Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Margate and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,223 a month against $2,397 in Margate, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. The total is higher in Margate despite lower rent and utilities.

117

Cost of Living Index in Margate
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Margate Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Margate

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,397

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,397 in Margate versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Margate $2,397
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,447 in Margate versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Margate $3,447
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,498 in Margate versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Margate $4,498
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Margate is roughly 8% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Margate 78% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.62 £13.22

$16.50 €14.67

6.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.2 £44.44

$61.3 €54.5

-3.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.66 £8.00

$11.27 €10.03

-5.41%

Cappuccino

$4.58 £3.44

$3.06 €2.72

49.67%

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

$1.93 £1.45

$2.26 €2.01

-14.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 £1.02

$1.73 €1.54

-21.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.96 £5.97

$3.39 €3.02

134.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.78 £5.08

$3.40 €3.02

99.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 £1.18

$1.12 €1.00

41.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 £1.34

$1.86 €1.65

-3.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.61 £1.96

$1.53 €1.36

70.59%

Eggs

$4.41 £3.31

$3.96 €3.53

11.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.78 £7.34

$12.76 €11.35

-23.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 £7.25

$7.90 €7.02

22.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.68 £11.77

$16.97 €15.09

-7.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 £2.24

$2.27 €2.02

31.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 £1.27

$1.75 €1.55

-3.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.56 £2.67

$1.85 €1.64

92.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.52 £2.64

$2.57 €2.28

36.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 £1.33

$1.86 €1.65

-4.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 £1.35

$2.02 €1.80

-10.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 £0.92

$1.44 €1.28

-14.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 £1.47

$0.82 €0.73

137.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.12 £16.59

$6.56 €5.83

237.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.19 £8.39

$5.62 €5.00

99.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.60 £1.95

$1.28 €1.14

103.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.86 £2.89

$2.07 €1.84

86.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.30 £2.47

$2.35 €2.09

40.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.6 £71.7

$44.18 €39.30

116.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.95 £5.96

$3.99 €3.55

99.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.58 £1.94

$1.09 €0.97

136.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$51.2 £38.43

$16.64 €14.81

207.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$2.28 €2.03

-9.21%

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

$37.6K £28.2K

$33.7K €30.0K

11.64%

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

$41.0K £30.8K

$39.3K €35.0K

4.47%

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

$342 £256

$167 €149

104.05%

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

$18.66 £14.00

$18.80 €16.72

-0.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.12 £31.60

$33.09 €29.43

27.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.65 £34.25

$46.01 €40.93

-0.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$17.01 £12.76

$9.84 €8.75

72.87%

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

$2,568 £1,926

$677 €602

279.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.7K £26.8K

$16.9K €15.1K

110.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.6 £68.0

$101 €90.1

-10.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.65 £35.75

$45.76 €40.70

4.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.3 £70.0

$100.0 €88.9

-6.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$127 £95.2

$123 €109

3.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,200 £900

$1,614 €1,436

-25.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,005 £754

$1,197 €1,065

-16.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,134 £1,601

$2,862 €2,545

-25.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,662 £1,247

$1,990 €1,770

-16.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,111 £3,834

$7,577 €6,740

-32.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,937 £2,954

$4,307 €3,831

-8.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,652 £1,990

$1,588 €1,412

67.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.04

3.85

30.91%

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

Last update for Margate: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Margate

$1K 42%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 19.1% $192

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Margate

$403 16.8%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 45.5% $183

Groceries & Markets

Margate

$324 13.5%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 16.8% $54

Eating Out

Margate

$294 12.3%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 17.7% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Margate

$161 6.7%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 3.1% $5.1

Getting Around

Margate

$130 5.4%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 51.4% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Margate

$80 3.3%

Lisbon

$66 3% 17.5% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,200 in Margate and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Margate pays 67% 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: $59.0 in Margate vs $61.0 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $324 vs $269, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Margate

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

00:38 12:38 AM

Same time as Margate

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,465

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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Highest

Between locations

Margate Lisbon 1,630 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Margate
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

Margate vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Margate and Lisbon differ by about 8% in total monthly costs ($2,397 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 67% higher in Margate, 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: $1,200 in Margate versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,568 in Margate 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 20% higher in Margate. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,223 in Lisbon versus $2,397 in Margate, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in Margate. 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, Margate 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 8% less than in Margate. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.