Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stellenbosch and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Stellenbosch: $1,165 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in Stellenbosch
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Stellenbosch Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Stellenbosch

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,165

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,165 in Stellenbosch versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Stellenbosch $1,165
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,913 in Stellenbosch versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Stellenbosch $1,913
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,660 in Stellenbosch versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Stellenbosch $2,660
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Stellenbosch costs roughly 48% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Stellenbosch is 14% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.29 R 120

$16.50 €14.67

-55.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.82 R 590

$61.3 €54.5

-41.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.72 R 77.8

$11.27 €10.03

-58.12%

Cappuccino

$2.05 R 33.74

$3.06 €2.72

-33.01%

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

$1.00 R 16.52

$2.26 €2.01

-55.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.77 R 12.67

$1.73 €1.54

-55.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.70 R 44.51

$3.39 €3.02

-20.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 R 50.7

$3.40 €3.02

-9.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.16

$1.12 €1.00

19.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.86 €1.65

-38.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 R 30.68

$1.53 €1.36

21.57%

Eggs

$2.84 R 46.86

$3.96 €3.53

-28.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.62 R 142

$12.76 €11.35

-32.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.80 R 95.6

$7.90 €7.02

-26.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.51 R 124

$16.97 €15.09

-55.75%

Apples (1kg)

$1.74 R 28.67

$2.27 €2.02

-23.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.14

$1.75 €1.55

-16.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 27.78

$1.85 €1.64

-8.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.59 R 26.17

$2.57 €2.28

-38.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.09 R 17.89

$1.86 €1.65

-41.40%

Onion (1kg)

$1.53 R 25.17

$2.02 €1.80

-24.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.50

$1.44 €1.28

-9.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 R 19.36

$0.82 €0.73

42.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.52 R 58.1

$6.56 €5.83

-46.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 102

$5.62 €5.00

9.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 R 21.93

$1.28 €1.14

3.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.91

$2.07 €1.84

5.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.61 R 10.10

$3.99 €3.55

-84.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 R 25.56

$1.09 €0.97

42.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.02 R 82.7

$16.64 €14.81

-69.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 R 23.05

$2.28 €2.03

-38.60%

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

$35.0K R 577.2K

$33.7K €30.0K

4.03%

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

$31.0K R 510.9K

$39.3K €35.0K

-21.08%

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

$103 R 1,691

$167 €149

-38.72%

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

$28.53 R 470

$18.80 €16.72

51.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.28 R 565

$33.09 €29.43

3.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.25 R 482

$46.01 €40.93

-36.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.81 R 277

$19.19 €17.07

-12.40%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$9.84 €8.75

-9.65%

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

$264 R 4,351

$677 €602

-61.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,389 R 39.4K

$16.9K €15.1K

-85.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.1 R 858

$101 €90.1

-48.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.72 R 473

$45.76 €40.70

-37.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,951

$100.0 €88.9

18.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.2 R 1,486

$123 €109

-26.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$698 R 11.5K

$1,614 €1,436

-56.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$488 R 8,038

$1,197 €1,065

-59.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,443 R 23.8K

$2,862 €2,545

-49.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,155 R 19.0K

$1,990 €1,770

-41.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,556 R 42.1K

$1,588 €1,412

61.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.7

3.85

177.92%

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

Last update for Stellenbosch: October 12, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Stellenbosch

$488 41.9%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 145% $709

Groceries & Markets

Stellenbosch

$202 17.4%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 33.2% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stellenbosch

$165 14.2%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 32.6% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Stellenbosch

$130 11.2%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 27.7% $36

Eating Out

Stellenbosch

$124 10.6%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 95.6% $118

Sport & Entertainment

Stellenbosch

$47 4%

Lisbon

$66 3% 39.6% $19

Getting Around

Stellenbosch

$8.4 * 0.7%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 653% $55

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 $698 in Stellenbosch and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Stellenbosch pays 61% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $36.00 in Stellenbosch vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $202 vs $269 per month, with Stellenbosch cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Stellenbosch

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

04:43 4:43 AM

03:43 3:43 AM

1 h behind Stellenbosch

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

19,068

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Stellenbosch Lisbon 8,580 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Stellenbosch
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

Stellenbosch vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Stellenbosch and Lisbon differ by about 91% in total monthly costs ($1,165 vs $2,223 including rent). Stellenbosch is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 61% higher in Stellenbosch, 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: $698 in Stellenbosch versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 33% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,165 per month in Stellenbosch versus $2,223 in Lisbon – a 91% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,165 in Stellenbosch versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Stellenbosch but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Stellenbosch 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, Stellenbosch 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 Stellenbosch gentler on the wallet – expenses run 91% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.