Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Umhlanga

For one person, living is cheaper in Umhlanga: $1,341 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 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
65

Cost of Living Index in Umhlanga
Learn more

Umhlanga Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Umhlanga

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,341

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Umhlanga

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,341 in Umhlanga.

Lisbon $2,210
Umhlanga $1,341

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,988 in Umhlanga.

Lisbon $3,275
Umhlanga $1,988

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,634 in Umhlanga.

Lisbon $4,341
Umhlanga $2,634

Living in Lisbon is roughly 65% more expensive than in Umhlanga, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.87

$12.11 R 201

37.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.2

$29.61 R 492

108.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.14

$5.43 R 90.1

109.21%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.65

$2.51 R 41.75

18.33%

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

$2.29 €2.04

$1.44 R 23.92

59.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.17 R 19.48

48.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.04

$2.97 R 49.36

14.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$4.45 R 73.9

-25.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.03

$1.13 R 18.78

2.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.97 R 16.10

96.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.78 R 29.52

-15.17%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.59

$2.24 R 37.13

79.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.56

$10.82 R 180

19.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.94

$4.48 R 74.3

73.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.86

$9.62 R 160

84.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.23 R 20.46

86.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.49 R 24.71

16.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.46 R 24.22

27.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.31

$1.22 R 20.20

112.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.06 R 17.61

71.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.52 R 25.22

29.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.23 R 20.48

19.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.87 R 14.53

-17.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.88

$3.27 R 54.4

101.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.01

$5.91 R 98.1

-5.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.19 R 36.34

-37.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$3.59 R 59.7

-40.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.08

$0.59 R 9.75

294.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €39.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.44

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.70

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.60 R 26.55

37.50%

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

$34.2K €30.5K

$39.8K R 660.2K

-14.01%

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

$38.7K €34.6K

$35.5K R 588.9K

9.20%

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

$161 €144

$133 R 2,205

21.39%

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

$18.41 €16.44

$36.04 R 599

-48.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.24

$41.36 R 687

-20.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.79

$30.30 R 503

47.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.06

$15.32 R 254

24.67%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.57

$7.59 R 126

26.48%

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

$668 €596

$270 R 4,486

147.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$7,664 R 127.3K

129.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.1

$64.7 R 1,075

57.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.72

$44.84 R 745

-0.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.0

$120 R 1,997

-18.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €110

$89.4 R 1,484

38.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,437

$597 R 9,917

169.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,063

$563 R 9,341

111.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,512

$1,216 R 20.2K

131.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,798

$990 R 16.4K

103.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,002

$2,303 R 38.2K

240.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,087

$1,555 R 25.8K

194.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,407

$1,581 R 26.3K

-0.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

13.33

-71.12%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Umhlanga: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Umhlanga

$563 41.9% 52.7% $628

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Umhlanga

$199 14.9% 26.8% $73

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Umhlanga

$178 13.2% 26.8% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Umhlanga

$210 15.7% 1% $2.2

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Umhlanga

$144 10.7% 13.4% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Umhlanga

$45 3.4% 28.6% $18

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Umhlanga

$2.4 * 0.2% 96.3% $61

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 $597 in Umhlanga. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $30 in Umhlanga for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $199 per month, with Umhlanga cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Umhlanga

🕒 Local time

08:05 8:05 AM

10:05 10:05 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Umhlanga 8,680 km ≈ 11 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 Umhlanga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,341 in Umhlanga, so Umhlanga is about 39% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,315 in Lisbon and $2,012 in Umhlanga 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $597 in Umhlanga. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 37% 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 $1,341 in Umhlanga – Umhlanga is about 39% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Umhlanga is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Umhlanga are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.