Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Southern Cross

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,206 a month against $2,532 in Southern Cross, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
121

Cost of Living Index in Southern Cross
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Southern Cross Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Southern Cross

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,532

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Southern Cross

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $2,532 in Southern Cross.

Lisbon $2,206
Southern Cross $2,532

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $3,583 in Southern Cross.

Lisbon $3,276
Southern Cross $3,583

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $4,635 in Southern Cross.

Lisbon $4,346
Southern Cross $4,635

Living in Lisbon costs roughly 13% less than in Southern Cross, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 63% above, Southern Cross 87% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €14.98

$19.39 A$27.64

-13.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.2

$61.2 A$87.2

-0.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.75

$10.68 A$15.22

2.81%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$3.47 A$4.95

-12.10%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$2.40 A$3.42

-5.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.49

$1.77 A$2.53

-5.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.05

$6.93 A$9.88

-50.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.47

$8.36 A$11.91

-53.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.58 A$2.26

-27.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$2.72 A$3.88

-30.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.33

$2.22 A$3.17

-32.43%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$2.76 A$3.94

49.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.55

$9.26 A$13.20

40.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.15

$9.44 A$13.46

-14.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.89

$14.66 A$20.90

22.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$3.87 A$5.52

-41.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$3.00 A$4.27

-42.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$3.16 A$4.51

-42.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$4.63 A$6.61

-41.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$2.62 A$3.74

-32.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$2.44 A$3.48

-20.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$2.34 A$3.33

-37.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$1.55 A$2.21

-50.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.91

$35.49 A$50.6

-81.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.01

$14.19 A$20.22

-60.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$4.75 A$6.77

-72.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$5.35 A$7.63

-60.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.04

$2.71 A$3.86

-15.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.10

$85.7 A$122

-48.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.54

$3.56 A$5.07

11.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$1.57 A$2.24

-59.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.81

$39.44 A$56.2

-52.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.02

$1.27 A$1.81

79.53%

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

$33.4K €29.6K

$28.9K A$41.2K

15.40%

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

$38.5K €34.2K

$26.8K A$38.2K

43.62%

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

$158 €141

$208 A$296

-23.87%

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

$17.54 €15.58

$27.83 A$39.67

-36.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.70

$57.5 A$81.9

-45.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.66

$56.8 A$81.0

-21.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.86

$18.03 A$25.70

5.27%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.51

$14.09 A$20.08

-32.01%

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

$674 €598

$2,165 A$3,087

-68.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.6K

$20.6K A$29.4K

-9.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.8

$76.2 A$109

34.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.77

$55.4 A$79.0

-17.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €90.8

$109 A$155

-6.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €108

$122 A$174

-0.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,457

$1,377 A$1,964

19.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,055

$1,227 A$1,749

-3.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,509

$2,255 A$3,215

25.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,793

$1,829 A$2,608

10.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,960

$5,968 A$8,508

31.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,176

$4,897 A$6,981

-4.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,499

$7,095 A$10.1K

-76.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

6.25

-38.88%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Southern Cross: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Southern Cross

$1.2K 48.5% 3.3% $40

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Southern Cross

$359 14.2% 30.6% $84

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Southern Cross

$297 11.7% 21.1% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Southern Cross

$293 11.6% 41.7% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Southern Cross

$163 6.4% 2.6% $4.4

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Southern Cross

$85 3.4% 33.2% $21

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Southern Cross

$108 4.3% 78.7% $48

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,641 in Lisbon and $1,377 in Southern Cross. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Southern Cross pays about 4.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $61 in Southern Cross for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $359 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇦🇺 Southern Cross

🕒 Local time

23:48 11:48 PM

07:48 7:48 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

700

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.13 USD

1 AUD = 0.701 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.888 EUR (1 EUR = 1.13 USD).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.701 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Southern Cross 15,310 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Southern Cross

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 Southern Cross: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $2,532 in Southern Cross, so Lisbon is about 13% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 76% lower in Lisbon. 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: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $1,377 in Southern Cross. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Southern Cross. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,206 per month in Lisbon versus $2,532 in Southern Cross – Lisbon is about 13% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Lisbon gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Southern Cross are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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