Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Motherwell and Lisbon

For one person, living costs are similar in Motherwell and in Lisbon: $2,285 and $2,223 a month, rent and utilities included.

111

Cost of Living Index in Motherwell
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Motherwell Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Motherwell

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,285

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,285 in Motherwell versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Motherwell $2,285
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,349 in Motherwell versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Motherwell $3,349
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,414 in Motherwell versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Motherwell $4,414
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Motherwell is roughly 3% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Motherwell 69% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.07 £15.06

$16.50 €14.67

21.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.0 £55.5

$61.3 €54.5

20.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.64 £7.98

$11.27 €10.03

-5.59%

Cappuccino

$4.69 £3.52

$3.06 €2.72

53.27%

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

$2.15 £1.61

$2.26 €2.01

-4.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 £1.32

$1.73 €1.54

1.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.41 £4.06

$3.39 €3.02

59.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.67 £5.00

$3.40 €3.02

96.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 £1.10

$1.12 €1.00

31.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.63 £1.22

$1.86 €1.65

-12.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.19 £1.64

$1.53 €1.36

43.14%

Eggs

$3.80 £2.85

$3.96 €3.53

-4.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.14 £6.86

$12.76 €11.35

-28.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.13 £6.85

$7.90 €7.02

15.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.65 £12.49

$16.97 €15.09

-1.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 £2.11

$2.27 €2.02

23.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.75 €1.55

-13.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.88 £2.16

$1.85 €1.64

55.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.16 £2.37

$2.57 €2.28

22.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 £1.48

$1.86 €1.65

5.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 £1.07

$2.02 €1.80

-29.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 £0.90

$1.44 €1.28

-17.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 £1.17

$0.82 €0.73

90.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.95 £15.71

$6.56 €5.83

219.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.45 £7.84

$5.62 €5.00

85.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.13 £2.35

$1.28 €1.14

144.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.41 £2.56

$2.07 €1.84

64.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.49 £2.62

$2.35 €2.09

48.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.5 £73.1

$44.18 €39.30

120.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.49

$3.99 €3.55

49.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.14 £0.86

$1.09 €0.97

4.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.19 £21.15

$16.64 €14.81

69.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.57

$2.28 €2.03

-8.33%

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

$38.5K £28.9K

$33.7K €30.0K

14.28%

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

$39.9K £30.0K

$39.3K €35.0K

1.62%

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

$241 £181

$167 €149

43.84%

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

$19.77 £14.83

$18.80 €16.72

5.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.45 £31.10

$33.09 €29.43

25.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.34 £34.77

$46.01 €40.93

0.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 £4.99

$19.19 €17.07

-65.35%

Cinema Ticket

$12.06 £9.05

$9.84 €8.75

22.56%

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

$910 £683

$677 €602

34.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K £13.2K

$16.9K €15.1K

4.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$117 £87.7

$101 €90.1

15.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.37 £36.29

$45.76 €40.70

5.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £77.7

$100.0 €88.9

3.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.2 £67.6

$123 €109

-26.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,218 £914

$1,614 €1,436

-24.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,019 £765

$1,197 €1,065

-14.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,124 £1,593

$2,862 €2,545

-25.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,643 £1,233

$1,990 €1,770

-17.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,030 £3,774

$7,577 €6,740

-33.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,920 £2,941

$4,307 €3,831

-8.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

29.87%

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

Last update for Motherwell: October 10, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Motherwell

$1K 44.6%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 17.5% $178

Eating Out

Motherwell

$305 13.3%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 20.5% $63

Groceries & Markets

Motherwell

$304 13.3%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 11.4% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Motherwell

$302 13.2%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 27.4% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Motherwell

$162 7.1%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 3% $4.8

Getting Around

Motherwell

$123 5.4%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 48.8% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Motherwell

$70 3.1%

Lisbon

$66 3% 6.8% $4.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,218 in Motherwell and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $74.0 in Motherwell vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $304 vs $269 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Motherwell

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

17:05 5:05 PM

Same time as Motherwell

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

32,120

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

Motherwell Lisbon 1,940 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Motherwell
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

Motherwell vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Motherwell and Lisbon differ by about 3% in total monthly costs ($2,285 vs $2,223 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,428 in Motherwell and $3,335 in Lisbon 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: $1,218 in Motherwell versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $910 in Motherwell 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 13% higher in Motherwell. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,223 in Lisbon versus $2,285 in Motherwell, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in Motherwell. 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, Motherwell 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 3% less than in Motherwell. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.