Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sendai and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Sendai: $1,176 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in Sendai
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Sendai Living Index
106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Sendai

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,176

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,176 in Sendai versus $2,206 in Lisbon.

Sendai $1,176
Lisbon $2,206

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,851 in Sendai versus $3,276 in Lisbon.

Sendai $1,851
Lisbon $3,276

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,527 in Sendai versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Sendai $2,527
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Sendai costs roughly 47% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sendai is 13% below, Lisbon is 63% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.41 ¥1,014

$16.86 €15.08

-61.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.38 ¥5,440

$61.0 €54.6

-43.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.72 ¥747

$10.98 €9.82

-57.01%

Cappuccino

$3.63 ¥575

$3.05 €2.73

19.02%

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

$1.02 ¥162

$2.28 €2.04

-55.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 ¥136

$1.68 €1.50

-48.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.86 ¥294

$3.44 €3.07

-45.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 ¥487

$3.91 €3.49

-21.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 ¥223

$1.15 €1.03

22.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 ¥236

$1.89 €1.69

-21.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$6.79 ¥1,075

$1.50 €1.34

352.67%

Eggs

$2.10 ¥332

$4.12 €3.68

-49.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.84 ¥1,716

$13.01 €11.63

-16.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.60 ¥1,835

$8.04 €7.19

44.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.85 ¥1,400

$17.89 €16.00

-50.53%

Apples (1kg)

$3.42 ¥541

$2.27 €2.03

50.66%

Banana (1kg)

$2.21 ¥350

$1.74 €1.56

27.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.64 ¥734

$1.82 €1.63

154.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.15 ¥499

$2.69 €2.40

17.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.51 ¥397

$1.77 €1.58

41.81%

Onion (1kg)

$2.27 ¥359

$1.94 €1.73

17.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 ¥222

$1.46 €1.31

-4.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 ¥196

$0.76 €0.68

63.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.50 ¥712

$6.66 €5.95

-32.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.79 ¥1,075

$5.64 €5.04

20.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 ¥259

$1.29 €1.15

27.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ¥437

$2.14 €1.91

28.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 ¥239

$2.30 €2.06

-34.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.94 ¥6,003

$44.02 €39.36

-13.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.35 ¥846

$3.98 €3.56

34.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.36 ¥2,905

$18.93 €16.92

-3.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 ¥176

$2.28 €2.03

-51.32%

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

$16.0K ¥2.5M

$33.4K €29.8K

-51.93%

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

$25.5K ¥4.0M

$38.5K €34.4K

-33.83%

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

$140 ¥22.2K

$158 €141

-11.44%

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

$30.45 ¥4,819

$17.54 €15.68

73.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.00 ¥5,539

$31.18 €27.89

12.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.12 ¥7,140

$44.64 €39.92

1.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.64 ¥2,001

$18.98 €16.97

-33.40%

Cinema Ticket

$10.11 ¥1,599

$9.58 €8.56

5.53%

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

$225 ¥35.6K

$674 €602

-66.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,760 ¥595.0K

$18.7K €16.7K

-79.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.2 ¥9,045

$102 €91.4

-44.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.55 ¥5,309

$45.90 €41.04

-26.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$35.61 ¥5,636

$102 €91.4

-65.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$53.4 ¥8,448

$122 €109

-56.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$581 ¥91.9K

$1,641 €1,467

-64.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$336 ¥53.2K

$1,187 €1,062

-71.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$683 ¥108.1K

$2,825 €2,526

-75.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$728 ¥115.2K

$2,018 €1,805

-63.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ¥429.2K

$7,836 €7,007

-65.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,403 ¥221.9K

$4,701 €4,204

-70.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 ¥154.3K

$1,687 €1,508

-42.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.73

3.82

-28.53%

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

Last update for Sendai: October 31, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sendai

$336 28.6%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 253% $851

Groceries & Markets

Sendai

$306 26%

Lisbon

$275 12.5% 10.3% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sendai

$206 17.5%

Lisbon

$207 9.4% 0.7% $1.4

Eating Out

Sendai

$132 11.2%

Lisbon

$245 11.1% 85.8% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Sendai

$81 6.9%

Lisbon

$168 7.6% 107% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Sendai

$65 5.6%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 2.4% $1.5

Getting Around

Sendai

$49 * 4.2%

Lisbon

$60 2.7% 22.5% $11

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 $581 in Sendai and $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 73% 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: $34 in Sendai vs $61 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $306 vs $275, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Sendai

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

00:21 12:21 AM

15:21 3:21 PM

9 h behind Sendai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,082,159

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.32 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.64 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.32 USD). 1 EUR = 177 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.64 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.894 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sendai Lisbon 10,920 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Sendai
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

Sendai vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,176 in Sendai and $2,206 in Lisbon, so Sendai is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 42% lower in Sendai. 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: $581 in Sendai versus $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $225 in Sendai versus $674 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 10% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

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

For families, Sendai is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Lisbon, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

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

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