Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sandton and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Sandton: $1,235 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Sandton
Learn more

Sandton Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

Jump to prices

Sandton

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,235

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,235 in Sandton versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Sandton $1,235
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,888 in Sandton versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Sandton $1,888
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,540 in Sandton versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Sandton $2,540
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Sandton costs roughly 44% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sandton is 9% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.73 R 179

$16.65 €14.91

-35.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.71 R 764

$61.7 €55.3

-25.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.62 R 94.0

$11.36 €10.17

-50.53%

Cappuccino

$2.44 R 40.80

$2.97 €2.66

-17.85%

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

$1.07 R 17.85

$2.29 €2.05

-53.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 R 13.96

$1.74 €1.56

-51.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.45 R 41.01

$3.40 €3.05

-27.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 R 49.69

$3.31 €2.96

-10.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.20 R 20.07

$1.16 €1.04

3.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 R 17.85

$1.91 €1.71

-43.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.76 R 29.35

$1.51 €1.35

16.56%

Eggs

$2.72 R 45.49

$4.02 €3.60

-32.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.86 R 148

$12.94 €11.59

-31.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.86 R 81.3

$7.77 €6.96

-37.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.07 R 118

$17.76 €15.91

-60.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.89

$2.30 €2.06

-9.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 R 29.24

$1.73 €1.55

1.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 29.16

$1.86 €1.66

-5.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.81 R 30.16

$2.59 €2.32

-30.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.50 R 25.13

$1.82 €1.63

-17.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 R 29.73

$1.97 €1.76

-9.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 R 20.48

$1.47 €1.32

-16.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 R 21.67

$0.72 €0.65

80.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.16 R 52.9

$6.58 €5.90

-51.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.18 R 103

$5.61 €5.02

10.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 R 25.97

$1.36 €1.22

13.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 R 31.63

$2.14 €1.91

-11.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.01

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 R 4.83

$3.85 €3.45

-92.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.88 R 14.63

$1.07 €0.96

-17.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.21 R 237

$16.46 €14.74

-13.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 R 24.94

$2.20 €1.97

-32.27%

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

$36.0K R 601.7K

$34.2K €30.6K

5.33%

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

$34.0K R 567.5K

$38.7K €34.7K

-12.28%

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

$165 R 2,762

$161 €144

2.55%

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

$38.25 R 639

$18.41 €16.49

107.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.39 R 625

$32.74 €29.32

14.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.75 R 614

$44.55 €39.90

-17.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.10

Cinema Ticket

$7.10 R 119

$9.60 €8.60

-26.04%

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

$266 R 4,445

$668 €598

-60.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,302 R 122.0K

$17.6K €15.8K

-58.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.7 R 998

$102 €91.4

-41.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.22 R 755

$44.46 €39.82

1.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.9 R 1,585

$98.5 €88.2

-3.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.4 R 1,493

$124 €111

-27.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$540 R 9,023

$1,608 €1,440

-66.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 R 7,482

$1,190 €1,066

-62.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$970 R 16.2K

$2,812 €2,519

-65.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$844 R 14.1K

$2,013 €1,803

-58.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$842 R 14.1K

$7,839 €7,021

-89.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$733 R 12.2K

$4,576 €4,098

-83.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,865 R 31.2K

$1,575 €1,411

18.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

185.71%

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

Last update for Sandton: 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

Sandton

$448 36.3%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 166% $742

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sandton

$241 19.5%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 11.9% $29

Groceries & Markets

Sandton

$202 16.4%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 34.7% $70

Eating Out

Sandton

$158 12.8%

Lisbon

$243 11% 53.7% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Sandton

$130 10.5%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 27.5% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Sandton

$51 4.1%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 25.1% $13

Getting Around

Sandton

$4.7 * 0.4%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 1253% $59

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 $540 in Sandton and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sandton pays 18% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $46 in Sandton vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $202 vs $272 per month, with Sandton cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Sandton

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

20:37 8:37 PM

18:37 6:37 PM

2 h behind Sandton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

222,415

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 16.71 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR).

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

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sandton Lisbon 8,180 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Sandton
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

Sandton vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,235 in Sandton and $2,210 in Lisbon, so Sandton is about 44% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 18% higher in Sandton, 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: $540 in Sandton versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,235 per month in Sandton versus $2,210 in Lisbon – Sandton is about 44% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Sandton is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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