Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Upington

For one person, living is cheaper in Upington: $1,111 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 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 Upington
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Upington Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Upington

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,111

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Upington

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,111 in Upington.

Lisbon $2,210
Upington $1,111

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,731 in Upington.

Lisbon $3,275
Upington $1,731

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,350 in Upington.

Lisbon $4,341
Upington $2,350

Living in Lisbon is roughly 99% more expensive than in Upington, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Upington is 18% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$12.13 R 202

37.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$35.62 R 592

73.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$5.83 R 96.8

94.85%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$1.75 R 29.08

69.71%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.02 R 17.00

124.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.77 R 12.83

125.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$1.70 R 28.29

100.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.76 R 45.81

19.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$0.93 R 15.40

24.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.22 R 20.21

56.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.61 R 26.75

-6.21%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.22 R 36.84

81.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$8.31 R 138

55.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$5.40 R 89.6

43.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$8.17 R 136

117.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.06 R 34.16

11.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.49 R 24.68

16.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.64 R 27.28

13.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.76 R 29.21

47.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.34 R 22.26

35.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.39 R 23.04

41.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.11 R 18.37

32.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.22 R 20.27

-40.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$2.76 R 45.86

138.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$3.73 R 61.9

50.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.54 R 25.59

-11.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.09 R 34.66

2.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$1.46 R 24.23

59.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$0.64 R 10.60

501.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.79 R 13.12

35.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$11.30 R 188

45.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.45 R 24.12

51.72%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$40.3K R 669.6K

-15.19%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$34.8K R 577.5K

11.37%

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

$161 €144

$148 R 2,464

8.66%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$39.28 R 653

-53.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$37.62 R 625

-12.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$28.10 R 467

58.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$11.70 R 194

63.25%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$8.00 R 133

20.00%

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

$668 €598

$103 R 1,704

550.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,540 R 92.0K

217.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$55.8 R 926

83.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$32.07 R 533

38.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$104 R 1,731

-5.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$84.3 R 1,401

46.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$389 R 6,454

313.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$358 R 5,939

232.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$613 R 10.2K

358.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$736 R 12.2K

173.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$917 R 15.2K

754.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$739 R 12.3K

518.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$781 R 13.0K

101.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

11.38

-66.17%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Upington: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Upington

$358 32.2% 70% $833

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Upington

$193 17.4% 29.2% $79

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Upington

$157 14.1% 35.4% $86

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Upington

$225 20.3% 6.1% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Upington

$124 11.2% 25% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Upington

$44 4% 30.8% $20

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Upington

$10 * 0.9% 83.5% $53

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 $389 in Upington. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $36 in Upington for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $193 per month, with Upington cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Upington

🕒 Local time

01:01 1:01 AM

03:01 3:01 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

74,834

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Lisbon Upington 8,110 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Upington

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 Upington: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,111 in Upington, so Upington is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2 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 $389 in Upington. 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 $1,111 in Upington – Upington is about 50% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Upington 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.

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