Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Romford and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,202 a month against $2,706 in Romford, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

131

Cost of Living Index in Romford
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Romford Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Romford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,706

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,706 in Romford versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

Romford $2,706
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,122 in Romford versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

Romford $4,122
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,538 in Romford versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Romford $5,538
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Romford is roughly 23% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Romford 100% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.90 £17.93

$17.04 €15.15

40.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$62.3 €55.4

73.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.75 £8.07

$11.02 €9.80

-2.45%

Cappuccino

$4.88 £3.66

$3.12 €2.78

56.41%

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

$2.68 £2.01

$2.27 €2.02

18.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 £1.39

$1.74 €1.55

6.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.62 £5.72

$3.42 €3.04

122.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.78 £5.09

$3.74 €3.33

81.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.17 €1.04

56.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.74 £1.30

$1.86 €1.66

-6.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.62 £1.96

$1.54 €1.37

70.13%

Eggs

$4.88 £3.66

$4.06 €3.61

20.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.51 £7.13

$12.91 €11.49

-26.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.56 £7.17

$7.90 €7.03

21.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.02 £12.02

$17.64 €15.69

-9.18%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.28

$2.26 €2.01

34.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 £1.03

$1.75 €1.55

-21.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.24 £2.43

$1.89 €1.68

71.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.55 £2.66

$2.56 €2.27

38.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.66 £1.25

$1.85 €1.64

-10.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 £1.37

$1.97 €1.75

-7.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 £0.93

$1.45 €1.29

-13.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.77 €0.69

133.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.41 £17.56

$6.71 €5.97

248.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.22 £9.92

$5.67 €5.04

133.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.21 £2.41

$1.37 €1.22

134.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.14 £3.11

$2.11 €1.88

96.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.58 £3.43

$2.32 €2.07

97.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.1 £72.8

$44.43 €39.52

118.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.51 £4.13

$3.95 €3.51

39.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.59 £1.94

$1.05 €0.93

146.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.48 £19.11

$17.15 €15.26

48.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$2.19 €1.95

-5.02%

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

$38.9K £29.2K

$33.8K €30.0K

15.22%

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

$40.4K £30.3K

$38.3K €34.0K

5.52%

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

$381 £286

$164 €146

132.65%

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

$18.84 £14.13

$18.48 €16.43

1.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.29 £32.48

$32.96 €29.32

31.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.6 £37.94

$45.87 €40.80

10.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

Cinema Ticket

$17.03 £12.78

$9.75 €8.67

74.67%

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

$2,581 £1,936

$684 €608

277.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.1K £26.4K

$17.6K €15.7K

99.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.0 £67.6

$104 €92.3

-13.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.87 £35.16

$46.20 €41.09

1.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.7 £68.8

$99.7 €88.7

-8.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 £97.3

$125 €111

3.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,852 £1,389

$1,589 €1,414

16.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,201 £901

$1,169 €1,040

2.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,269 £2,452

$2,851 €2,536

14.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,259 £1,695

$1,993 €1,773

13.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,605 £4,205

$7,793 €6,932

-28.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,693 £2,770

$4,418 €3,930

-16.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,863 £2,148

$1,600 €1,423

78.94%

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 Romford: October 19, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Romford

$1.2K 44.4%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 2.6% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Romford

$443 16.4%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 51.4% $228

Eating Out

Romford

$352 13%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 29.7% $104

Groceries & Markets

Romford

$330 12.2%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 17.3% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Romford

$161 6%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 4.5% $7.2

Getting Around

Romford

$134 5%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 53% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Romford

$85 3.1%

Lisbon

$65 3% 22.8% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,852 in Romford and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Romford pays 79% 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: $108 in Romford vs $62.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $330 vs $273 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Romford

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

06:46 6:46 AM

Same time as Romford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

95,894

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 23, 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 23, 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

Romford Lisbon 1,600 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Romford
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

Romford vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Romford and Lisbon differ by about 23% in total monthly costs ($2,706 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 79% higher in Romford, 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: $1,852 in Romford versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,581 in Romford 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 21% higher in Romford. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,202 in Lisbon versus $2,706 in Romford, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in Romford. 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, Romford 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 23% less than in Romford. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.