Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Secunda and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Secunda: $1,027 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Secunda
Learn more

Secunda Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

Jump to prices

Secunda

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,027

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,027 in Secunda versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

Secunda $1,027
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,667 in Secunda versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

Secunda $1,667
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,306 in Secunda versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Secunda $2,306
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Secunda costs roughly 53% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Secunda is 24% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.20 R 102

$17.04 €15.15

-63.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.52 R 503

$62.3 €55.4

-51.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.22 R 86.0

$11.02 €9.80

-52.63%

Cappuccino

$2.27 R 37.42

$3.12 €2.78

-27.24%

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

$0.81 R 13.38

$2.27 €2.02

-64.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.51 R 8.33

$1.74 €1.55

-70.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.07 R 17.59

$3.42 €3.04

-68.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.72

$3.74 €3.33

-63.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 R 19.14

$1.17 €1.04

-0.85%

White Bread (500g)

$0.87 R 14.33

$1.86 €1.66

-53.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.33

$1.54 €1.37

19.48%

Eggs

$2.43 R 40.04

$4.06 €3.61

-40.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.53 R 141

$12.91 €11.49

-33.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.88 R 80.4

$7.90 €7.03

-38.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.11 R 117

$17.64 €15.69

-59.69%

Apples (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.78

$2.26 €2.01

-22.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 R 27.69

$1.75 €1.55

-4.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.80 R 29.60

$1.89 €1.68

-4.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.65 R 27.15

$2.56 €2.27

-35.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.12 R 18.50

$1.85 €1.64

-39.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.18 R 19.52

$1.97 €1.75

-40.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 R 20.38

$1.45 €1.29

-14.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 R 21.48

$0.77 €0.69

68.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.35 R 55.3

$6.71 €5.97

-50.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.01 R 82.6

$5.67 €5.04

-11.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 R 25.21

$1.37 €1.22

11.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 R 31.66

$2.11 €1.88

-9.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.65

$2.32 €2.07

-40.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 R 4.74

$3.95 €3.51

-92.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 R 12.51

$1.05 €0.93

-27.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.36 R 237

$17.15 €15.26

-16.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 R 25.85

$2.19 €1.95

-28.31%

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

$35.7K R 587.4K

$33.8K €30.0K

5.54%

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

$35.5K R 584.4K

$38.3K €34.0K

-7.30%

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

$156 R 2,569

$164 €146

-4.80%

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

$38.00 R 626

$18.48 €16.43

105.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.12 R 612

$32.96 €29.32

12.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.65 R 538

$45.87 €40.80

-28.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 R 180

$18.68 €16.61

-41.54%

Cinema Ticket

$7.33 R 121

$9.75 €8.67

-24.82%

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

$91.7 R 1,510

$684 €608

-86.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,457 R 89.9K

$17.6K €15.7K

-69.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.3 R 895

$104 €92.3

-47.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.82 R 541

$46.20 €41.09

-28.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.2 R 1,553

$99.7 €88.7

-5.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.6 R 1,360

$125 €111

-33.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$403 R 6,638

$1,589 €1,414

-74.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$324 R 5,336

$1,169 €1,040

-72.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$708 R 11.7K

$2,851 €2,536

-75.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$841 R 13.8K

$1,993 €1,773

-57.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$839 R 13.8K

$7,793 €6,932

-89.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$602 R 9,912

$4,418 €3,930

-86.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,466 R 24.2K

$1,600 €1,423

-8.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.34

3.85

194.55%

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

Last update for Secunda: October 18, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Secunda

$324 31.5%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 261% $845

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Secunda

$231 22.5%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 6.9% $16

Groceries & Markets

Secunda

$191 18.6%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 43.1% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Secunda

$119 11.6%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 41.8% $50

Eating Out

Secunda

$106 10.3%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 134% $142

Sport & Entertainment

Secunda

$47 4.6%

Lisbon

$65 3% 38.2% $18

Getting Around

Secunda

$9.6 * 0.9%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 557% $53

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 $403 in Secunda and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 9% 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: $31.00 in Secunda vs $62.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $191 vs $273 per month, with Secunda cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Secunda

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

15:30 3:30 PM

14:30 2:30 PM

1 h behind Secunda

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

40,198

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 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 October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Secunda Lisbon 8,280 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Secunda
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

Secunda vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Secunda and Lisbon differ by about 114% in total monthly costs ($1,027 vs $2,202 including rent). Secunda is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 9% 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: $403 in Secunda versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 43% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,027 per month in Secunda versus $2,202 in Lisbon – a 114% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,027 in Secunda versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Secunda but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Secunda 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, Secunda 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 Secunda gentler on the wallet – expenses run 114% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.