Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and St Francis Bay

For one person, living is cheaper in St Francis Bay: $979 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in St Francis Bay
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St Francis Bay Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

St Francis Bay

🇿🇦 South Africa

$979

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in St Francis Bay

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $979 in St Francis Bay.

Lisbon $2,206
St Francis Bay $979

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,629 in St Francis Bay.

Lisbon $3,276
St Francis Bay $1,629

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,279 in St Francis Bay.

Lisbon $4,346
St Francis Bay $2,279

Living in Lisbon is roughly 125% more expensive than in St Francis Bay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, St Francis Bay is 28% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.00

$10.81 R 177

55.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.3

$41.74 R 685

46.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.77

$3.53 R 58.0

211.05%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$2.14 R 35.06

42.52%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$1.01 R 16.62

125.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$0.72 R 11.89

133.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$2.06 R 33.72

66.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$1.84 R 30.24

112.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$0.94 R 15.43

22.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.00 R 16.33

89.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.50 R 24.64

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$2.70 R 44.32

52.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.57

$7.11 R 117

82.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.16

$5.22 R 85.7

54.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.92

$8.63 R 142

107.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.18 R 35.71

4.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.46 R 23.93

19.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.70 R 27.96

7.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.81 R 29.62

48.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$1.74 R 28.48

1.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$1.37 R 22.56

41.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.24 R 20.29

17.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$1.03 R 16.84

-26.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.92

$3.14 R 51.5

112.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.02

$4.74 R 77.7

18.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.27 R 20.84

1.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.81 R 29.72

18.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$1.78 R 29.16

29.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.17

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.54

$0.82 R 13.44

385.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.46 R 7.51

39.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.84

$8.62 R 141

119.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.31 R 21.44

74.05%

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

$33.4K €29.7K

$21.0K R 344.6K

58.90%

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

$38.5K €34.3K

$35.2K R 577.0K

9.51%

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

$158 €141

$60.8 R 997

160.40%

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

$17.54 €15.61

$34.39 R 564

-49.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.75

$41.35 R 679

-24.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.73

$28.64 R 470

55.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.89

$12.00 R 197

58.17%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.52

$9.20 R 151

4.13%

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

$674 €599

$179 R 2,934

276.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$6,135 R 100.7K

205.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.9

$71.9 R 1,179

42.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.85

$39.31 R 645

16.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.0

$112 R 1,842

-8.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$95.1 R 1,560

28.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,460

$420 R 6,891

290.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,057

$308 R 5,056

285.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,514

$834 R 13.7K

238.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,796

$711 R 11.7K

184.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,973

$784 R 12.9K

899.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,183

$648 R 10.6K

625.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,501

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

11.94

-68.01%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for St Francis Bay: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

St Francis Bay

$308 31.5% 74% $879

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

St Francis Bay

$190 19.4% 30.9% $85

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

St Francis Bay

$144 14.7% 41.4% $102

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

St Francis Bay

$136 14% 34% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

St Francis Bay

$143 14.7% 14.4% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

St Francis Bay

$47 4.8% 26.3% $17

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

St Francis Bay

$10 * 1% 83.1% $50

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 $1,641 in Lisbon and $420 in St Francis Bay. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $42 in St Francis Bay for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $190 per month, with St Francis Bay cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 St Francis Bay

🕒 Local time

08:51 8:51 AM

10:51 10:51 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

5,910

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.09 USD

100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.41 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.09 USD). 1 EUR = 18.44 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon St Francis Bay 8,830 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
St Francis Bay

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 Francis Bay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $979 in St Francis Bay, so St Francis Bay is about 56% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,309 in Lisbon and $1,468 in St Francis Bay 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: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $420 in St Francis Bay. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 45% higher in Lisbon. 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 $979 in St Francis Bay – St Francis Bay is about 56% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $979 in St Francis Bay versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in St Francis Bay but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes St Francis Bay 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 Francis Bay are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.