 R 683

51.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.42 €10.19

$5.60 R 92.4

103.93%

Cappuccino

$3.09 €2.76

$2.28 R 37.63

35.53%

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

$2.37 €2.11

$1.16 R 19.17

104.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 €1.48

$0.92 R 15.22

80.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.46 €3.09

$2.45 R 40.40

41.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 €2.93

$2.95 R 48.69

11.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.19 R 19.63

-1.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.12 R 18.42

66.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.52 €1.36

$1.79 R 29.58

-15.08%

Eggs

$3.88 €3.46

$2.48 R 40.88

56.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 €11.49

$8.08 R 133

59.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.94 €7.08

$5.13 R 84.7

54.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.63 €15.73

$7.81 R 129

125.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.87 R 30.78

20.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 €1.57

$1.66 R 27.42

6.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 €1.68

$1.77 R 29.15

6.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 €2.20

$1.80 R 29.67

37.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.49 R 24.53

24.83%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.50 R 24.71

38.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.28 R 21.16

8.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 €0.73

$1.09 R 17.97

-25.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.89 €6.15

$3.22 R 53.2

113.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.53 €4.93

$4.93 R 81.3

12.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 €1.19

$1.48 R 24.47

-10.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 €1.93

$2.01 R 33.09

7.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.24 €2.00

$1.60 R 26.39

40.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.14 €40.29

$60.7 R 1,001

-25.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.00 €3.57

$1.09 R 17.98

266.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.95

$0.98 R 16.23

9.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.53 €14.75

$7.42 R 122

122.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.26 €2.02

$1.49 R 24.63

51.68%

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

$33.5K €29.9K

$35.0K R 578.2K

-4.39%

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

$40.5K €36.1K

$31.6K R 521.1K

28.16%

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

$164 €146

$131 R 2,168

24.48%

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

$18.54 €16.55

$34.71 R 573

-46.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.21 €29.64

$39.94 R 659

-16.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €41.06

$33.88 R 559

35.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.80 €16.78

$11.39 R 188

65.06%

Cinema Ticket

$9.47 €8.45

$7.31 R 121

29.55%

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

$690 €615

$225 R 3,715

206.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.0K

$5,485 R 90.5K

207.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$105 €93.4

$52.0 R 858

101.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.27 €40.40

$33.30 R 549

35.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.0 €88.3

$99.4 R 1,640

-0.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$87.4 R 1,441

41.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,583 €1,413

$480 R 7,918

229.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,209 €1,079

$406 R 6,692

198.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,833 €2,528

$935 R 15.4K

203.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,964 €1,753

$796 R 13.1K

146.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,643 €6,821

$1,111 R 18.3K

588.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,431 €3,954

$777 R 12.8K

470.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,573 €1,403

$1,476 R 24.4K

6.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.79

11.23

-66.25%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 4, 2026

Last update for South Africa: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 54%

South Africa

$406 33.6% 66.5% $804

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.1%

South Africa

$196 16.2% 28% $76

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11%

South Africa

$156 12.9% 37% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.6%

South Africa

$206 17.1% 4.3% $9.3

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.5%

South Africa

$122 10.1% 27% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 2.9%

South Africa

$49 4% 25.3% $16

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

South Africa

$73 6.1% 15.2% $9.6

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 South Africa

🕒 Local time

13:02 1:02 PM

14:02 2:02 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

62,027,503

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon South Africa 8,390 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
South Africa

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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