Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Miguel de Allende and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in San Miguel de Allende: $1,610 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

78

Cost of Living Index in San Miguel de Allende
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San Miguel de Allende Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

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San Miguel de Allende

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,610

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,610 in San Miguel de Allende versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

San Miguel de Allende $1,610
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,579 in San Miguel de Allende versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

San Miguel de Allende $2,579
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,548 in San Miguel de Allende versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

San Miguel de Allende $3,548
Lisbon $4,319

Living in San Miguel de Allende costs roughly 28% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: San Miguel de Allende 19% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.19 MX$281

$16.50 €14.67

-7.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.08 MX$796

$61.3 €54.5

-29.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.21 MX$189

$11.27 €10.02

-9.41%

Cappuccino

$3.76 MX$69.5

$3.06 €2.72

22.88%

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

$1.62 MX$29.88

$2.26 €2.01

-28.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 MX$18.51

$1.73 €1.54

-42.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.61 MX$66.7

$3.39 €3.02

6.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.94 MX$110

$3.40 €3.02

74.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.43

$1.12 €1.00

32.14%

White Bread (500g)

$3.17 MX$58.6

$1.86 €1.65

70.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 MX$33.12

$1.53 €1.36

16.99%

Eggs

$3.06 MX$56.6

$3.96 €3.53

-22.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.55 MX$158

$12.76 €11.35

-32.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.38 MX$229

$7.90 €7.02

56.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.60 MX$344

$16.97 €15.09

9.61%

Apples (1kg)

$3.86 MX$71.4

$2.27 €2.02

70.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 MX$29.38

$1.75 €1.55

-9.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.93 MX$54.2

$1.85 €1.64

58.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 MX$53.2

$2.57 €2.28

12.06%

Potato (1kg)

$2.56 MX$47.34

$1.86 €1.65

37.63%

Onion (1kg)

$3.07 MX$56.7

$2.02 €1.80

51.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 MX$20.94

$1.44 €1.28

-21.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$23.94

$0.82 €0.73

58.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.51 MX$83.3

$6.56 €5.83

-31.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.34 MX$302

$5.62 €5.00

190.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.47 MX$45.71

$1.28 €1.14

92.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.90 MX$72.1

$2.07 €1.84

88.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.61

$2.35 €2.09

-75.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$6.72 MX$124

$44.18 €39.29

-84.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.32 MX$79.8

$3.99 €3.55

8.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.39 MX$81.2

$1.09 €0.97

302.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.82 MX$200

$16.64 €14.80

-34.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$2.28 €2.03

-32.46%

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

$21.1K MX$390.3K

$33.7K €30.0K

-37.27%

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

$23.9K MX$442.3K

$39.3K €34.9K

-39.08%

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

$41.10 MX$759

$167 €149

-75.46%

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

$15.93 MX$294

$18.80 €16.72

-15.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.65 MX$770

$33.09 €29.43

25.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.28 MX$689

$46.01 €40.92

-18.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$41.50 MX$767

$19.19 €17.07

116.26%

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$9.84 €8.75

-32.22%

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

$357 MX$6,605

$677 €602

-47.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,837 MX$89.4K

$16.9K €15.0K

-71.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.7 MX$1,214

$101 €90.0

-35.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.0 MX$1,127

$45.76 €40.70

33.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 MX$2,108

$100.0 €88.9

14.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$145 MX$2,680

$123 €109

18.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,086 MX$20.1K

$1,614 €1,435

-32.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$663 MX$12.2K

$1,197 €1,065

-44.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,365 MX$43.7K

$2,862 €2,545

-17.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 MX$24.5K

$1,990 €1,770

-33.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,673 MX$49.4K

$7,577 €6,739

-64.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,602 MX$29.6K

$4,307 €3,831

-62.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$631 MX$11.7K

$1,588 €1,412

-60.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.05

3.85

212.99%

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

Last update for San Miguel de Allende: October 10, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Miguel de Allende

$663 41.2%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 80.6% $534

Groceries & Markets

San Miguel de Allende

$351 21.8%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 23.3% $82

Eating Out

San Miguel de Allende

$238 14.8%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 1.9% $4.5

Clothing & Footwear

San Miguel de Allende

$174 10.8%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 4.2% $7.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Miguel de Allende

$99 6.1%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 122% $121

Sport & Entertainment

San Miguel de Allende

$51 3.1%

Lisbon

$66 3% 29.8% $15

Getting Around

San Miguel de Allende

$35 2.2%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 78.4% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,086 in San Miguel de Allende and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 152% 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: $43.00 in San Miguel de Allende vs $61.0 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $351 vs $269, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 San Miguel de Allende

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

05:21 5:21 AM

12:21 12:21 PM

7 h ahead of San Miguel de Allende

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

72,452

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

San Miguel de Allende Lisbon 8,710 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

San Miguel de Allende
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

San Miguel de Allende vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Miguel de Allende and Lisbon differ by about 38% in total monthly costs ($1,610 vs $2,223 including rent). San Miguel de Allende is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 152% 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: $1,086 in San Miguel de Allende versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $357 in San Miguel de Allende versus $677 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 $1,610 in San Miguel de Allende versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in San Miguel de Allende but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes San Miguel de Allende 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, San Miguel de Allende 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 San Miguel de Allende gentler on the wallet – expenses run 38% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.