Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Springs

For one person, living is cheaper in Springs: $979 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,800 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
47

Cost of Living Index in Springs
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Springs Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Springs

🇿🇦 South Africa

$979

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Springs

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $979 in Springs.

Lisbon $2,210
Springs $979

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,582 in Springs.

Lisbon $3,275
Springs $1,582

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,184 in Springs.

Lisbon $4,341
Springs $2,184

Living in Lisbon is roughly 126% more expensive than in Springs, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Springs is 28% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$9.15 R 152

81.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$35.40 R 588

74.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$5.18 R 86.0

119.31%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.19 R 36.44

35.62%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$0.96 R 15.89

138.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.67 R 11.05

159.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$1.85 R 30.78

83.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.13 R 35.43

55.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.16 R 19.26

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.05 R 17.50

81.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.77 R 29.45

-14.69%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.41 R 39.97

66.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$8.43 R 140

53.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$5.00 R 83.0

55.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$7.25 R 120

144.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.28 R 21.29

79.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.08 R 17.94

60.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.71 R 28.40

8.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.20 R 19.87

115.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.06 R 17.60

71.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.17 R 19.37

68.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.21 R 20.18

21.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.74 R 12.26

-2.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.12 R 51.8

110.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$4.03 R 66.9

39.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.12 R 18.58

21.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.71 R 28.39

25.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$0.29 R 4.80

1227.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.80 R 13.37

33.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$14.37 R 239

14.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.48 R 24.56

48.65%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$35.6K R 591.4K

-3.98%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$32.7K R 543.5K

18.36%

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

$161 €144

$148 R 2,460

8.86%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$37.52 R 623

-50.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$35.28 R 586

-7.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$39.37 R 654

13.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$7.31 R 121

31.33%

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

$668 €598

$89.2 R 1,481

648.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$1,794 R 29.8K

882.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$54.1 R 898

88.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$31.78 R 528

39.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$91.6 R 1,521

7.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$82.0 R 1,363

50.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$284 R 4,721

465.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$275 R 4,571

332.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$712 R 11.8K

295.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$694 R 11.5K

190.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$1,481 R 24.6K

429.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$692 R 11.5K

561.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$1,145 R 19.0K

37.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

10.75

-64.19%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Springs: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Springs

$275 28.1% 76.9% $915

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Springs

$173 17.7% 36.5% $99

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Springs

$135 13.8% 44.3% $107

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Springs

$221 22.6% 4% $8.5

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Springs

$117 11.9% 29.6% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Springs

$54 5.5% 15.3% $9.8

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Springs

$4.3 * 0.4% 93.2% $59

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 $284 in Springs. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 38% 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 $35 in Springs for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $173 per month, with Springs cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Springs

🕒 Local time

06:51 6:51 AM

08:51 8:51 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

2,996

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.02 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 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 = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Springs 8,210 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Springs: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $979 in Springs, so Springs is about 56% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 38% 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 $284 in Springs. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 58% 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 $979 in Springs – Springs is about 56% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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.

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