Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sandnes and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,210 a month against $2,732 in Sandnes, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. The total is higher in Sandnes despite lower rent and utilities.

131

Cost of Living Index in Sandnes
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Sandnes Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Sandnes

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,732

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,732 in Sandnes versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Sandnes $2,732
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,220 in Sandnes versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Sandnes $4,220
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,708 in Sandnes versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Sandnes $5,708
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Sandnes is roughly 24% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sandnes 101% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.34 NOK 224

$16.65 €14.91

46.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.8 NOK 898

$61.7 €55.3

58.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.44 NOK 142

$11.36 €10.17

35.92%

Cappuccino

$5.60 NOK 51.5

$2.97 €2.66

88.55%

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

$3.46 NOK 31.78

$2.29 €2.05

51.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 NOK 27.51

$1.74 €1.56

71.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.86 NOK 127

$3.40 €3.05

307.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.60 NOK 97.4

$3.31 €2.96

220.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.50 NOK 22.95

$1.16 €1.04

115.52%

White Bread (500g)

$3.42 NOK 31.39

$1.91 €1.71

79.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.56 NOK 23.49

$1.51 €1.35

69.54%

Eggs

$4.85 NOK 44.53

$4.02 €3.60

20.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.56 NOK 125

$12.94 €11.59

4.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.05 NOK 147

$7.77 €6.96

106.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$33.19 NOK 305

$17.76 €15.91

86.88%

Apples (1kg)

$3.54 NOK 32.51

$2.30 €2.06

53.91%

Banana (1kg)

$2.89 NOK 26.57

$1.73 €1.55

67.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.15 NOK 28.93

$1.86 €1.66

69.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.99 NOK 45.85

$2.59 €2.32

92.66%

Potato (1kg)

$2.64 NOK 24.24

$1.82 €1.63

45.05%

Onion (1kg)

$2.38 NOK 21.86

$1.97 €1.76

20.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.89 NOK 26.53

$1.47 €1.32

96.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.43 NOK 22.29

$0.72 €0.65

237.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$16.80 NOK 154

$6.58 €5.90

155.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.87 NOK 155

$5.61 €5.02

200.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.29 NOK 30.24

$1.36 €1.22

141.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.43 NOK 40.67

$2.14 €1.91

107.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.88 NOK 44.85

$2.33 €2.09

109.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$85.5 NOK 786

$44.68 €40.01

91.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.43 NOK 59.1

$3.85 €3.45

67.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.80 NOK 16.49

$1.07 €0.96

68.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$50.1 NOK 460

$16.46 €14.74

204.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.32 NOK 21.29

$2.20 €1.97

5.45%

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

$45.2K NOK 415.5K

$34.2K €30.6K

32.29%

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

$38.8K NOK 356.3K

$38.7K €34.7K

0.16%

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

$266 NOK 2,447

$161 €144

65.24%

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

$34.32 NOK 315

$18.41 €16.49

86.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$80.8 NOK 743

$32.74 €29.32

146.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.63 NOK 428

$44.55 €39.90

4.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$54.4 NOK 500

$19.10 €17.10

184.66%

Cinema Ticket

$19.49 NOK 179

$9.60 €8.60

103.02%

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

$297 NOK 2,726

$668 €598

-55.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,467 NOK 87.0K

$17.6K €15.8K

-46.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$128 NOK 1,172

$102 €91.4

25.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.4 NOK 555

$44.46 €39.82

35.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 NOK 1,121

$98.5 €88.2

23.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$194 NOK 1,783

$124 €111

56.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,375 NOK 12.6K

$1,608 €1,440

-14.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$999 NOK 9,177

$1,190 €1,066

-16.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,076 NOK 19.1K

$2,812 €2,519

-26.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,834 NOK 16.8K

$2,013 €1,803

-8.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,988 NOK 64.2K

$7,839 €7,021

-10.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,176 NOK 38.4K

$4,576 €4,098

-8.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,789 NOK 34.8K

$1,575 €1,411

140.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.22

3.85

35.58%

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

Last update for Sandnes: October 26, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sandnes

$999 36.6%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 19.1% $191

Groceries & Markets

Sandnes

$494 18.1%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 44.9% $222

Eating Out

Sandnes

$425 15.5%

Lisbon

$243 11% 42.9% $182

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sandnes

$382 14%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 44.3% $169

Clothing & Footwear

Sandnes

$227 8.3%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 26.9% $61

Getting Around

Sandnes

$120 4.4%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 47.5% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Sandnes

$86 3.1%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 25.5% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,375 in Sandnes and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sandnes pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $98 in Sandnes vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $494 vs $272 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Sandnes

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

19:21 7:21 PM

18:21 6:21 PM

1 h behind Sandnes

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

83,958

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.88 USD

100 NOK = 9.75 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 9.19 NOK (1 NOK = 0.109 USD). 1 EUR = 10.26 NOK (100 NOK = 9.75 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sandnes Lisbon 2,510 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Sandnes
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

Sandnes vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,732 in Sandnes and $2,210 in Lisbon, so Lisbon is about 19% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Sandnes is about 2.4 times higher, 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: $1,375 in Sandnes versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $297 in Sandnes versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 81% higher in Sandnes. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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, Sandnes and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Lisbon wins on affordability, Sandnes on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.