Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,203 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $22,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

196

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
108

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,203

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Lisbon

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in London and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,086 in London versus $2,203 in Lisbon.

London $4,086
Lisbon $2,203

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,816 in London versus $3,237 in Lisbon.

London $5,816
Lisbon $3,237

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,546 in London versus $4,272 in Lisbon.

London $7,546
Lisbon $4,272

Living in London is roughly 85% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: London 205% above, Lisbon 64% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$17.01 €15.18

56.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$62.7 €56.0

71.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$11.42 €10.19

-9.02%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$3.09 €2.76

87.38%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$2.37 €2.11

27.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$1.66 €1.48

29.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$3.46 €3.09

170.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$3.29 €2.93

138.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.17 €1.04

52.99%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$1.87 €1.66

10.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$1.52 €1.36

51.97%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$3.88 €3.46

30.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$12.87 €11.49

-2.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$7.94 €7.08

34.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$17.63 €15.73

-2.84%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$2.26 €2.01

34.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.76 €1.57

-19.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$1.88 €1.68

62.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$2.47 €2.20

36.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.86 €1.66

-10.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$2.07 €1.85

-16.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.39 €1.24

1.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.81 €0.73

120.99%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$6.89 €6.15

237.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$5.53 €4.93

134.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$1.33 €1.19

139.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$2.17 €1.93

103.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$2.24 €2.00

72.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$45.14 €40.29

453.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$4.00 €3.57

42.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$1.07 €0.95

211.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$16.53 €14.75

250.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$2.26 €2.02

-9.73%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$33.5K €29.9K

12.06%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$40.5K €36.1K

1.02%

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

$376 £284

$164 €146

129.90%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$18.54 €16.55

-3.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$33.21 €29.64

20.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$46.01 €41.06

32.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$18.80 €16.78

12.07%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$9.47 €8.45

89.55%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$690 €615

315.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$16.9K €15.0K

109.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$105 €93.4

10.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$45.27 €40.40

19.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$99.0 €88.3

27.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$124 €111

28.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$1,583 €1,413

80.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$1,209 €1,079

90.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$2,833 €2,528

83.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$1,964 €1,753

89.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$7,643 €6,821

148.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$4,431 €3,954

77.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$1,573 €1,403

206.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

3.79

22.69%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Lisbon

$1.2K 54% 47.5% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Lisbon

$215 9.6% 50.4% $219

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Lisbon

$247 11% 37.6% $149

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Lisbon

$272 12.1% 22.2% $77

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 78% $224

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Lisbon

$168 7.5% 18.2% $37

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Lisbon

$65 2.9% 33.1% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,853 in London and $1,583 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 206% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $108 in London vs $63.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $272 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

07:21 7:21 AM

Same time as London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Lisbon 1,590 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

London
Lisbon

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

London vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

London and Lisbon differ by about 85% in total monthly costs ($4,086 vs $2,203 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 206% higher in London, 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: $2,853 in London versus $1,583 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,865 in London versus $690 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 28% higher in London. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,203 in Lisbon versus $4,086 in London, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in London. 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, London and Lisbon 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 85% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.