Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Roodepoort and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Roodepoort: $1,172 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Roodepoort, South Africa
Lisbon, Portugal
Roodepoort
🇿🇦 South Africa
$1,172
/mo nomad
Lisbon
🇵🇹 Portugal
$2,210
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,172 in Roodepoort versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

  • Roodepoort $1,172
  • Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,767 in Roodepoort versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

  • Roodepoort $1,767
  • Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,362 in Roodepoort versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

  • Roodepoort $2,362
  • Lisbon $4,341

Living in Roodepoort costs roughly 47% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Roodepoort is 14% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Roodepoort
Lisbon
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$12.00 R 200
$16.65 €14.92
-27.93%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$44.96 R 751
$61.7 €55.3
-27.18%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.11 R 119
$11.36 €10.18
-37.41%
Cappuccino
$2.43 R 40.61
$2.97 €2.66
-18.18%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.13 R 18.93
$2.29 €2.05
-50.66%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.98 R 16.34
$1.74 €1.56
-43.68%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.44 R 40.66
$3.40 €3.05
-28.24%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.78 R 46.41
$3.31 €2.97
-16.01%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Roodepoort
Lisbon
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.21 R 20.23
$1.16 €1.04
4.31%
White Bread (500g)
$1.15 R 19.19
$1.91 €1.71
-39.79%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.78 R 29.78
$1.51 €1.36
17.88%
Eggs
$2.51 R 41.91
$4.02 €3.60
-37.56%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.79 R 147
$12.94 €11.59
-32.07%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.38 R 89.8
$7.77 €6.97
-30.76%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$8.88 R 148
$17.76 €15.92
-50.00%
Apples (1kg)
$1.86 R 31.05
$2.30 €2.06
-19.13%
Banana (1kg)
$1.79 R 29.87
$1.73 €1.55
3.47%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.73 R 28.87
$1.86 €1.66
-6.99%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.13 R 35.55
$2.59 €2.32
-17.76%
Potato (1kg)
$1.72 R 28.67
$1.82 €1.63
-5.49%
Onion (1kg)
$1.77 R 29.50
$1.97 €1.76
-10.15%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.21 R 20.24
$1.47 €1.32
-17.69%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.26 R 20.98
$0.72 €0.65
75.00%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.50 R 58.4
$6.58 €5.90
-46.81%
Wine (Bottle)
$5.85 R 97.6
$5.61 €5.02
4.28%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.52 R 25.43
$1.36 €1.22
11.76%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.91 R 31.85
$2.14 €1.91
-10.75%
🚌 Getting Around
Roodepoort
Lisbon
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.81 R 13.48
$2.33 €2.09
-65.24%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$44.68 €40.04
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.81 R 13.44
$3.85 €3.45
-78.96%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.88 R 14.76
$1.07 €0.96
-17.76%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$14.69 R 245
$16.46 €14.75
-10.75%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.56 R 25.99
$2.20 €1.97
-29.09%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$34.7K R 579.6K
$34.2K €30.6K
1.55%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$35.1K R 585.8K
$38.7K €34.7K
-9.38%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Roodepoort
Lisbon
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$226 R 3,774
$161 €144
40.24%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$39.16 R 654
$18.41 €16.50
112.71%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$37.33 R 623
$32.74 €29.34
14.02%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Roodepoort
Lisbon
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$47.68 R 796
$44.55 €39.92
7.03%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$19.10 €17.11
-
Cinema Ticket
$7.35 R 123
$9.60 €8.60
-23.44%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Roodepoort
Lisbon
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$238 R 3,980
$668 €598
-64.29%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,476 R 91.4K
$17.6K €15.8K
-68.91%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Roodepoort
Lisbon
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$52.1 R 869
$102 €91.4
-48.97%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$32.49 R 542
$44.46 €39.85
-26.92%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$110 R 1,829
$98.5 €88.3
11.20%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.4 R 1,476
$124 €111
-28.49%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Roodepoort
Lisbon
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$598 R 9,991
$1,608 €1,441
-62.79%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$289 R 4,816
$1,190 €1,066
-75.76%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,530 R 25.5K
$2,812 €2,520
-45.59%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$531 R 8,858
$2,013 €1,804
-73.64%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$7,839 €7,025
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$4,576 €4,100
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Roodepoort
Lisbon
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,519 R 25.4K
$1,575 €1,411
-3.56%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.25
3.85
192.21%

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

Last update for Roodepoort: October 24, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Roodepoort
$303
Lisbon
$212 29.8% $90
Accommodation & Living
Roodepoort
$289
Lisbon
$1.2K 313% $902
Groceries & Markets
Roodepoort
$210
Lisbon
$272 29.7% $62
Eating Out
Roodepoort
$173
Lisbon
$243 40.5% $70
Clothing & Footwear
Roodepoort
$127
Lisbon
$166 30.5% $39
Sport & Entertainment
Roodepoort
$62
Lisbon
$64 2.2% $1.4
Getting Around
Roodepoort
$8.5 *
Lisbon
$63 647% $55

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $598 in Roodepoort and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 4% 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: $45 in Roodepoort vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $272 per month, with Roodepoort cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇿🇦 Roodepoort
🇵🇹 Lisbon
🕒 Local time
12:04 12:04 PM
10:04 10:04 AM
2 h behind Roodepoort
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
325,000
545,923 Capital
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.69 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.63 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR).

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

On the map
Between locations
  • Roodepoort Lisbon 8,180 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Roodepoort
  • 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
Roodepoort vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Roodepoort and in Lisbon?
Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,172 in Roodepoort and $2,210 in Lisbon, so Roodepoort is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city has better-paying jobs?
On paper, salaries run 4% lower in Roodepoort. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
How do apartment prices compare in Roodepoort and in Lisbon?
Rent for a central apartment: $598 in Roodepoort versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city is more expensive overall: Roodepoort or Lisbon?
All in, you’ll spend $1,172 per month in Roodepoort versus $2,210 in Lisbon – Roodepoort is about 47% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.
Which city is more doable on $1,500 per month?
At $1,172 in Roodepoort versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Roodepoort but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Roodepoort the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Roodepoort and Lisbon?
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.
How do I decide between Roodepoort and Lisbon?
It comes down to priorities – Roodepoort wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.

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