Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Southampton and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,210 a month against $2,655 in Southampton, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Southampton
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Southampton Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Southampton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,655

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,655 in Southampton versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Southampton $2,655
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,818 in Southampton versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Southampton $3,818
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,981 in Southampton versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Southampton $4,981
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Southampton is roughly 20% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Southampton 95% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.76 £19.99

$16.65 €14.92

60.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.6 £66.9

$61.7 €55.3

45.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.12 £8.31

$11.36 €10.18

-2.11%

Cappuccino

$5.43 £4.06

$2.97 €2.66

82.83%

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

$2.98 £2.22

$2.29 €2.05

30.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 £1.68

$1.74 €1.56

28.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.46 £5.57

$3.40 €3.05

119.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.75 £5.04

$3.31 €2.97

103.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.16 €1.04

71.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.72 £1.28

$1.91 €1.71

-9.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.04 £2.27

$1.51 €1.36

101.32%

Eggs

$4.42 £3.30

$4.02 €3.60

9.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.84 £7.35

$12.94 €11.59

-23.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.68 £7.23

$7.77 €6.97

24.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 £10.79

$17.76 €15.92

-18.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 £2.13

$2.30 €2.06

24.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 £1.31

$1.73 €1.55

1.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 £2.12

$1.86 €1.66

52.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.39 £2.53

$2.59 €2.32

30.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.84 £1.37

$1.82 €1.63

1.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.58 £1.18

$1.97 €1.76

-19.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.90

$1.47 €1.32

-17.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.36

$0.72 €0.65

152.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.33 £15.94

$6.58 €5.90

224.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.13 £8.31

$5.61 €5.02

98.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.96 £2.21

$1.36 €1.22

117.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 £2.54

$2.14 €1.91

58.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.32 £2.48

$2.33 €2.09

42.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.1 £58.3

$44.68 €40.04

74.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.31 £3.22

$3.85 €3.45

11.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.95 £1.46

$1.07 €0.96

82.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.03 £23.93

$16.46 €14.75

94.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.16 £1.62

$2.20 €1.97

-1.82%

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

$38.2K £28.5K

$34.2K €30.6K

11.73%

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

$40.9K £30.6K

$38.7K €34.7K

5.62%

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

$327 £244

$161 €144

102.81%

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

$29.33 £21.91

$18.41 €16.50

59.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.3 £39.79

$32.74 €29.34

62.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.74 £28.20

$44.55 €39.92

-15.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.78 £12.54

$19.10 €17.11

-12.15%

Cinema Ticket

$15.96 £11.92

$9.60 €8.60

66.25%

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

$1,886 £1,409

$668 €598

182.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K £13.7K

$17.6K €15.8K

4.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 £79.1

$102 €91.4

3.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.4 £38.36

$44.46 €39.85

15.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £76.4

$98.5 €88.3

3.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 £97.7

$124 €111

5.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,520 £1,136

$1,608 €1,441

-5.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 £889

$1,190 €1,066

-0.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,360 £1,763

$2,812 €2,520

-16.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,812 £1,353

$2,013 €1,804

-10.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,632 £4,208

$7,839 €7,025

-28.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,849 £3,623

$4,576 €4,100

5.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,372 £2,519

$1,575 €1,411

114.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.96

3.85

28.83%

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

Last update for Southampton: October 24, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Southampton

$1.2K 44.8%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 0% $0.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Southampton

$410 15.4%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 48.2% $197

Eating Out

Southampton

$384 14.5%

Lisbon

$243 11% 36.9% $142

Groceries & Markets

Southampton

$320 12.1%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 15% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Southampton

$176 6.6%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 5.5% $9.7

Getting Around

Southampton

$105 4%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 40.1% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Southampton

$70 2.6%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 8.5% $5.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,520 in Southampton and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Southampton pays about 2.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $90 in Southampton vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $272 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Southampton

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

08:05 8:05 AM

Same time as Southampton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

228,600

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Southampton Lisbon 1,480 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Southampton
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

Southampton vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,655 in Southampton and $2,210 in Lisbon, so Lisbon is about 17% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Southampton is about 2.1 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,520 in Southampton versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,886 in Southampton 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 18% higher in Southampton. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Lisbon gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both work as nomad bases, but Lisbon delivers better value at $2,210 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Lisbon hard to pass up.

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