Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Gallen and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,223 a month against $3,635 in St. Gallen, rent and utilities included – about $16,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

178

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

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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St. Gallen

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,635

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,635 in St. Gallen versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

St. Gallen $3,635
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,183 in St. Gallen versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

St. Gallen $5,183
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,730 in St. Gallen versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

St. Gallen $6,730
Lisbon $4,319

Living in St. Gallen is roughly 64% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: St. Gallen 169% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$29.02 CHF 23.90

$16.50 €14.67

75.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$143 CHF 118

$61.3 €54.5

133.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$17.94 CHF 14.78

$11.27 €10.03

59.18%

Cappuccino

$5.96 CHF 4.91

$3.06 €2.72

94.77%

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

$5.81 CHF 4.79

$2.26 €2.01

157.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.02 CHF 4.13

$1.73 €1.54

190.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.92 CHF 7.34

$3.39 €3.02

163.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.31 CHF 5.19

$3.40 €3.02

85.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 CHF 1.75

$1.12 €1.00

90.18%

White Bread (500g)

$3.10 CHF 2.55

$1.86 €1.65

66.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.59 CHF 2.96

$1.53 €1.36

134.64%

Eggs

$7.63 CHF 6.29

$3.96 €3.53

92.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$25.24 CHF 20.79

$12.76 €11.35

97.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.21 CHF 23.23

$7.90 €7.02

257.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.20 CHF 32.29

$16.97 €15.09

131.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.07 CHF 2.53

$2.27 €2.02

35.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 CHF 1.31

$1.75 €1.55

-9.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 CHF 1.89

$1.85 €1.64

24.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.87 CHF 4.84

$2.57 €2.28

128.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 CHF 1.41

$1.86 €1.65

-7.53%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 CHF 1.71

$2.02 €1.80

2.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.26 CHF 1.86

$1.44 €1.28

56.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 CHF 0.96

$0.82 €0.73

41.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.00 CHF 9.06

$6.56 €5.83

67.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.19 CHF 9.21

$5.62 €5.00

99.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.11 CHF 1.74

$1.28 €1.14

64.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 CHF 1.83

$2.07 €1.84

7.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.26 CHF 3.51

$2.35 €2.09

81.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$125 CHF 103

$44.18 €39.30

183.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.73 CHF 5.54

$3.99 €3.55

68.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.56 CHF 3.75

$1.09 €0.97

318.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$78.0 CHF 64.3

$16.64 €14.81

368.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.30 CHF 1.89

$2.28 €2.03

0.88%

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

$34.2K CHF 28.2K

$33.7K €30.0K

1.57%

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

$39.3K CHF 32.3K

$39.3K €35.0K

-0.06%

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

$309 CHF 254

$167 €149

84.28%

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

$37.13 CHF 30.58

$18.80 €16.72

97.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.8 CHF 45.11

$33.09 €29.43

65.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$79.0 CHF 65.1

$46.01 €40.93

71.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$30.06 CHF 24.76

$9.84 €8.75

205.49%

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

$2,233 CHF 1,839

$677 €602

229.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.0K CHF 26.4K

$16.9K €15.1K

89.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$144 CHF 118

$101 €90.1

41.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$63.6 CHF 52.4

$45.76 €40.70

38.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$144 CHF 119

$100.0 €88.9

44.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$179 CHF 147

$123 €109

45.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,720 CHF 1,417

$1,614 €1,436

6.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,662 CHF 1,369

$1,197 €1,065

38.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,818 CHF 2,321

$2,862 €2,545

-1.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,152 CHF 1,773

$1,990 €1,770

8.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$11.9K CHF 9,807

$7,577 €6,740

57.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$9,042 CHF 7,447

$4,307 €3,831

109.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,580 CHF 5,419

$1,588 €1,412

314.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.1

3.85

-45.45%

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

Last update for St. Gallen: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St. Gallen

$1.7K 45.7%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 28% $465

Groceries & Markets

St. Gallen

$565 15.5%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 52.3% $295

Eating Out

St. Gallen

$458 12.6%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 47.1% $216

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Gallen

$401 11%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 45.2% $181

Clothing & Footwear

St. Gallen

$239 6.6%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 30.3% $72

Getting Around

St. Gallen

$172 4.7%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 63.3% $109

Sport & Entertainment

St. Gallen

$139 3.8%

Lisbon

$66 3% 52.8% $73

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,720 in St. Gallen and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St. Gallen pays 314% 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: $143 in St. Gallen vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $565 vs $269 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 St. Gallen

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

02:22 2:22 AM

01:22 1:22 AM

1 h behind St. Gallen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,213

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CHF in detail →

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Between locations

St. Gallen Lisbon 1,780 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

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

St. Gallen and Lisbon differ by about 64% in total monthly costs ($3,635 vs $2,223 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 314% higher in St. Gallen, 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: $1,720 in St. Gallen versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,233 in St. Gallen versus $677 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 110% higher in St. Gallen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,223 in Lisbon versus $3,635 in St. Gallen, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in St. Gallen. 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. Gallen 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 64% less than in St. Gallen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.