Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Southend-on-Sea

For one person, living costs are similar in Lisbon and in Southend-on-Sea: $2,223 and $2,289 a month, rent and utilities included.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
112

Cost of Living Index in Southend-on-Sea
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Southend-on-Sea Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Southend-on-Sea

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Southend-on-Sea

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 Southend-on-Sea actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $2,289 in Southend-on-Sea.

Lisbon $2,223
Southend-on-Sea $2,289

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $3,534 in Southend-on-Sea.

Lisbon $3,271
Southend-on-Sea $3,534

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $4,779 in Southend-on-Sea.

Lisbon $4,319
Southend-on-Sea $4,779

Living in Lisbon costs roughly 3% less than in Southend-on-Sea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 65% above, Southend-on-Sea 70% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$19.89 £14.92

-17.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$83.2 £62.5

-26.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$9.17 £6.88

22.90%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$4.37 £3.28

-29.98%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$2.65 £1.99

-14.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.91 £1.44

-9.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$7.05 £5.29

-51.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$4.64 £3.48

-26.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.46 £1.10

-23.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.40 £1.05

32.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.35 £1.01

13.33%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$4.13 £3.10

-4.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$7.82 £5.87

63.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$6.51 £4.89

21.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$15.04 £11.28

12.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$3.02 £2.26

-24.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.35 £1.01

29.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.01 £1.51

-7.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$2.60 £1.95

-1.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.78 £1.33

4.49%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.83 £1.37

10.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.89 £0.67

61.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.58 £1.18

-48.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$22.06 £16.55

-70.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$10.13 £7.60

-44.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$3.32 £2.49

-61.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$3.29 £2.47

-37.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$2.72 £2.04

-13.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$46.26 £34.70

-4.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$5.77 £4.33

-30.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$2.70 £2.03

-59.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$48.18 £36.15

-65.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$2.06 £1.54

10.68%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$38.1K £28.6K

-11.57%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$40.5K £30.4K

-3.10%

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

$167 €149

$177 £133

-5.27%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$18.31 £13.74

2.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$42.18 £31.65

-21.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$3.92 £2.94

151.02%

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

$677 €602

$1,959 £1,470

-65.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$19.6K £14.7K

-13.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$85.1 £63.8

18.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$46.31 £34.74

-1.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$92.7 £69.6

7.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$105 £78.6

17.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$1,359 £1,020

18.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$1,247 £935

-3.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$2,334 £1,751

22.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$2,372 £1,780

-16.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$4,640 £3,481

63.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$3,970 £2,978

8.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$3,700 £2,776

-57.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.04

-23.61%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Southend-on-Sea: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Southend-on-Sea

$1.2K 54.5% 4.1% $50

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Southend-on-Sea

$271 11.8% 0.5% $1.5

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Southend-on-Sea

$302 13.2% 24.6% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Southend-on-Sea

$237 10.4% 8.2% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Southend-on-Sea

$148 6.5% 11.1% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Southend-on-Sea

$7.8 * 0.3% 88.1% $58

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Southend-on-Sea

$76 3.3% 21.3% $13

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 $1,614 in Lisbon and $1,359 in Southend-on-Sea. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Southend-on-Sea pays 133% 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: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $83.0 in Southend-on-Sea for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $271 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇬🇧 Southend-on-Sea

🕒 Local time

05:27 5:27 AM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

181,808

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Southend-on-Sea 1,620 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Southend-on-Sea

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 Southend-on-Sea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Southend-on-Sea differ by about 3% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $2,289 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 133% lower in Southend-on-Sea. 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 $1,359 in Southend-on-Sea. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $1,959 in Southend-on-Sea. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 1% higher in Southend-on-Sea. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,223 in Lisbon versus $2,289 in Southend-on-Sea, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in Southend-on-Sea. The gap between the two cities makes Lisbon 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 Southend-on-Sea 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 Lisbon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 3% less than in Southend-on-Sea. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.