Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Reading and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,202 a month against $2,799 in Reading, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

136

Cost of Living Index in Reading
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Reading Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Reading

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,799

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,799 in Reading versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

Reading $2,799
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,080 in Reading versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

Reading $4,080
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,362 in Reading versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Reading $5,362
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Reading is roughly 27% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Reading 107% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.69 £20.02

$17.04 €15.15

56.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$94.0 £70.5

$62.3 €55.4

50.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.14 £7.60

$11.02 €9.80

-7.99%

Cappuccino

$4.80 £3.60

$3.12 €2.78

53.85%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$2.27 €2.02

30.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.64 £1.98

$1.74 €1.55

51.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.77 £6.58

$3.42 €3.04

156.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.48 £4.86

$3.74 €3.33

73.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 £1.06

$1.17 €1.04

20.51%

White Bread (500g)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.86 €1.66

-6.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.91 £2.18

$1.54 €1.37

88.96%

Eggs

$3.74 £2.81

$4.06 €3.61

-7.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.41 £8.56

$12.91 €11.49

-11.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.66 £6.49

$7.90 €7.03

9.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.56 £9.42

$17.64 €15.69

-28.80%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 £2.20

$2.26 €2.01

29.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 £1.15

$1.75 €1.55

-12.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 £2.13

$1.89 €1.68

50.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.29 £2.47

$2.56 €2.27

28.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 £1.15

$1.85 €1.64

-17.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.97 €1.75

-30.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 £0.70

$1.45 €1.29

-35.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 £1.10

$0.77 €0.69

90.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.46 £17.60

$6.71 €5.97

249.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 £10.41

$5.67 €5.04

144.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.24 £1.68

$1.37 €1.22

63.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.39

$2.11 €1.88

50.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.52 £2.64

$2.32 €2.07

51.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$84.1 £63.1

$44.43 €39.52

89.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.68 £5.01

$3.95 €3.51

69.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.55 £3.42

$1.05 €0.93

333.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.46 £10.10

$17.15 €15.26

-21.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 £1.54

$2.19 €1.95

-6.39%

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

$38.0K £28.5K

$33.8K €30.0K

12.36%

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

$40.3K £30.2K

$38.3K €34.0K

5.34%

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

$285 £214

$164 €146

73.85%

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

$20.65 £15.49

$18.48 €16.43

11.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.43 £34.83

$32.96 €29.32

40.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.7 £43.29

$45.87 €40.80

25.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.85 £15.64

$18.68 €16.61

11.62%

Cinema Ticket

$13.35 £10.02

$9.75 €8.67

36.92%

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

$1,780 £1,335

$684 €608

160.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K £22.3K

$17.6K €15.7K

68.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.5 £57.4

$104 €92.3

-26.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$69.2 £52.0

$46.20 €41.09

49.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 £84.2

$99.7 €88.7

12.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 £79.5

$125 €111

-15.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,731 £1,299

$1,589 €1,414

8.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,392 £1,044

$1,169 €1,040

19.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,932 £2,199

$2,851 €2,536

2.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,247 £1,686

$1,993 €1,773

12.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,139 £5,355

$7,793 €6,932

-8.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,648 £4,237

$4,418 €3,930

27.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,440 £2,581

$1,600 €1,423

115.02%

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 Reading: October 17, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Reading

$1.4K 49.7%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 16% $222

Eating Out

Reading

$381 13.6%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 35% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Reading

$352 12.6%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 38.8% $137

Groceries & Markets

Reading

$299 10.7%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 8.7% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Reading

$164 5.9%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 2.9% $4.7

Getting Around

Reading

$128 4.6%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 50.7% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Reading

$84 3%

Lisbon

$65 3% 22.5% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,731 in Reading and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Reading pays 115% 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: $94.0 in Reading vs $62.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $299 vs $273 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Reading

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

18:44 6:44 PM

Same time as Reading

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

162,666

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 20, 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 20, 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

Reading Lisbon 1,550 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Reading
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

Reading vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Reading and Lisbon differ by about 27% in total monthly costs ($2,799 vs $2,202 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 115% higher in Reading, 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: $1,731 in Reading versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,780 in Reading versus $684 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Reading. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,202 in Lisbon versus $2,799 in Reading, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in Reading. 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, Reading 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 27% less than in Reading. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.