Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Soweto

For one person, living is cheaper in Soweto: $1,106 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Soweto
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Soweto Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Soweto

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,106

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Soweto

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,106 in Soweto.

Lisbon $2,210
Soweto $1,106

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,704 in Soweto.

Lisbon $3,275
Soweto $1,704

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,302 in Soweto.

Lisbon $4,341
Soweto $2,302

Living in Lisbon is roughly 100% more expensive than in Soweto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Soweto is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$8.94 R 148

86.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$36.84 R 612

67.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$5.20 R 86.4

118.46%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.21 R 36.64

34.39%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.04 R 17.35

120.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.80 R 13.35

117.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.45 R 40.76

38.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.81 R 46.71

17.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.16 R 19.29

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.11 R 18.43

72.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.80 R 29.92

-16.11%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.51 R 41.74

60.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$8.68 R 144

49.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$5.08 R 84.4

52.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$7.35 R 122

141.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.72 R 28.62

33.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.67 R 27.70

3.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.74 R 28.86

6.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.57 R 26.04

64.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.13 R 18.82

61.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.20 R 19.88

64.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.25 R 20.69

17.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.26 R 20.99

-42.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.32 R 55.2

98.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$5.02 R 83.3

11.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.60 R 26.53

-15.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.91 R 31.73

12.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$1.53 R 25.46

52.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$0.29 R 4.79

1227.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.76 R 12.55

40.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$14.33 R 238

14.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.58 R 26.22

39.24%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$36.5K R 607.0K

-6.45%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$34.2K R 568.6K

13.13%

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

$161 €144

$152 R 2,518

6.36%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$37.05 R 615

-50.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$37.83 R 628

-13.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$32.60 R 541

36.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$10.87 R 181

75.71%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$7.35 R 122

30.61%

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

$668 €598

$251 R 4,163

166.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,490 R 91.2K

220.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$54.2 R 900

88.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$32.08 R 533

38.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$92.5 R 1,536

6.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$83.7 R 1,390

47.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$388 R 6,445

314.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$371 R 6,155

221.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$732 R 12.2K

284.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$734 R 12.2K

174.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$860 R 14.3K

811.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$696 R 11.6K

557.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

10.91

-64.71%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Soweto: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Soweto

$371 33.5% 68.9% $820

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Soweto

$195 17.6% 28.5% $78

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Soweto

$139 12.6% 42.8% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Soweto

$226 20.5% 6.6% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Soweto

$118 10.7% 28.8% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Soweto

$47 4.3% 25.8% $16

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Soweto

$10 * 0.9% 83.9% $53

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 $1,608 in Lisbon and $388 in Soweto. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $37 in Soweto for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $195 per month, with Soweto cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Soweto

🕒 Local time

08:17 8:17 AM

10:17 10:17 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,270,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.02 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.54 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Soweto 8,180 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Soweto

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 Soweto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,106 in Soweto, so Soweto is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,315 in Lisbon and $1,659 in Soweto to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $388 in Soweto. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 40% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $1,106 in Soweto – Soweto is about 50% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Soweto is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.