Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sal and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Sal: $850 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Sal
Learn more

Sal Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

Jump to prices

Sal

🇨🇻 Cape Verde

$850

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $850 in Sal versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Sal $850
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,313 in Sal versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Sal $1,313
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,777 in Sal versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Sal $1,777
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Sal costs roughly 62% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sal is 37% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.51 CVE 540

$16.50 €14.67

-66.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.18 CVE 4,332

$61.3 €54.5

-27.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.03 CVE 1,081

$11.27 €10.03

-2.13%

Cappuccino

$2.32 CVE 227

$3.06 €2.72

-24.18%

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

$2.54 CVE 249

$2.26 €2.01

12.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.09 CVE 107

$1.73 €1.54

-36.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.61 CVE 452

$3.39 €3.02

35.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 CVE 301

$3.40 €3.02

-9.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 CVE 155

$1.12 €1.00

41.07%

White Bread (500g)

$2.27 CVE 223

$1.86 €1.65

22.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.20 CVE 118

$1.53 €1.36

-21.57%

Eggs

$2.79 CVE 273

$3.96 €3.53

-29.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.03 CVE 886

$12.76 €11.35

-29.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.51 CVE 736

$7.90 €7.02

-4.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.99 CVE 1,568

$16.97 €15.09

-5.77%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 CVE 310

$2.27 €2.02

39.21%

Banana (1kg)

$2.49 CVE 245

$1.75 €1.55

42.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.33 CVE 326

$1.85 €1.64

80.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.98 CVE 391

$2.57 €2.28

54.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.64 CVE 161

$1.86 €1.65

-11.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.85 CVE 182

$2.02 €1.80

-8.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.55 CVE 152

$1.44 €1.28

7.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 CVE 108

$0.82 €0.73

34.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.57 CVE 448

$6.56 €5.83

-30.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.40 CVE 628

$5.62 €5.00

13.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.03 CVE 395

$1.28 €1.14

214.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 CVE 184

$2.07 €1.84

-9.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 CVE 96.6

$2.35 €2.09

-57.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.08 CVE 204

$3.99 €3.55

-47.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.08 CVE 302

$1.09 €0.97

182.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.65 CVE 1,240

$16.64 €14.81

-23.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 CVE 135

$2.28 €2.03

-39.47%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

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

$39.3K €35.0K

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

$60.8 CVE 5,964

$167 €149

-63.69%

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

$18.80 €16.72

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.23 CVE 4,827

$33.09 €29.43

48.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.47 CVE 2,694

$46.01 €40.93

-40.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

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

$115 CVE 11.2K

$677 €602

-83.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$30.09 CVE 2,950

$101 €90.1

-70.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$144 CVE 14.1K

$123 €109

17.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$252 CVE 24.7K

$1,614 €1,436

-84.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$168 CVE 16.5K

$1,197 €1,065

-85.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$307 CVE 30.1K

$2,862 €2,545

-89.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$206 CVE 20.2K

$1,990 €1,770

-89.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$654 CVE 64.1K

$7,577 €6,740

-91.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$331 CVE 32.5K

$4,307 €3,831

-92.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$257 CVE 25.2K

$1,588 €1,412

-83.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

3.85

36.36%

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

Last update for Sal: October 10, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sal

$296 34.8%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 8.9% $26

Accommodation & Living

Sal

$168 19.8%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 613% $1K

Eating Out

Sal

$149 17.5%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 62.9% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sal

$110 * 13%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 99.3% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Sal

$78 * 9.2%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 113% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Sal

$27 * 3.2%

Lisbon

$66 3% 139% $38

Getting Around

Sal

$21 * 2.5%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 194% $42

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 $252 in Sal and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 518% 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: $44.00 in Sal vs $61.0 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $296 vs $269, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇻 Sal

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

01:50 1:50 AM

03:50 3:50 AM

2 h ahead of Sal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,288

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Cabo Verdean Escudo CVE $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CVE = 10.2 USD

1,000 CVE = 9.07 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CVE – Cabo Verdean Escudo Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇻 Cabo Verdean Escudo ($)

Cabo Verdean Escudo exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 98.05 CVE (100 CVE = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 110 CVE (1,000 CVE = 9.07 EUR).

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

USD to CVE in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sal Lisbon 2,790 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Sal
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

Sal vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sal and Lisbon differ by about 162% in total monthly costs ($850 vs $2,223 including rent). Sal is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 518% 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: $252 in Sal versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 10% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $850 per month in Sal versus $2,223 in Lisbon – a 162% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $850 in Sal versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sal but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sal 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, Sal 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 Sal gentler on the wallet – expenses run 162% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.