Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portsmouth and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,210 a month against $2,765 in Portsmouth, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

134

Cost of Living Index in Portsmouth
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Portsmouth Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Portsmouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,765

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,765 in Portsmouth versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Portsmouth $2,765
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,781 in Portsmouth versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Portsmouth $3,781
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,798 in Portsmouth versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Portsmouth $4,798
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Portsmouth is roughly 25% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Portsmouth 103% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.08 £15.00

$16.65 €14.92

20.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 £49.64

$61.7 €55.3

7.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 £7.87

$11.36 €10.18

-7.22%

Cappuccino

$4.78 £3.57

$2.97 €2.66

60.94%

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

$2.74 £2.05

$2.29 €2.05

19.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 £1.73

$1.74 €1.56

32.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.28 £4.69

$3.40 €3.05

84.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.85 £4.37

$3.31 €2.97

76.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 £1.04

$1.16 €1.04

19.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 £1.20

$1.91 €1.71

-15.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.67 £2.74

$1.51 €1.36

143.05%

Eggs

$3.46 £2.58

$4.02 €3.60

-13.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.49 £10.07

$12.94 €11.59

4.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.16 £6.09

$7.77 €6.97

5.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 £9.85

$17.76 €15.92

-25.79%

Apples (1kg)

$3.89 £2.91

$2.30 €2.06

69.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 £1.45

$1.73 €1.55

11.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.92 £2.18

$1.86 €1.66

56.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.52

$2.59 €2.32

30.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$1.82 €1.63

-8.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$1.97 €1.76

-15.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.90

$1.47 €1.32

-17.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 £1.10

$0.72 €0.65

104.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.69 £16.95

$6.58 €5.90

244.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.13 £8.32

$5.61 €5.02

98.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.13 £2.34

$1.36 €1.22

130.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 £1.61

$2.14 €1.91

0.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.94 £2.94

$2.33 €2.09

69.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.3 £64.5

$44.68 €40.04

93.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.31 £3.97

$3.85 €3.45

37.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 £1.15

$1.07 €0.96

43.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.93 £14.89

$16.46 €14.75

21.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.56

$2.20 €1.97

-5.00%

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

$38.5K £28.8K

$34.2K €30.6K

12.65%

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

$41.1K £30.7K

$38.7K €34.7K

6.08%

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

$661 £494

$161 €144

309.90%

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

$15.19 £11.35

$18.41 €16.50

-17.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.05 £32.16

$32.74 €29.34

31.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.53 £25.80

$44.55 €39.92

-22.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.24 £12.88

$19.10 €17.11

-9.74%

Cinema Ticket

$10.80 £8.07

$9.60 €8.60

12.50%

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

$1,602 £1,197

$668 €598

139.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K £15.0K

$17.6K €15.8K

13.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.2 £68.1

$102 €91.4

-10.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.80 £29.74

$44.46 €39.85

-10.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 £75.0

$98.5 €88.3

1.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 £89.2

$124 €111

-3.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,493 £1,115

$1,608 €1,441

-7.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,092 £816

$1,190 €1,066

-8.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,146 £1,603

$2,812 €2,520

-23.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,669 £1,247

$2,013 €1,804

-17.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,574 £3,417

$7,839 €7,025

-41.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,680 £2,749

$4,576 €4,100

-19.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,397 £2,537

$1,575 €1,411

115.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.16

3.85

34.03%

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

Last update for Portsmouth: October 25, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Portsmouth

$1.1K 39.5%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 9% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portsmouth

$719 26%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 70.5% $507

Eating Out

Portsmouth

$313 11.3%

Lisbon

$243 11% 22.5% $70

Groceries & Markets

Portsmouth

$312 11.3%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 12.7% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Portsmouth

$158 5.7%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 5.1% $8.1

Getting Around

Portsmouth

$115 4.2%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 45.1% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Portsmouth

$56 2%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 13.6% $7.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,493 in Portsmouth and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Portsmouth pays about 2.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $66 in Portsmouth vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $312 vs $272 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Portsmouth

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

02:39 2:39 AM

Same time as Portsmouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

198,974

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Portsmouth Lisbon 1,490 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Portsmouth
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

Portsmouth vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,765 in Portsmouth and $2,210 in Lisbon, so Lisbon is about 20% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Portsmouth is about 2.2 times higher, 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: $1,493 in Portsmouth versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,602 in Portsmouth versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Portsmouth. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both work as nomad bases, but Lisbon delivers better value at $2,210 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Lisbon hard to pass up.

It comes down to priorities – Lisbon wins on affordability, Portsmouth on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.