Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and St Albans

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,202 a month against $2,894 in St Albans, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
141

Cost of Living Index in St Albans
Learn more

St Albans Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

St Albans

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,894

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in St Albans

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $2,894 in St Albans.

Lisbon $2,202
St Albans $2,894

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $4,095 in St Albans.

Lisbon $3,274
St Albans $4,095

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $5,295 in St Albans.

Lisbon $4,346
St Albans $5,295

Living in Lisbon costs roughly 24% less than in St Albans, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, St Albans 114% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$20.89 £15.68

-18.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$88.8 £66.6

-29.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$9.24 £6.94

19.26%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$4.45 £3.34

-29.89%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$2.75 £2.06

-17.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.93 £1.45

-9.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$6.78 £5.09

-49.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$6.58 £4.94

-43.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.64 £1.23

-28.66%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.62 £1.21

14.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$2.46 £1.84

-37.40%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$4.35 £3.26

-6.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$9.74 £7.31

32.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$9.40 £7.06

-15.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$13.60 £10.20

29.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$3.02 £2.27

-25.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.36 £1.02

28.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$2.16 £1.62

-12.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$3.23 £2.43

-20.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.67 £1.25

10.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.48 £1.11

33.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.29 £0.97

12.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$1.96 £1.47

-60.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$22.35 £16.77

-69.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$10.49 £7.87

-45.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$2.78 £2.09

-50.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$3.15 £2.36

-33.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$2.97 £2.22

-21.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$82.4 £61.8

-46.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$3.93 £2.95

0.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$2.43 £1.82

-56.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$50.0 £37.51

-65.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$2.06 £1.54

6.31%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$38.4K £28.8K

-12.13%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$39.9K £29.9K

-4.08%

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

$164 €146

$339 £254

-51.70%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$18.74 £14.06

-1.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$42.04 £31.54

-21.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$52.5 £39.37

-12.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$13.52 £10.14

38.17%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$19.58 £14.69

-50.20%

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

$684 €608

$2,535 £1,902

-73.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$10.5K £7,853

68.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$78.6 £59.0

32.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$46.58 £34.95

-0.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$93.1 £69.8

7.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$122 £91.7

2.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$1,870 £1,403

-15.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$1,523 £1,142

-23.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$2,953 £2,215

-3.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$2,339 £1,755

-14.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$9,224 £6,920

-15.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$6,833 £5,126

-35.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$2,972 £2,229

-46.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.4

-28.70%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for St Albans: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

St Albans

$1.5K 52.6% 30.2% $354

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

St Albans

$303 10.5% 10.8% $30

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

St Albans

$314 10.9% 26.9% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

St Albans

$400 13.8% 85.8% $185

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

St Albans

$153 5.3% 9.1% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

St Albans

$92 3.2% 40.2% $26

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

St Albans

$110 3.8% 75.4% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $1,870 in St Albans. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St Albans pays 86% 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: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $89.0 in St Albans for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $303 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇬🇧 St Albans

🕒 Local time

21:09 9:09 PM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

57,795

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon St Albans 1,600 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
St Albans

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 St Albans: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and St Albans differ by about 31% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $2,894 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 86% lower in St Albans. 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: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $1,870 in St Albans. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $684 in Lisbon versus $2,535 in St Albans. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 11% higher in St Albans. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,202 in Lisbon versus $2,894 in St Albans, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in St Albans. 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 St Albans 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 31% less than in St Albans. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.