Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Worcester

For one person, living is cheaper in Worcester: $2,097 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in Worcester
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Worcester Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Worcester

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,097

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Worcester

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $2,097 in Worcester.

Lisbon $2,202
Worcester $2,097

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $3,096 in Worcester.

Lisbon $3,274
Worcester $3,096

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $4,096 in Worcester.

Lisbon $4,346
Worcester $4,096

Living in Lisbon is roughly 5% more expensive than in Worcester, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, Worcester 55% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$20.06 £15.05

-15.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$65.7 £49.32

-5.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$10.68 £8.01

3.18%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$4.52 £3.39

-30.97%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$3.11 £2.34

-27.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$2.18 £1.63

-20.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$6.75 £5.07

-49.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$6.95 £5.22

-46.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.34 £1.01

-12.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.35 £1.02

37.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.84 £1.38

-16.30%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$3.17 £2.38

28.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$7.10 £5.32

81.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$10.71 £8.03

-26.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$15.84 £11.88

11.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$2.73 £2.04

-17.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.55 £1.16

12.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$2.77 £2.08

-31.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$3.31 £2.48

-22.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$3.00 £2.25

-38.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.90 £1.43

3.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.13 £0.85

28.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$1.68 £1.26

-54.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$20.06 £15.05

-66.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$12.15 £9.11

-53.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$2.79 £2.09

-50.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$4.27 £3.21

-50.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$4.01 £3.01

-42.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$102 £76.6

-56.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$6.69 £5.02

-40.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$4.38 £3.28

-76.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.86 £1.40

17.74%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$38.2K £28.7K

-11.67%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$41.3K £31.0K

-7.29%

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

$164 €146

$313 £235

-47.71%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$19.86 £14.90

-6.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$38.66 £29.00

-14.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$41.48 £31.12

10.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$10.94 £8.21

70.75%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$11.16 £8.38

-12.63%

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

$684 €608

$1,821 £1,366

-62.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$57.1 £42.86

81.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$26.16 £19.62

76.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$69.8 £52.4

42.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$92.2 £69.2

35.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$1,038 £779

53.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$784 £588

49.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$1,357 £1,018

110.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$1,357 £1,018

46.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$4,276 £3,208

82.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$3,801 £2,851

16.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$4,074 £3,057

-60.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.38

-28.44%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Worcester: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Worcester

$784 37.4% 32.9% $385

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Worcester

$304 14.5% 11.4% $31

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Worcester

$316 15.1% 27.6% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Worcester

$372 17.7% 72.7% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Worcester

$110 5.3% 34.5% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Worcester

$64 3% 2.4% $1.6

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Worcester

$147 7% 133% $84

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $1,038 in Worcester. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Worcester pays 155% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $66.0 in Worcester for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $304 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇬🇧 Worcester

🕒 Local time

17:05 5:05 PM

Same time as Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

94,000

💱 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 Worcester 1,590 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
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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 Worcester: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Worcester differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $2,097 including rent). Worcester is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 155% lower in Worcester. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $1,038 in Worcester. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $684 in Lisbon versus $1,821 in Worcester. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 11% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $2,097 in Worcester versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Worcester but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Worcester 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 Worcester 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 Worcester gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.