Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saint John, New Brunswick and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Saint John, New Brunswick: $1,954 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

95

Cost of Living Index in Saint John, New Brunswick
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Saint John, New Brunswick Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Saint John, New Brunswick

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,954

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,954 in Saint John, New Brunswick versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

Saint John, New Brunswick $1,954
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,938 in Saint John, New Brunswick versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

Saint John, New Brunswick $2,938
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,922 in Saint John, New Brunswick versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Saint John, New Brunswick $3,922
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Saint John, New Brunswick costs roughly 11% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Saint John, New Brunswick 44% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.44 CA$26.08

$17.04 €15.15

8.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 CA$86.2

$62.3 €55.4

-2.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.83 CA$15.31

$11.02 €9.80

-1.72%

Cappuccino

$2.96 CA$4.18

$3.12 €2.78

-5.13%

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

$1.77 CA$2.50

$2.27 €2.02

-22.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.07 CA$1.52

$1.74 €1.55

-38.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.49 CA$6.35

$3.42 €3.04

31.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.00 CA$7.06

$3.74 €3.33

33.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.23 CA$3.16

$1.17 €1.04

90.60%

White Bread (500g)

$2.81 CA$3.97

$1.86 €1.66

51.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.99 CA$4.23

$1.54 €1.37

94.16%

Eggs

$3.56 CA$5.03

$4.06 €3.61

-12.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.47 CA$19.05

$12.91 €11.49

4.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.04 CA$17.02

$7.90 €7.03

52.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.83 CA$18.14

$17.64 €15.69

-27.27%

Apples (1kg)

$5.00 CA$7.07

$2.26 €2.01

121.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 CA$2.10

$1.75 €1.55

-15.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.16 CA$5.88

$1.89 €1.68

120.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.03 CA$5.70

$2.56 €2.27

57.42%

Potato (1kg)

$2.03 CA$2.86

$1.85 €1.64

9.73%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 CA$3.12

$1.97 €1.75

12.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 CA$3.50

$1.45 €1.29

71.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 CA$1.95

$0.77 €0.69

79.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.23 CA$20.12

$6.71 €5.97

112.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.67 CA$13.67

$5.67 €5.04

70.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 CA$2.52

$1.37 €1.22

29.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 CA$2.93

$2.11 €1.88

-1.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.09 CA$2.95

$2.32 €2.07

-9.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.4 CA$79.8

$44.43 €39.52

27.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.81 CA$3.97

$3.95 €3.51

-28.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 CA$1.48

$1.05 €0.93

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.60 CA$24.89

$17.15 €15.26

2.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 CA$1.80

$2.19 €1.95

-41.55%

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

$26.4K CA$37.3K

$33.8K €30.0K

-21.94%

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

$21.4K CA$30.3K

$38.3K €34.0K

-44.00%

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

$122 CA$173

$164 €146

-25.47%

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

$42.20 CA$59.7

$18.48 €16.43

128.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$64.5 CA$91.2

$32.96 €29.32

95.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 CA$75.4

$45.87 €40.80

16.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.52 CA$50.2

$18.68 €16.61

90.15%

Cinema Ticket

$12.61 CA$17.83

$9.75 €8.67

29.33%

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

$372 CA$526

$684 €608

-45.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K CA$16.0K

$17.6K €15.7K

-35.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.5 CA$71.4

$104 €92.3

-51.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.95 CA$50.8

$46.20 €41.09

-22.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 CA$143

$99.7 €88.7

1.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 CA$151

$125 €111

-14.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$966 CA$1,366

$1,589 €1,414

-39.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$826 CA$1,168

$1,169 €1,040

-29.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 CA$2,275

$2,851 €2,536

-43.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,353 CA$1,913

$1,993 €1,773

-32.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,035 CA$2,876

$7,793 €6,932

-73.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,131 CA$3,013

$4,418 €3,930

-51.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,596 CA$3,670

$1,600 €1,423

62.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.69

3.85

21.82%

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

Last update for Saint John, New Brunswick: 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

Saint John, New Brunswick

$826 42.3%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 41.5% $343

Groceries & Markets

Saint John, New Brunswick

$356 18.2%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 23.3% $83

Eating Out

Saint John, New Brunswick

$259 13.3%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 4.6% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saint John, New Brunswick

$229 11.7%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 5.9% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Saint John, New Brunswick

$132 6.8%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 27.4% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Saint John, New Brunswick

$79 4%

Lisbon

$65 3% 16.8% $13

Getting Around

Saint John, New Brunswick

$73 3.7%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 13.6% $9.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $966 in Saint John, New Brunswick and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Saint John, New Brunswick pays 62% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $61.0 in Saint John, New Brunswick vs $62.0 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $356 vs $273, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Saint John, New Brunswick

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

08:39 8:39 AM

12:39 12:39 PM

4 h ahead of Saint John, New Brunswick

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

70,063

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CAD in detail →

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Saint John, New Brunswick Lisbon 4,660 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

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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 John, New Brunswick vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Saint John, New Brunswick and Lisbon differ by about 13% in total monthly costs ($1,954 vs $2,202 including rent). Saint John, New Brunswick is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 62% higher in Saint John, New Brunswick, 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: $966 in Saint John, New Brunswick versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $372 in Saint John, New Brunswick versus $684 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 30% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,954 in Saint John, New Brunswick versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Saint John, New Brunswick but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Saint John, New Brunswick 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, Saint John, New Brunswick 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 Saint John, New Brunswick gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.