Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Surat Thani

For one person, living is cheaper in Surat Thani: $775 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $17,100 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Surat Thani
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Surat Thani Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Surat Thani

🇹🇭 Thailand

$775

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Surat Thani

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $775 in Surat Thani.

Lisbon $2,202
Surat Thani $775

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $1,414 in Surat Thani.

Lisbon $3,274
Surat Thani $1,414

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,053 in Surat Thani.

Lisbon $4,346
Surat Thani $2,053

Living in Lisbon is roughly 184% more expensive than in Surat Thani, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Surat Thani is 43% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$1.89 ฿63.0

801.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$17.87 ฿597

248.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$4.51 ฿151

144.35%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$1.50 ฿50.2

108.00%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$0.50 ฿16.68

354.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.29 ฿9.66

500.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$2.56 ฿85.4

33.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$3.69 ฿123

1.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.66 ฿55.4

-29.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.19 ฿39.89

56.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.17 ฿39.13

31.62%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$1.87 ฿62.4

117.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$19.18 ฿641

-32.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$3.33 ฿111

137.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$7.44 ฿249

137.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$2.91 ฿97.2

-22.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.68 ฿56.3

4.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.76 ฿58.7

7.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$2.05 ฿68.4

24.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.30 ฿43.57

42.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.37 ฿45.90

43.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.11 ฿37.24

30.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.41 ฿13.66

87.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$3.07 ฿103

118.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$18.86 ฿630

-69.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.54 ฿51.6

-11.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.82 ฿60.7

15.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$1.02 ฿34.00

127.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$20.95 ฿700

112.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$1.18 ฿39.50

234.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.63 ฿21.05

66.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$3.49 ฿117

391.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.16 ฿38.93

88.79%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$26.6K ฿890.1K

26.85%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$27.3K ฿911.7K

40.27%

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

$164 €146

$72.9 ฿2,437

124.64%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$11.12 ฿372

66.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$17.32 ฿579

90.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$48.24 ฿1,612

-4.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$11.52 ฿385

62.15%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$4.53 ฿151

115.23%

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

$684 €608

$549 ฿18.3K

24.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$11.6K ฿386.5K

52.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$61.9 ฿2,070

67.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$29.16 ฿974

58.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$97.3 ฿3,252

2.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$86.5 ฿2,892

44.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$237 ฿7,910

571.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$149 ฿4,985

683.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$1,150 ฿38.4K

147.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$709 ฿23.7K

181.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$2,226 ฿74.4K

250.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$1,404 ฿46.9K

214.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.57

-30.88%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Surat Thani: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Surat Thani

$149 19.3% 87.2% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Surat Thani

$244 31.5% 10.6% $29

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Surat Thani

$70 9% 71.7% $178

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Surat Thani

$101 13.1% 52.9% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Surat Thani

$124 16% 26.6% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Surat Thani

$57 7.4% 12.4% $8.1

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Surat Thani

$29 3.8% 53.4% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $237 in Surat Thani. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $18.00 in Surat Thani for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $244 per month, with Surat Thani cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇹🇭 Surat Thani

🕒 Local time

17:56 5:56 PM

23:56 11:56 PM

6 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

132,040

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Surat Thani 10,930 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

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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 Surat Thani: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Surat Thani differ by about 184% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $775 including rent). Surat Thani is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,302 in Lisbon and $1,163 in Surat Thani 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: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $237 in Surat Thani. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $684 in Lisbon versus $549 in Surat Thani. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 12% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $775 in Surat Thani versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Surat Thani but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Surat Thani 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 Surat Thani 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 Surat Thani gentler on the wallet – expenses run 184% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.