Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Tembisa

For one person, living is cheaper in Tembisa: $1,105 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Tembisa
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Tembisa Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Tembisa

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,105

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Tembisa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,105 in Tembisa.

Lisbon $2,210
Tembisa $1,105

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,734 in Tembisa.

Lisbon $3,275
Tembisa $1,734

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,363 in Tembisa.

Lisbon $4,341
Tembisa $2,363

Living in Lisbon is roughly 100% more expensive than in Tembisa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Tembisa is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$9.69 R 161

71.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$39.77 R 663

55.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$5.82 R 97.0

95.19%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.31 R 38.53

28.57%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.10 R 18.29

108.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.83 R 13.79

109.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.41 R 40.12

41.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.80 R 46.70

18.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.17 R 19.53

-0.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.10 R 18.37

73.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.82 R 30.35

-17.03%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.54 R 42.40

58.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$8.39 R 140

54.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$4.91 R 81.9

58.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$7.19 R 120

147.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.81 R 30.09

27.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.69 R 28.11

2.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.73 R 28.76

7.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.66 R 27.71

56.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.46 R 24.26

24.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.45 R 24.12

35.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.24 R 20.62

18.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.16 R 19.41

-37.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$3.33 R 55.4

97.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$5.03 R 83.8

11.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.39 R 23.20

-2.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.97 R 32.84

8.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$1.56 R 26.03

49.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$0.64 R 10.61

501.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.93 R 15.53

15.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$11.73 R 195

40.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.48 R 24.63

48.65%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$36.3K R 604.7K

-5.77%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$33.3K R 554.9K

16.30%

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

$161 €145

$149 R 2,479

8.38%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$35.37 R 589

-47.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$37.16 R 619

-11.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$32.03 R 534

39.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$10.74 R 179

77.84%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.37 R 123

30.26%

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

$668 €600

$247 R 4,116

170.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,513 R 91.9K

219.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$54.4 R 906

87.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$33.07 R 551

34.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$101 R 1,687

-2.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$89.2 R 1,486

38.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$392 R 6,537

309.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$359 R 5,987

231.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$746 R 12.4K

277.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$753 R 12.5K

167.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$877 R 14.6K

793.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$682 R 11.4K

570.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$566 R 9,430

178.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

10.94

-64.81%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Tembisa: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Tembisa

$359 32.5% 69.8% $831

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Tembisa

$193 17.5% 29.1% $79

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Tembisa

$148 13.4% 39% $95

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Tembisa

$221 20% 4.2% $8.9

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Tembisa

$125 11.3% 24.6% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Tembisa

$47 4.2% 26.6% $17

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Tembisa

$12 * 1% 81.7% $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 $1,608 in Lisbon and $392 in Tembisa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $40 in Tembisa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $193 per month, with Tembisa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Tembisa

🕒 Local time

20:26 8:26 PM

22:26 10:26 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

463,109

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Tembisa 8,180 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Tembisa

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 Tembisa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,105 in Tembisa, so Tembisa is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.8 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $392 in Tembisa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $1,105 in Tembisa – Tembisa is about 50% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,105 in Tembisa versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Tembisa but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Tembisa 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.

It comes down to priorities – Tembisa wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.