Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Tome and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Tome: $1,219 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Sao Tome
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Sao Tome Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Sao Tome

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

$1,219

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,219 in Sao Tome versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

Sao Tome $1,219
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,924 in Sao Tome versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

Sao Tome $1,924
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,629 in Sao Tome versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Sao Tome $2,629
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Sao Tome costs roughly 45% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sao Tome is 10% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.18 STN 200

$17.04 €15.15

-46.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.02 STN 981

$62.3 €55.4

-27.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.99 STN 174

$11.02 €9.80

-27.50%

Cappuccino

$2.33 STN 50.8

$3.12 €2.78

-25.32%

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

$1.81 STN 39.49

$2.27 €2.02

-20.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 STN 27.64

$1.74 €1.55

-27.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.66 STN 36.20

$3.42 €3.04

-51.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 STN 40.98

$3.74 €3.33

-49.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 STN 33.18

$1.17 €1.04

29.91%

White Bread (500g)

$1.01 STN 22.12

$1.86 €1.66

-45.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 STN 46.40

$1.54 €1.37

38.31%

Eggs

$4.96 STN 108

$4.06 €3.61

22.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.41 STN 423

$12.91 €11.49

50.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.50 STN 425

$7.90 €7.03

146.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.70 STN 538

$17.64 €15.69

40.02%

Apples (1kg)

$3.82 STN 83.3

$2.26 €2.01

69.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 STN 38.75

$1.75 €1.55

1.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.59 STN 78.2

$1.89 €1.68

89.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.48 STN 75.9

$2.56 €2.27

35.94%

Potato (1kg)

$2.83 STN 61.6

$1.85 €1.64

52.97%

Onion (1kg)

$2.31 STN 50.4

$1.97 €1.75

17.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.54 STN 11.76

$1.45 €1.29

-62.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.06 STN 45.01

$0.77 €0.69

167.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.33 STN 50.8

$6.71 €5.97

-65.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.96 STN 174

$5.67 €5.04

40.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 STN 34.09

$1.37 €1.22

13.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 STN 36.01

$2.11 €1.88

-21.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.34 STN 29.17

$2.32 €2.07

-42.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 STN 36.13

$3.95 €3.51

-57.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.55 STN 55.6

$1.05 €0.93

142.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.93 STN 304

$17.15 €15.26

-18.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 STN 36.95

$2.19 €1.95

-22.83%

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

$24.3K STN 529.0K

$33.8K €30.0K

-28.17%

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

$31.6K STN 689.7K

$38.3K €34.0K

-17.32%

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

$233 STN 5,083

$164 €146

42.35%

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

$30.60 STN 667

$18.48 €16.43

65.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$65.9 STN 1,436

$32.96 €29.32

99.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.92 STN 739

$45.87 €40.80

-26.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.32 STN 552

$18.68 €16.61

35.55%

Cinema Ticket

$19.86 STN 433

$9.75 €8.67

103.69%

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

$226 STN 4,925

$684 €608

-66.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,179 STN 47.5K

$17.6K €15.7K

-87.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$75.1 STN 1,638

$46.20 €41.09

62.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$18.53 STN 404

$125 €111

-85.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$283 STN 6,161

$1,589 €1,414

-82.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 STN 4,184

$1,169 €1,040

-83.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$929 STN 20.3K

$2,851 €2,536

-67.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$452 STN 9,846

$1,993 €1,773

-77.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,850 STN 40.3K

$7,793 €6,932

-76.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,160 STN 25.3K

$4,418 €3,930

-73.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$257 STN 5,595

$1,600 €1,423

-83.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.38

3.85

91.69%

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

Last update for Sao Tome: October 18, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sao Tome

$412 33.8%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 33.8% $139

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Tome

$330 27%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 34.7% $114

Accommodation & Living

Sao Tome

$192 15.7%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 509% $977

Eating Out

Sao Tome

$150 12.3%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 65.2% $98

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Tome

$74 6%

Lisbon

$65 3% 11.2% $8.3

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Tome

$42 * 3.5%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 300% $126

Getting Around

Sao Tome

$20 * 1.6%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 219% $43

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 $283 in Sao Tome and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 523% 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: $45.00 in Sao Tome vs $62.0 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $412 vs $273, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇹 Sao Tome

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

08:54 8:54 AM

09:54 9:54 AM

1 h ahead of Sao Tome

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

53,300 Capital

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra STN Db

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 STN = 4.59 USD

100 STN = 4.08 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to STN – Sao Tome and Principe Dobra Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe Dobra (Db)

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 21.8 STN (100 STN = 4.59 USD). 1 EUR = 24.51 STN (100 STN = 4.08 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to STN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sao Tome Lisbon 4,560 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Tome
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

Sao Tome vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sao Tome and Lisbon differ by about 81% in total monthly costs ($1,219 vs $2,202 including rent). Sao Tome is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 523% 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: $283 in Sao Tome versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 51% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,219 per month in Sao Tome versus $2,202 in Lisbon – a 81% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,219 in Sao Tome versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sao Tome but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sao Tome 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, Sao Tome 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 Sao Tome gentler on the wallet – expenses run 81% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.