Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Serra and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Serra: $821 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Serra
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Serra Living Index
106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Serra

🇧🇷 Brazil

$821

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $821 in Serra versus $2,206 in Lisbon.

Serra $821
Lisbon $2,206

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,216 in Serra versus $3,276 in Lisbon.

Serra $1,216
Lisbon $3,276

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,612 in Serra versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Serra $1,612
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Serra costs roughly 63% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Serra is 39% below, Lisbon is 63% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.68 R$25.67

$16.86 €15.04

-72.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.32 R$117

$61.0 €54.5

-65.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.26 R$39.82

$10.98 €9.80

-33.88%

Cappuccino

$1.87 R$10.28

$3.05 €2.72

-38.69%

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

$1.19 R$6.56

$2.28 €2.04

-47.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.58 R$3.18

$1.68 €1.50

-65.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.88 R$10.29

$3.44 €3.07

-45.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 R$15.19

$3.91 €3.48

-29.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.04 R$5.70

$1.15 €1.02

-9.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.74 R$9.57

$1.89 €1.68

-7.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.06 R$5.81

$1.50 €1.34

-29.33%

Eggs

$1.94 R$10.66

$4.12 €3.67

-52.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.88 R$54.2

$13.01 €11.60

-24.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.13 R$22.65

$8.04 €7.18

-48.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.05 R$44.17

$17.89 €15.96

-55.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.64 R$14.47

$2.27 €2.03

16.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 R$7.62

$1.74 €1.56

-20.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R$9.13

$1.82 €1.62

-8.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.52 R$8.33

$2.69 €2.40

-43.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 R$6.22

$1.77 €1.58

-36.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.71

$1.94 €1.73

-46.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 R$6.50

$1.46 €1.31

-19.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 R$7.00

$0.76 €0.68

68.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.33 R$12.79

$6.66 €5.94

-65.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.15 R$28.28

$5.64 €5.03

-8.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 R$5.25

$1.29 €1.15

-25.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 R$16.72

$2.14 €1.91

42.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.84 R$4.61

$2.30 €2.05

-63.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.66 R$245

$44.02 €39.26

1.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 R$6.47

$3.98 €3.55

-70.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 R$5.66

$0.64 €0.57

60.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.39 R$40.55

$18.93 €16.88

-60.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 R$5.79

$2.28 €2.03

-53.95%

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

$21.8K R$119.4K

$33.4K €29.8K

-34.81%

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

$30.7K R$168.6K

$38.5K €34.3K

-20.20%

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

$143 R$786

$158 €141

-9.51%

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

$11.42 R$62.7

$17.54 €15.64

-34.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.71 R$108

$31.18 €27.82

-36.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.79 R$131

$44.64 €39.82

-46.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.19 R$144

$18.98 €16.93

37.99%

Cinema Ticket

$6.75 R$37.05

$9.58 €8.54

-29.54%

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

$171 R$939

$674 €601

-74.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,729 R$36.9K

$18.7K €16.7K

-64.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.8 R$290

$102 €91.2

-48.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.73 R$256

$45.90 €40.94

1.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.5 R$464

$102 €91.2

-17.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.7 R$361

$122 €109

-46.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$233 R$1,277

$1,641 €1,463

-85.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$142 R$780

$1,187 €1,059

-88.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$415 R$2,278

$2,825 €2,519

-85.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$202 R$1,108

$2,018 €1,800

-89.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$902 R$4,952

$7,836 €6,989

-88.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$514 R$2,822

$4,701 €4,193

-89.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$505 R$2,772

$1,687 €1,505

-70.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

187.96%

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

Last update for Serra: November 3, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Serra

$197 24%

Lisbon

$275 12.5% 39.5% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Serra

$174 21.2%

Lisbon

$207 9.4% 18.7% $33

Accommodation & Living

Serra

$142 17.3%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 735% $1K

Clothing & Footwear

Serra

$112 13.7%

Lisbon

$168 7.6% 49% $55

Eating Out

Serra

$104 12.6%

Lisbon

$245 11.1% 137% $142

Getting Around

Serra

$54 6.6%

Lisbon

$60 2.7% 11.1% $6

Sport & Entertainment

Serra

$37 4.5%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 71.1% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $233 in Serra and $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 3.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $21 in Serra vs $61 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $197 vs $275 per month, with Serra cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Serra

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

02:49 2:49 AM

05:49 5:49 AM

3 h ahead of Serra

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

520,653

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 5.49 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.14 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Serra Lisbon 7,300 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Serra
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

Serra vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $821 in Serra and $2,206 in Lisbon, so Serra is about 63% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 70% lower in Serra. 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: $233 in Serra versus $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 40% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $821 per month in Serra versus $2,206 in Lisbon – Serra is about 63% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $821 in Serra versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Serra but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Serra 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.

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