Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saitama and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Saitama: $1,007 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Saitama
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Saitama Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Saitama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,007

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,007 in Saitama versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

Saitama $1,007
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,330 in Saitama versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

Saitama $1,330
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,653 in Saitama versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Saitama $1,653
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Saitama costs roughly 54% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Saitama is 26% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.55 ¥876

$17.04 €15.15

-67.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.14 ¥4,920

$62.3 €55.4

-50.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.86 ¥768

$11.02 €9.80

-55.90%

Cappuccino

$3.07 ¥486

$3.12 €2.78

-1.60%

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

$0.72 ¥114

$2.27 €2.02

-68.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 ¥103

$1.74 €1.55

-62.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.46 ¥389

$3.42 €3.04

-28.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 ¥503

$3.74 €3.33

-14.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 ¥229

$1.17 €1.04

23.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 ¥260

$1.86 €1.66

-11.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 ¥423

$1.54 €1.37

74.03%

Eggs

$2.00 ¥316

$4.06 €3.61

-50.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.14 ¥1,601

$12.91 €11.49

-21.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.45 ¥861

$7.90 €7.03

-31.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 ¥2,281

$17.64 €15.69

-18.14%

Apples (1kg)

$5.58 ¥882

$2.26 €2.01

146.90%

Banana (1kg)

$2.25 ¥355

$1.75 €1.55

28.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 ¥449

$1.89 €1.68

50.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.19 ¥662

$2.56 €2.27

63.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.61 ¥412

$1.85 €1.64

41.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 ¥247

$1.97 €1.75

-20.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 ¥197

$1.45 €1.29

-13.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 ¥126

$0.77 €0.69

3.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.70 ¥585

$6.71 €5.97

-44.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 ¥999

$5.67 €5.04

11.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ¥274

$1.37 €1.22

27.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 ¥333

$2.11 €1.88

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.45 ¥545

$2.32 €2.07

48.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 ¥492

$3.95 €3.51

-21.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.70 ¥427

$1.05 €0.93

157.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.19 ¥3,190

$17.15 €15.26

17.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ¥174

$2.19 €1.95

-49.77%

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

$21.9K ¥3.5M

$33.8K €30.0K

-35.12%

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

$14.4K ¥2.3M

$38.3K €34.0K

-62.39%

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

$131 ¥20.7K

$164 €146

-20.00%

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

$17.62 ¥2,784

$18.48 €16.43

-4.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.87 ¥5,036

$32.96 €29.32

-3.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.5 ¥9,721

$45.87 €40.80

34.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

Cinema Ticket

$11.12 ¥1,757

$9.75 €8.67

14.05%

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

$620 ¥97.9K

$684 €608

-9.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ¥2.3M

$17.6K €15.7K

-15.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$34.90 ¥5,514

$104 €92.3

-66.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.61 ¥4,047

$46.20 €41.09

-44.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$55.5 ¥8,772

$99.7 €88.7

-44.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$61.9 ¥9,773

$125 €111

-50.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$414 ¥65.3K

$1,589 €1,414

-73.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$237 ¥37.4K

$1,169 €1,040

-79.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,505 ¥237.7K

$1,600 €1,423

-5.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.06

3.85

-46.49%

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

Last update for Saitama: October 19, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Saitama

$275 27.4%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 0.8% $2.3

Accommodation & Living

Saitama

$237 23.5%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 394% $932

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saitama

$181 17.9%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 19.2% $35

Eating Out

Saitama

$120 11.9%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 106% $127

Sport & Entertainment

Saitama

$84 8.3%

Lisbon

$65 3% 22% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Saitama

$80 8%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 110% $88

Getting Around

Saitama

$30 * 3%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 107% $33

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 $414 in Saitama and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 6% 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: $31.00 in Saitama vs $62.0 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $275 vs $273, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Saitama

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

21:30 9:30 PM

13:30 1:30 PM

8 h behind Saitama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,182,115

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

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

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Saitama Lisbon 11,130 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Saitama
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

Saitama vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Saitama and Lisbon differ by about 119% in total monthly costs ($1,007 vs $2,202 including rent). Saitama is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 6% lower in Lisbon. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $414 in Saitama versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 1% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,007 per month in Saitama versus $2,202 in Lisbon – a 119% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,007 in Saitama versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Saitama but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Saitama 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, Saitama 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 Saitama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 119% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.