Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and St. Andrews

For one person, living costs are similar in Lisbon and in St. Andrews: $2,202 and $2,285 a month, rent and utilities included.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
110

Cost of Living Index in St. Andrews
Learn more

St. Andrews Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

St. Andrews

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,285

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in St. Andrews

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $2,285 in St. Andrews.

Lisbon $2,202
St. Andrews $2,285

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $3,891 in St. Andrews.

Lisbon $3,274
St. Andrews $3,891

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $5,496 in St. Andrews.

Lisbon $4,346
St. Andrews $5,496

Living in Lisbon costs roughly 4% less than in St. Andrews, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, St. Andrews 69% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$21.15 £15.87

-19.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$87.9 £65.9

-29.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$10.51 £7.89

4.85%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$4.61 £3.46

-32.32%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$2.84 £2.13

-20.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$2.10 £1.57

-17.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$6.76 £5.07

-49.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$6.76 £5.07

-44.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.51 £1.13

-22.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.71 £1.28

8.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$2.03 £1.52

-24.14%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$4.49 £3.37

-9.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$7.37 £5.53

75.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$9.65 £7.24

-18.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$15.41 £11.56

14.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$2.50 £1.88

-9.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.33 £1.00

31.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$2.76 £2.07

-31.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$2.86 £2.15

-10.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.69 £1.27

9.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.52 £1.14

29.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.20 £0.90

20.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$2.46 £1.85

-68.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$22.57 £16.93

-70.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$10.86 £8.15

-47.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$2.70 £2.03

-49.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$2.98 £2.24

-29.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$4.79 £3.59

-51.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$4.05 £3.04

-2.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$2.44 £1.83

-56.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$23.73 £17.80

-27.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$2.10 £1.58

4.29%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$38.3K £28.7K

-11.82%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$41.2K £30.9K

-7.08%

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

$164 €146

$243 £182

-32.49%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$13.40 £10.06

37.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$41.64 £31.24

-20.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$91.6 £68.7

-49.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$13.06 £9.80

-25.34%

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

$684 €608

$1,806 £1,355

-62.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$22.8K £17.1K

-22.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$95.6 £71.7

8.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$48.97 £36.74

-5.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$104 £77.8

-3.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$88.5 £66.4

40.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$1,366 £1,025

16.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$1,055 £792

10.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$3,104 £2,329

-8.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$2,743 £2,058

-27.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$6,137 £4,604

26.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$2,718 £2,039

62.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$3,397 £2,548

-52.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.41

-28.84%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for St. Andrews: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

St. Andrews

$1.1K 46.2% 9.7% $114

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

St. Andrews

$304 13.3% 11.5% $31

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

St. Andrews

$323 14.1% 30.5% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

St. Andrews

$298 13% 38.3% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

St. Andrews

$152 6.6% 10% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

St. Andrews

$118 5.2% 80% $52

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

St. Andrews

$35 * 1.6% 43.7% $27

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 $1,589 in Lisbon and $1,366 in St. Andrews. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St. Andrews pays 112% 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 $88.0 in St. Andrews for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $304 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇬🇧 St. Andrews

🕒 Local time

02:23 2:23 AM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

16,460

💱 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 St. Andrews 2,020 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
St. Andrews

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. Andrews: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and St. Andrews differ by about 4% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $2,285 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 112% lower in St. Andrews. 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 $1,366 in St. Andrews. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

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

All in, you'll spend $2,202 per month in Lisbon versus $2,285 in St. Andrews – a 4% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,202 in Lisbon versus $2,285 in St. Andrews, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in St. Andrews. 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. Andrews 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 4% less than in St. Andrews. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.