Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Salvador and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Salvador: $977 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Salvador
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Salvador Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Salvador

🇧🇷 Brazil

$977

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $977 in Salvador versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Salvador $977
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,501 in Salvador versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Salvador $1,501
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,024 in Salvador versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Salvador $2,024
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Salvador costs roughly 56% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Salvador is 28% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.31 R$42.12

$16.50 €14.67

-49.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.15 R$183

$61.3 €54.5

-40.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.90 R$40.06

$11.27 €10.03

-29.90%

Cappuccino

$2.59 R$13.15

$3.06 €2.72

-15.36%

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

$1.33 R$6.73

$2.26 €2.01

-41.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 R$4.46

$1.73 €1.54

-49.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 R$12.84

$3.39 €3.02

-25.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.02 R$20.40

$3.40 €3.02

18.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.42 R$7.20

$1.12 €1.00

26.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 R$7.76

$1.86 €1.65

-17.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.38

$1.53 €1.36

-17.65%

Eggs

$2.11 R$10.70

$3.96 €3.53

-46.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.44 R$47.86

$12.76 €11.35

-26.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.53 R$22.98

$7.90 €7.02

-42.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.08 R$35.90

$16.97 €15.09

-58.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.16 R$10.93

$2.27 €2.02

-4.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 R$7.86

$1.75 €1.55

-11.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.17 R$5.94

$1.85 €1.64

-36.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.38 R$6.99

$2.57 €2.28

-46.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.09 R$5.55

$1.86 €1.65

-41.40%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 R$6.75

$2.02 €1.80

-34.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.79 R$4.03

$1.44 €1.28

-45.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 R$5.65

$0.82 €0.73

35.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.43 R$12.31

$6.56 €5.83

-62.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.09 R$30.86

$5.62 €5.00

8.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 R$6.54

$1.28 €1.14

0.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 R$10.32

$2.07 €1.84

-1.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 R$6.15

$2.35 €2.09

-48.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$59.7 R$303

$44.18 €39.30

35.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 R$8.46

$3.99 €3.55

-58.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.19 R$6.02

$1.09 €0.97

9.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.79 R$49.63

$16.64 €14.81

-41.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 R$6.77

$2.28 €2.03

-41.23%

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

$23.4K R$118.5K

$33.7K €30.0K

-30.57%

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

$33.3K R$168.8K

$39.3K €35.0K

-15.24%

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

$94.2 R$478

$167 €149

-43.75%

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

$9.72 R$49.30

$18.80 €16.72

-48.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.47 R$88.6

$33.09 €29.43

-47.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.01 R$132

$46.01 €40.93

-43.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.77 R$90.1

$19.19 €17.07

-7.40%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 R$38.01

$9.84 €8.75

-23.78%

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

$373 R$1,890

$677 €602

-44.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.6K R$78.9K

$16.9K €15.1K

-7.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.9 R$298

$101 €90.1

-41.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.45 R$180

$45.76 €40.70

-22.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.2 R$452

$100.0 €88.9

-10.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.1 R$421

$123 €109

-32.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$526 R$2,669

$1,614 €1,436

-67.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$279 R$1,416

$1,197 €1,065

-76.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$949 R$4,810

$2,862 €2,545

-66.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$456 R$2,310

$1,990 €1,770

-77.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,145 R$10.9K

$7,577 €6,740

-71.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,372 R$6,956

$4,307 €3,831

-68.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$397 R$2,010

$1,588 €1,412

-75.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

159.74%

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

Last update for Salvador: October 13, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Salvador

$279 28.6%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 328% $918

Groceries & Markets

Salvador

$192 19.7%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 40.3% $77

Eating Out

Salvador

$151 15.4%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 60.6% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Salvador

$121 12.4%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 80.7% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Salvador

$120 12.3%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 38.7% $46

Getting Around

Salvador

$72 7.4%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 12.7% $9.2

Sport & Entertainment

Salvador

$41 4.2%

Lisbon

$66 3% 60.2% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $526 in Salvador and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 300% 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: $36.00 in Salvador vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $192 vs $269 per month, with Salvador cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Salvador

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

09:35 9:35 AM

13:35 1:35 PM

4 h ahead of Salvador

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,417,678

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Salvador Lisbon 6,510 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Salvador
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

Salvador vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Salvador and Lisbon differ by about 128% in total monthly costs ($977 vs $2,223 including rent). Salvador is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 300% 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: $526 in Salvador versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $373 in Salvador versus $677 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 40% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $977 in Salvador versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Salvador but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Salvador 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, Salvador 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 Salvador gentler on the wallet – expenses run 128% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.