Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St Albans and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,202 a month against $2,894 in St Albans, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

141

Cost of Living Index in St Albans
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St Albans Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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St Albans

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,894

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,894 in St Albans versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

St Albans $2,894
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,095 in St Albans versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

St Albans $4,095
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,295 in St Albans versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

St Albans $5,295
Lisbon $4,346

Living in St Albans is roughly 31% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: St Albans 114% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.89 £15.68

$17.04 €15.15

22.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.8 £66.6

$62.3 €55.4

42.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 £6.94

$11.02 €9.80

-16.15%

Cappuccino

$4.45 £3.34

$3.12 €2.78

42.63%

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

$2.75 £2.06

$2.27 €2.02

21.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 £1.45

$1.74 €1.55

10.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.78 £5.09

$3.42 €3.04

98.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.58 £4.94

$3.74 €3.33

75.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.17 €1.04

40.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.62 £1.21

$1.86 €1.66

-12.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.46 £1.84

$1.54 €1.37

59.74%

Eggs

$4.35 £3.26

$4.06 €3.61

7.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.74 £7.31

$12.91 €11.49

-24.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.40 £7.06

$7.90 €7.03

18.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.60 £10.20

$17.64 €15.69

-22.90%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 £2.27

$2.26 €2.01

33.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.75 €1.55

-22.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 £1.62

$1.89 €1.68

14.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.23 £2.43

$2.56 €2.27

26.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$1.85 €1.64

-9.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 £1.11

$1.97 €1.75

-24.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 £0.97

$1.45 €1.29

-11.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 £1.47

$0.77 €0.69

154.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.35 £16.77

$6.71 €5.97

233.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.49 £7.87

$5.67 €5.04

85.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 £2.09

$1.37 €1.22

102.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 £2.36

$2.11 €1.88

49.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.97 £2.22

$2.32 €2.07

28.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.4 £61.8

$44.43 €39.52

85.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.93 £2.95

$3.95 €3.51

-0.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.43 £1.82

$1.05 €0.93

131.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$50.0 £37.51

$17.15 €15.26

191.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.54

$2.19 €1.95

-5.94%

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

$38.4K £28.8K

$33.8K €30.0K

13.80%

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

$39.9K £29.9K

$38.3K €34.0K

4.26%

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

$339 £254

$164 €146

107.06%

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

$18.74 £14.06

$18.48 €16.43

1.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.04 £31.54

$32.96 €29.32

27.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.5 £39.37

$45.87 €40.80

14.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.52 £10.14

$18.68 €16.61

-27.62%

Cinema Ticket

$19.58 £14.69

$9.75 €8.67

100.82%

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

$2,535 £1,902

$684 €608

270.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K £7,853

$17.6K €15.7K

-40.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.6 £59.0

$104 €92.3

-24.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.58 £34.95

$46.20 €41.09

0.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.1 £69.8

$99.7 €88.7

-6.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 £91.7

$125 €111

-2.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,870 £1,403

$1,589 €1,414

17.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,523 £1,142

$1,169 €1,040

30.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,953 £2,215

$2,851 €2,536

3.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,339 £1,755

$1,993 €1,773

17.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,224 £6,920

$7,793 €6,932

18.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,833 £5,126

$4,418 €3,930

54.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,972 £2,229

$1,600 €1,423

85.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.4

3.85

40.26%

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

Last update for St Albans: October 19, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St Albans

$1.5K 52.6%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 23.2% $354

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Albans

$400 13.8%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 46.2% $185

Eating Out

St Albans

$314 10.9%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 21.2% $67

Groceries & Markets

St Albans

$303 10.5%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 9.8% $30

Clothing & Footwear

St Albans

$153 5.3%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 10% $15

Getting Around

St Albans

$110 3.8%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 43% $47

Sport & Entertainment

St Albans

$92 3.2%

Lisbon

$65 3% 28.7% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,870 in St Albans and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St Albans pays 86% 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: $89.0 in St Albans vs $62.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $303 vs $273 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 St Albans

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

20:30 8:30 PM

Same time as St Albans

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

57,795

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 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 October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

St Albans Lisbon 1,600 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

St Albans
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

St Albans vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St Albans and Lisbon differ by about 31% in total monthly costs ($2,894 vs $2,202 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 86% higher in St Albans, 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: $1,870 in St Albans versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,535 in St Albans versus $684 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 11% higher in St Albans. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,202 in Lisbon versus $2,894 in St Albans, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in St Albans. The gap between the two cities makes Lisbon 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, St Albans 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 Lisbon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in St Albans. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.