Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saint-Etienne and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Saint-Etienne: $1,436 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

69

Cost of Living Index in Saint-Etienne
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Saint-Etienne Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Saint-Etienne

🇫🇷 France

$1,436

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,436 in Saint-Etienne versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Saint-Etienne $1,436
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,264 in Saint-Etienne versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Saint-Etienne $2,264
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,092 in Saint-Etienne versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Saint-Etienne $3,092
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Saint-Etienne costs roughly 35% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Saint-Etienne 6% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.56 €14.88

$16.65 €14.95

-0.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.7 €50.9

$61.7 €55.5

-8.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.54 €12.16

$11.36 €10.20

19.19%

Cappuccino

$2.07 €1.86

$2.97 €2.67

-30.30%

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

$3.42 €3.07

$2.29 €2.06

49.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 €1.53

$1.74 €1.56

-2.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.07 €4.55

$3.40 €3.06

49.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 €5.16

$3.31 €2.97

73.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.16 €1.04

11.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 €0.99

$1.91 €1.72

-42.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.09 €1.88

$1.51 €1.36

38.41%

Eggs

$3.05 €2.74

$4.02 €3.61

-24.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.01 €15.28

$12.94 €11.62

31.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.17 €10.03

$7.77 €6.98

43.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.35 €14.68

$17.76 €15.95

-7.94%

Apples (1kg)

$3.27 €2.94

$2.30 €2.07

42.17%

Banana (1kg)

$2.54 €2.28

$1.73 €1.56

46.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.45 €2.20

$1.86 €1.67

31.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 €2.43

$2.59 €2.33

4.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 €1.41

$1.82 €1.64

-13.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.97 €1.77

-12.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 €0.99

$1.47 €1.32

-25.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.30 €2.07

$0.72 €0.65

219.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.15 €10.91

$6.58 €5.91

84.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.14 €9.11

$5.61 €5.04

80.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.32 €2.99

$1.36 €1.22

144.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.26 €2.93

$2.14 €1.92

52.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.81 €1.62

$2.33 €2.10

-22.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.87 €35.82

$44.68 €40.14

-10.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.83 €2.54

$3.85 €3.46

-26.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.11 €1.89

$2.20 €1.98

-4.09%

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

$20.1K €18.0K

$34.2K €30.7K

-41.26%

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

$32.0K €28.7K

$38.7K €34.8K

-17.42%

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

$164 €148

$161 €145

1.93%

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

$29.01 €26.06

$18.41 €16.54

57.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.04 €17.11

$32.74 €29.41

-41.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.86 €26.82

$44.55 €40.02

-32.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.61 €5.94

$19.10 €17.16

-65.39%

Cinema Ticket

$9.89 €8.88

$9.60 €8.62

3.02%

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

$996 €894

$668 €600

49.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.8K €14.2K

$17.6K €15.8K

-10.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 €64.8

$102 €91.6

-29.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.47 €27.37

$44.46 €39.94

-31.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.3

$98.5 €88.5

4.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 €135

$124 €111

21.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$515 €463

$1,608 €1,445

-67.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$370 €332

$1,190 €1,069

-68.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$873 €785

$2,812 €2,526

-68.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$716 €643

$2,013 €1,808

-64.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,677 €1,506

$7,839 €7,042

-78.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,619 €1,454

$4,576 €4,110

-64.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,255 €2,026

$1,575 €1,415

43.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.67

3.85

-4.68%

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

Last update for Saint-Etienne: 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

Saint-Etienne

$370 25.8%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 222% $820

Groceries & Markets

Saint-Etienne

$339 23.6%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 19.6% $67

Eating Out

Saint-Etienne

$255 17.8%

Lisbon

$243 11% 4.9% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saint-Etienne

$212 14.8%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 0% $0

Clothing & Footwear

Saint-Etienne

$160 11.2%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 3.6% $5.7

Getting Around

Saint-Etienne

$50 * 3.5%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 26.6% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Saint-Etienne

$50 3.5%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 28.4% $14

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 $515 in Saint-Etienne and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Saint-Etienne pays 43% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $57 in Saint-Etienne vs $62 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $339 vs $272, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Saint-Etienne

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

16:45 4:45 PM

15:45 3:45 PM

1 h behind Saint-Etienne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

172,718

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Saint-Etienne Lisbon 1,340 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Saint-Etienne
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

Saint-Etienne vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Saint-Etienne and Lisbon differ by about 54% in total monthly costs ($1,436 vs $2,210 including rent). Saint-Etienne is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 43% higher in Saint-Etienne, 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: $515 in Saint-Etienne versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $996 in Saint-Etienne versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 20% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

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, Saint-Etienne 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.