Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Andrews and Lisbon

For one person, living costs are similar in St. Andrews and in Lisbon: $2,285 and $2,202 a month, rent and utilities included.

110

Cost of Living Index in St. Andrews
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St. Andrews Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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St. Andrews

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,285

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,285 in St. Andrews versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

St. Andrews $2,285
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,891 in St. Andrews versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

St. Andrews $3,891
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,496 in St. Andrews versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

St. Andrews $5,496
Lisbon $4,346

Living in St. Andrews is roughly 4% 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. Andrews 69% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.15 £15.87

$17.04 €15.15

24.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$87.9 £65.9

$62.3 €55.4

41.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.51 £7.89

$11.02 €9.80

-4.63%

Cappuccino

$4.61 £3.46

$3.12 €2.78

47.76%

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

$2.84 £2.13

$2.27 €2.02

25.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 £1.57

$1.74 €1.55

20.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.76 £5.07

$3.42 €3.04

97.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.76 £5.07

$3.74 €3.33

80.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.17 €1.04

29.06%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.86 €1.66

-8.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.03 £1.52

$1.54 €1.37

31.82%

Eggs

$4.49 £3.37

$4.06 €3.61

10.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.37 £5.53

$12.91 €11.49

-42.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 £7.24

$7.90 €7.03

22.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.41 £11.56

$17.64 €15.69

-12.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.50 £1.88

$2.26 €2.01

10.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.33 £1.00

$1.75 €1.55

-24.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 £2.07

$1.89 €1.68

46.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.86 £2.15

$2.56 €2.27

11.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.69 £1.27

$1.85 €1.64

-8.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.97 €1.75

-22.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.45 €1.29

-17.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.46 £1.85

$0.77 €0.69

219.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.57 £16.93

$6.71 €5.97

236.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.86 £8.15

$5.67 €5.04

91.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.70 £2.03

$1.37 €1.22

97.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 £2.24

$2.11 €1.88

41.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.79 £3.59

$2.32 €2.07

106.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.05 £3.04

$3.95 €3.51

2.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.44 £1.83

$1.05 €0.93

132.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.73 £17.80

$17.15 €15.26

38.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.10 £1.58

$2.19 €1.95

-4.11%

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

$38.3K £28.7K

$33.8K €30.0K

13.41%

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

$41.2K £30.9K

$38.3K €34.0K

7.62%

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

$243 £182

$164 €146

48.14%

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

$13.40 £10.06

$18.48 €16.43

-27.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.64 £31.24

$32.96 €29.32

26.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$91.6 £68.7

$45.87 €40.80

99.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

Cinema Ticket

$13.06 £9.80

$9.75 €8.67

33.95%

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

$1,806 £1,355

$684 €608

164.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.8K £17.1K

$17.6K €15.7K

29.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$95.6 £71.7

$104 €92.3

-7.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.97 £36.74

$46.20 €41.09

6.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £77.8

$99.7 €88.7

3.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.5 £66.4

$125 €111

-29.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,366 £1,025

$1,589 €1,414

-14.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 £792

$1,169 €1,040

-9.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,104 £2,329

$2,851 €2,536

8.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,743 £2,058

$1,993 €1,773

37.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,137 £4,604

$7,793 €6,932

-21.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,718 £2,039

$4,418 €3,930

-38.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,397 £2,548

$1,600 €1,423

112.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.41

3.85

40.52%

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

Last update for St. Andrews: October 18, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St. Andrews

$1.1K 46.2%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 10.8% $114

Eating Out

St. Andrews

$323 14.1%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 23.4% $76

Groceries & Markets

St. Andrews

$304 13.3%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 10.3% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Andrews

$298 13%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 27.7% $82

Clothing & Footwear

St. Andrews

$152 6.6%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 11.2% $17

Sport & Entertainment

St. Andrews

$118 5.2%

Lisbon

$65 3% 44.4% $52

Getting Around

St. Andrews

$35 * 1.6%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 77.6% $27

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 $1,366 in St. Andrews and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St. Andrews pays 112% 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: $88.0 in St. Andrews vs $62.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $304 vs $273 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 St. Andrews

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

01:26 1:26 AM

Same time as St. Andrews

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

16,460

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 22, 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 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St. Andrews Lisbon 2,020 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

St. Andrews
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. Andrews vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St. Andrews and Lisbon differ by about 4% in total monthly costs ($2,285 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 112% higher in St. Andrews, 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: $1,366 in St. Andrews versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

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

All in, you'll spend $2,285 per month in St. Andrews versus $2,202 in Lisbon – a 4% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,202 in Lisbon versus $2,285 in St. Andrews, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in St. Andrews. 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. Andrews 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 4% less than in St. Andrews. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.