Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Manchester and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,223 a month against $2,544 in Manchester, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

123

Cost of Living Index in Manchester
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Manchester Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Manchester

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,544

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Manchester 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 Manchester and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,544 in Manchester versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Manchester $2,544
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,691 in Manchester versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Manchester $3,691
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,839 in Manchester versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Manchester $4,839
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Manchester is roughly 14% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Manchester 88% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.64 £14.74

$16.50 €14.67

19.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$87.7 £65.8

$61.3 €54.5

43.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 £7.85

$11.27 €10.03

-7.10%

Cappuccino

$4.85 £3.64

$3.06 €2.72

58.50%

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

$2.49 £1.87

$2.26 €2.01

10.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.73 €1.54

-2.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.75 £5.81

$3.39 €3.02

128.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.72 £5.04

$3.40 €3.02

97.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.12 €1.00

27.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.94 £1.45

$1.86 €1.65

4.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.87 £1.40

$1.53 €1.36

22.22%

Eggs

$3.97 £2.98

$3.96 €3.53

0.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.40 £7.05

$12.76 €11.35

-26.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.02 £6.77

$7.90 €7.02

14.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.39 £11.55

$16.97 €15.09

-9.31%

Apples (1kg)

$3.09 £2.32

$2.27 €2.02

36.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.75 €1.55

-9.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 £2.28

$1.85 €1.64

63.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.37 £2.52

$2.57 €2.28

31.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.56 £1.17

$1.86 €1.65

-16.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 £1.02

$2.02 €1.80

-32.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.44 €1.28

-16.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 £0.95

$0.82 €0.73

54.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.80 £17.85

$6.56 €5.83

262.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.11 £8.34

$5.62 €5.00

97.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.50 £1.88

$1.28 €1.14

95.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 £2.34

$2.07 €1.84

50.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.67 £2.00

$2.35 €2.09

13.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$104 £77.8

$44.18 €39.30

134.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 £3.39

$3.99 €3.55

13.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.18 £1.64

$1.09 €0.97

100.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.56 £22.18

$16.64 €14.81

77.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.11 £1.58

$2.28 €2.03

-7.46%

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

$37.5K £28.1K

$33.7K €30.0K

11.21%

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

$40.3K £30.2K

$39.3K €35.0K

2.58%

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

$250 £188

$167 €149

49.35%

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

$16.38 £12.29

$18.80 €16.72

-12.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.35 £30.27

$33.09 €29.43

21.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.5 £41.65

$46.01 €40.93

20.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.33 £13.75

$19.19 €17.07

-4.48%

Cinema Ticket

$13.11 £9.84

$9.84 €8.75

33.23%

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

$1,240 £930

$677 €602

83.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.5K £14.6K

$16.9K €15.1K

14.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.5 £63.4

$101 €90.1

-16.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.39 £31.05

$45.76 €40.70

-9.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.6 £68.7

$100.0 €88.9

-8.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 £77.6

$123 €109

-15.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,827 £1,371

$1,614 €1,436

13.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,267 £950

$1,197 €1,065

5.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,044 £2,284

$2,862 €2,545

6.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,983 £1,488

$1,990 €1,770

-0.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,537 £3,403

$7,577 €6,740

-40.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,324 £3,244

$4,307 €3,831

0.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,329 £2,498

$1,588 €1,412

109.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.82

3.85

25.19%

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

Last update for Manchester: October 12, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Manchester

$1.3K 49.8%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 5.5% $70

Eating Out

Manchester

$316 12.4%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 23.3% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Manchester

$307 12.1%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 28.5% $88

Groceries & Markets

Manchester

$299 11.8%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 9.8% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Manchester

$144 5.7%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 15.2% $22

Getting Around

Manchester

$130 5.1%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 51.5% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Manchester

$82 3.2%

Lisbon

$66 3% 19.6% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,827 in Manchester and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Manchester pays 110% 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: $88.0 in Manchester vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $299 vs $269 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Manchester

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

15:47 3:47 PM

Same time as Manchester

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

503,100

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Manchester Lisbon 1,720 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Manchester
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

Manchester vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Manchester and Lisbon differ by about 14% in total monthly costs ($2,544 vs $2,223 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 110% higher in Manchester, 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: $1,827 in Manchester versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,240 in Manchester versus $677 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 11% higher in Manchester. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,223 in Lisbon versus $2,544 in Manchester, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in Manchester. 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, Manchester 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 14% less than in Manchester. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.