Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Sun City

For one person, living is cheaper in Sun City: $1,255 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $11,600 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
61

Cost of Living Index in Sun City
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Sun City Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Sun City

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,255

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Sun City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $1,255 in Sun City.

Lisbon $2,223
Sun City $1,255

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $1,930 in Sun City.

Lisbon $3,271
Sun City $1,930

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $2,606 in Sun City.

Lisbon $4,319
Sun City $2,606

Living in Lisbon is roughly 77% more expensive than in Sun City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Sun City is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$11.94 R 197

38.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$43.53 R 717

40.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$7.40 R 122

52.30%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.46 R 40.54

24.39%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$1.23 R 20.26

83.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.93 R 15.34

86.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$2.20 R 36.18

54.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$2.77 R 45.61

22.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.35 R 22.30

-17.04%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.28 R 21.14

45.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.77 R 29.18

-13.56%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$2.63 R 43.27

50.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$8.41 R 139

51.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$5.65 R 93.1

39.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$8.48 R 140

100.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.10 R 34.58

8.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.88 R 30.91

-6.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.77 R 29.21

4.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$2.12 R 34.93

21.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.67 R 27.45

11.38%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.83 R 30.09

10.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.49 R 24.55

-3.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.32 R 21.70

-37.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$3.38 R 55.8

94.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$6.09 R 100

-7.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.89 R 31.11

-32.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$2.40 R 39.52

-13.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.49 R 24.54

57.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$0.82 R 13.44

386.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.91 R 15.01

19.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$14.50 R 239

14.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.49 R 24.59

53.02%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$35.2K R 579.9K

-4.33%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$31.5K R 519.7K

24.56%

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

$167 €149

$233 R 3,832

-28.00%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$38.09 R 628

-50.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$36.25 R 597

-8.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$32.16 R 530

43.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$10.57 R 174

81.55%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$7.69 R 127

27.96%

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

$677 €602

$246 R 4,052

175.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$5,459 R 89.9K

209.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$58.1 R 957

74.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$46.31 R 763

-1.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$107 R 1,766

-6.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$107 R 1,757

15.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$395 R 6,502

308.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$354 R 5,834

238.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$737 R 12.1K

288.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$737 R 12.1K

169.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$890 R 14.7K

751.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$658 R 10.8K

555.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

10.91

-64.71%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Sun City: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Sun City

$354 28.2% 70.4% $843

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Sun City

$219 17.5% 18.6% $50

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Sun City

$172 13.7% 28.8% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Sun City

$307 24.5% 39.9% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Sun City

$143 11.4% 13.9% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Sun City

$48 3.8% 27.6% $18

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Sun City

$11 * 0.9% 82% $52

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 $1,614 in Lisbon and $395 in Sun City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $44.00 in Sun City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $219 per month, with Sun City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Sun City

🕒 Local time

12:28 12:28 PM

13:28 1:28 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,556

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Sun City 8,060 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Sun City

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 Sun City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Sun City differ by about 77% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $1,255 including rent). Sun City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,335 in Lisbon and $1,882 in Sun City 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $395 in Sun City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 23% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,223 per month in Lisbon versus $1,255 in Sun City – a 77% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,255 in Sun City versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sun City but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sun City 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 Sun City 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 Sun City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 77% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.