Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Wells

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,223 a month against $2,387 in Wells, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 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
116

Cost of Living Index in Wells
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Wells Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Wells

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,387

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Wells

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $2,387 in Wells.

Lisbon $2,223
Wells $2,387

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $3,377 in Wells.

Lisbon $3,271
Wells $3,377

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $4,367 in Wells.

Lisbon $4,319
Wells $4,367

Living in Lisbon costs roughly 7% less than in Wells, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 65% above, Wells 77% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$19.62 £14.72

-15.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$97.1 £72.8

-36.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$9.52 £7.14

18.38%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$4.72 £3.54

-35.17%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$2.19 £1.64

3.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$2.46 £1.85

-29.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$6.77 £5.08

-49.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$6.33 £4.75

-46.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.45 £1.09

-22.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.29 £0.97

44.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.69 £1.27

-9.47%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$3.92 £2.94

1.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$8.55 £6.41

49.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$4.62 £3.47

71.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$12.05 £9.04

40.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.99 £2.24

-24.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.35 £1.01

29.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.16 £1.62

-14.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$3.14 £2.35

-18.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.77 £0.58

141.56%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.33 £1.00

51.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.52 £1.14

-5.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.77 £1.33

-53.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$23.49 £17.62

-72.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$9.38 £7.04

-40.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$3.37 £2.53

-62.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$2.59 £1.95

-20.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$3.45 £2.59

-31.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$96.9 £72.7

-54.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$5.67 £4.25

-29.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.08 £0.81

0.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$23.91 £17.94

-30.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.99 £1.50

14.57%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$37.6K £28.2K

-10.48%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$40.5K £30.4K

-2.97%

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

$167 €149

$466 £349

-64.05%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$13.39 £10.04

40.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$40.29 £30.23

-17.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$45.14 £33.87

1.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$12.78 £9.59

-23.00%

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

$677 €602

$1,444 £1,083

-53.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$17.1K £12.9K

-1.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$36.71 £27.54

175.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$31.79 £23.85

43.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$59.6 £44.67

67.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$75.5 £56.6

62.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$1,237 £928

30.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$1,022 £766

17.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$2,077 £1,558

37.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$1,555 £1,167

28.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$4,978 £3,735

52.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$3,881 £2,912

10.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.11

-24.66%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Wells: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Wells

$1K 42.8% 14.7% $176

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Wells

$255 10.7% 5.3% $14

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Wells

$307 12.9% 26.9% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Wells

$520 21.8% 137% $300

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Wells

$92 3.8% 45% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Wells

$71 3% 7.6% $5

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Wells

$122 5.1% 93.2% $59

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $1,237 in Wells. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $97.0 in Wells. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $255, with Wells cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇬🇧 Wells

🕒 Local time

17:44 5:44 PM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

11,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Wells 1,480 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Wells

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 Wells: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Wells differ by about 7% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $2,387 including rent). Lisbon 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 $3,581 in Wells 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 $1,237 in Wells. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $1,444 in Wells. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Wells pay roughly 6% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,223 in Lisbon versus $2,387 in Wells, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in Wells. The gap between the two cities makes Lisbon 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 Wells 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 Lisbon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 7% less than in Wells. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.