Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador: $2,128 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $980 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

102

Cost of Living Index in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Learn more

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

Jump to prices

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,128

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,128 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador $2,128
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,149 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador $3,149
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,170 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador $4,170
Lisbon $4,341

Living in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador costs roughly 4% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador 56% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.60 CA$24.62

$16.65 €14.92

5.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$72.0 CA$101

$61.7 €55.3

16.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.73 CA$16.41

$11.36 €10.18

3.26%

Cappuccino

$4.03 CA$5.64

$2.97 €2.66

35.69%

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

$2.59 CA$3.62

$2.29 €2.05

13.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 CA$3.08

$1.74 €1.56

26.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.87 CA$6.82

$3.40 €3.05

43.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.43 CA$7.59

$3.31 €2.97

64.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.77 CA$3.88

$1.16 €1.04

138.79%

White Bread (500g)

$3.07 CA$4.30

$1.91 €1.71

60.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.28 CA$5.99

$1.51 €1.36

183.44%

Eggs

$3.87 CA$5.42

$4.02 €3.60

-3.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.53 CA$16.13

$12.94 €11.59

-10.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.32 CA$18.63

$7.77 €6.97

71.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.81 CA$16.53

$17.76 €15.92

-33.50%

Apples (1kg)

$4.85 CA$6.78

$2.30 €2.06

110.87%

Banana (1kg)

$3.09 CA$4.33

$1.73 €1.55

78.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 CA$6.71

$1.86 €1.66

158.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.08 CA$4.30

$2.59 €2.32

18.92%

Potato (1kg)

$2.65 CA$3.70

$1.82 €1.63

45.60%

Onion (1kg)

$2.31 CA$3.23

$1.97 €1.76

17.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.86 CA$4.00

$1.47 €1.32

94.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.02 CA$2.82

$0.72 €0.65

180.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.80 CA$19.30

$6.58 €5.90

109.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 CA$22.52

$5.61 €5.02

186.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.19 CA$5.87

$1.36 €1.22

208.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.33 CA$6.06

$2.14 €1.91

102.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.83 CA$2.56

$2.33 €2.09

-21.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.7 CA$77.9

$44.68 €40.04

24.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.22 CA$4.51

$3.85 €3.45

-16.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.75 CA$2.45

$1.07 €0.96

63.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.39 CA$39.71

$16.46 €14.75

72.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 CA$1.94

$2.20 €1.97

-36.82%

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

$28.6K CA$40.1K

$34.2K €30.6K

-16.21%

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

$23.8K CA$33.4K

$38.7K €34.7K

-38.41%

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

$182 CA$255

$161 €144

12.96%

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

$41.72 CA$58.4

$18.41 €16.50

126.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$76.6 CA$107

$32.74 €29.34

133.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.1 CA$95.3

$44.55 €39.92

52.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.14 CA$26.77

$19.10 €17.11

0.21%

Cinema Ticket

$10.63 CA$14.87

$9.60 €8.60

10.73%

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

$535 CA$748

$668 €598

-19.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,862 CA$13.8K

$17.6K €15.8K

-44.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.9 CA$93.6

$102 €91.4

-34.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.5 CA$72.0

$44.46 €39.85

15.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.7 CA$114

$98.5 €88.3

-17.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.2 CA$135

$124 €111

-22.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 CA$1,457

$1,608 €1,441

-35.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$836 CA$1,169

$1,190 €1,066

-29.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,540 CA$2,153

$2,812 €2,520

-45.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,322 CA$1,849

$2,013 €1,804

-34.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,435 CA$3,405

$7,839 €7,025

-68.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,776 CA$2,484

$4,576 €4,100

-61.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,823 CA$3,949

$1,575 €1,411

79.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.57

3.85

18.70%

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

Last update for St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador: 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

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

$836 39.3%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 42.4% $354

Groceries & Markets

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

$415 19.5%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 34.4% $143

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

$300 14.1%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 29.3% $88

Eating Out

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

$279 13.1%

Lisbon

$243 11% 13% $36

Clothing & Footwear

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

$133 6.3%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 24.4% $33

Sport & Entertainment

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

$89 4.2%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 28.7% $26

Getting Around

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

$75 3.5%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 15.7% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,041 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador pays 79% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $72 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $415 vs $272 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

23:37 11:37 PM

02:07 2:07 AM

2 h 30 min ahead of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

110,525

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.715 USD

1 CAD = 0.642 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.715 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.642 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Lisbon 3,620 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
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. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,128 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador and $2,210 in Lisbon, so St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador is about 4% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 79% higher in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, 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: $1,041 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $535 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 34% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.