Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Somerset West and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Somerset West: $1,160 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in Somerset West
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Somerset West Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Somerset West

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,160

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,160 in Somerset West versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Somerset West $1,160
Lisbon $2,210

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

Somerset West $1,888
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,615 in Somerset West versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Somerset West $2,615
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Somerset West costs roughly 48% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Somerset West is 15% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.23 R 204

$16.65 €14.95

-26.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.52 R 759

$61.7 €55.5

-26.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.44 R 90.7

$11.36 €10.20

-52.11%

Cappuccino

$2.06 R 34.34

$2.97 €2.67

-30.64%

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

$1.06 R 17.74

$2.29 €2.06

-53.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 R 14.01

$1.74 €1.56

-51.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 R 42.91

$3.40 €3.06

-24.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 R 54.5

$3.31 €2.97

-1.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 R 17.13

$1.16 €1.04

-11.21%

White Bread (500g)

$0.98 R 16.39

$1.91 €1.72

-48.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.08 R 34.70

$1.51 €1.36

37.75%

Eggs

$2.28 R 38.00

$4.02 €3.61

-43.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.34 R 139

$12.94 €11.62

-35.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.18 R 86.3

$7.77 €6.98

-33.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.22 R 154

$17.76 €15.95

-48.09%

Apples (1kg)

$1.81 R 30.23

$2.30 €2.07

-21.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.47

$1.73 €1.56

9.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.74 R 29.00

$1.86 €1.67

-6.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.20

$2.59 €2.33

-34.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 R 25.23

$1.82 €1.64

-17.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.53 R 25.48

$1.97 €1.77

-22.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 R 21.42

$1.47 €1.32

-12.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 R 17.80

$0.72 €0.65

48.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.39 R 56.5

$6.58 €5.91

-48.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.89 R 98.1

$5.61 €5.04

4.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 R 22.73

$1.36 €1.22

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 R 29.17

$2.14 €1.92

-18.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.11 R 18.47

$2.33 €2.10

-52.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.4 R 1,007

$44.68 €40.14

35.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.81

$3.85 €3.46

-84.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 R 25.72

$1.07 €0.96

43.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.94 R 82.4

$16.46 €14.79

-69.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 R 23.68

$2.20 €1.98

-35.45%

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

$29.3K R 487.5K

$34.2K €30.7K

-14.43%

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

$29.4K R 489.1K

$38.7K €34.8K

-24.20%

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

$82.1 R 1,368

$161 €145

-49.09%

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

$29.05 R 484

$18.41 €16.54

57.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.47 R 674

$32.74 €29.41

23.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.16 R 736

$44.55 €40.02

-0.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.43 R 174

$19.10 €17.16

-45.39%

Cinema Ticket

$7.28 R 121

$9.60 €8.62

-24.17%

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

$251 R 4,175

$668 €600

-62.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,596 R 59.9K

$17.6K €15.8K

-79.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$30.99 R 516

$102 €91.6

-69.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.32 R 522

$44.46 €39.94

-29.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.3 R 1,189

$98.5 €88.5

-27.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.3 R 939

$124 €111

-54.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$643 R 10.7K

$1,608 €1,445

-60.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$426 R 7,095

$1,190 €1,069

-64.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 R 22.3K

$2,812 €2,526

-52.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$937 R 15.6K

$2,013 €1,808

-53.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,221 R 20.3K

$7,839 €7,042

-84.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$892 R 14.9K

$4,576 €4,110

-80.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,418 R 23.6K

$1,575 €1,415

-9.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.12

3.85

162.86%

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

Last update for Somerset West: October 25, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Somerset West

$426 36.7%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 180% $764

Groceries & Markets

Somerset West

$200 17.2%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 36.4% $73

Eating Out

Somerset West

$166 14.3%

Lisbon

$243 11% 46.2% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Somerset West

$152 13.1%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 40.1% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Somerset West

$86 7.4%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 94% $80

Getting Around

Somerset West

$73 6.3%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 13.6% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Somerset West

$59 5.1%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 8.6% $5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $643 in Somerset West and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 11% 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: $46 in Somerset West vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $200 vs $272 per month, with Somerset West cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Somerset West

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

20:00 8:00 PM

18:00 6:00 PM

2 h behind Somerset West

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

55,166

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Somerset West Lisbon 8,590 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Somerset West
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

Somerset West vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Somerset West and Lisbon differ by about 90% in total monthly costs ($1,160 vs $2,210 including rent). Somerset West is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 10% lower in Somerset West. 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: $643 in Somerset West versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $251 in Somerset West versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 36% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,160 in Somerset West versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Somerset West but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Somerset West 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, Somerset West 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.

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