Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and St. Thomas

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,223 a month against $2,432 in St. Thomas, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
111

Cost of Living Index in St. Thomas
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St. Thomas Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

St. Thomas

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,432

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $2,432 in St. Thomas.

Lisbon $2,223
St. Thomas $2,432

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $3,274 in St. Thomas.

Lisbon $3,271
St. Thomas $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $4,117 in St. Thomas.

Lisbon $4,319
St. Thomas $4,117

Living in Lisbon costs roughly 9% less than in St. Thomas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 65% above, St. Thomas 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$21.05 CA$29.76

-21.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$62.6 CA$88.5

-2.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$11.38 CA$16.09

-0.97%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.32 CA$4.69

-7.83%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$2.19 CA$3.10

3.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.59 CA$2.24

8.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$5.02 CA$7.10

-32.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$5.89 CA$8.33

-42.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$2.08 CA$2.95

-46.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.61 CA$3.69

-28.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$3.73 CA$5.27

-58.98%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$3.09 CA$4.37

28.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$9.94 CA$14.05

28.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$15.43 CA$21.81

-48.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$19.20 CA$27.15

-11.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$3.86 CA$5.46

-41.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.24 CA$1.75

41.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$3.49 CA$4.94

-46.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$3.97 CA$5.61

-35.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$3.36 CA$4.76

-44.64%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$3.07 CA$4.34

-34.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.85 CA$4.03

-49.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.46 CA$2.06

-43.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$10.98 CA$15.52

-40.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$12.74 CA$18.01

-55.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$2.40 CA$3.39

-46.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$2.78 CA$3.93

-25.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$2.25 CA$3.18

4.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$58.7 CA$82.9

-24.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$2.30 CA$3.26

73.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.62 CA$2.29

-32.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$21.70 CA$30.68

-23.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.13 CA$1.59

101.77%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$28.0K CA$39.6K

20.14%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$19.7K CA$27.9K

99.35%

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

$167 €149

$123 CA$174

35.75%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$42.76 CA$60.5

-56.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$55.5 CA$78.4

-40.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$44.43 CA$62.8

3.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$20.32 CA$28.72

-5.56%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$10.33 CA$14.61

-4.74%

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

$677 €602

$399 CA$564

69.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$16.7K CA$23.5K

1.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$53.5 CA$75.7

89.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$35.84 CA$50.7

27.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$82.2 CA$116

21.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$90.6 CA$128

35.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$1,148 CA$1,622

40.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$1,267 CA$1,792

-5.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$1,794 CA$2,537

59.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$1,470 CA$2,078

35.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$4,187 CA$5,919

80.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$3,561 CA$5,034

20.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$2,970 CA$4,198

-46.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

4.99

-22.85%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for St. Thomas: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

St. Thomas

$1.3K 52.1% 5.9% $70

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

St. Thomas

$387 15.9% 43.8% $118

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

St. Thomas

$294 12.1% 21.5% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

St. Thomas

$222 9.1% 1% $2.2

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

St. Thomas

$118 4.9% 29.1% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

St. Thomas

$65 2.7% 0.9% $0.6

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

St. Thomas

$78 3.2% 23.9% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $1,148 in St. Thomas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St. Thomas pays 87% 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: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $63.0 in St. Thomas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $387 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇦 St. Thomas

🕒 Local time

15:22 3:22 PM

10:22 10:22 AM

5 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

38,909

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon St. Thomas 5,900 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
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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. Thomas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and St. Thomas differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $2,432 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 87% lower in St. Thomas. 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $1,148 in St. Thomas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $399 in St. Thomas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 44% higher in St. Thomas. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,223 in Lisbon versus $2,432 in St. Thomas, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in St. Thomas. 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. Thomas 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 9% less than in St. Thomas. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.