Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sun City and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Sun City: $1,255 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $11,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Sun City
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Sun City Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

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Sun City

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,255

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,255 in Sun City versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Sun City $1,255
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,930 in Sun City versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Sun City $1,930
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,606 in Sun City versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Sun City $2,606
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Sun City costs roughly 44% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sun City is 7% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.94 R 197

$16.50 €14.67

-27.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.53 R 717

$61.3 €54.5

-28.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.40 R 122

$11.27 €10.03

-34.34%

Cappuccino

$2.46 R 40.54

$3.06 €2.72

-19.61%

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

$1.23 R 20.26

$2.26 €2.01

-45.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.93 R 15.34

$1.73 €1.54

-46.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.20 R 36.18

$3.39 €3.02

-35.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 R 45.61

$3.40 €3.02

-18.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 R 22.30

$1.12 €1.00

20.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.28 R 21.14

$1.86 €1.65

-31.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.18

$1.53 €1.36

15.69%

Eggs

$2.63 R 43.27

$3.96 €3.53

-33.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.41 R 139

$12.76 €11.35

-34.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.65 R 93.1

$7.90 €7.02

-28.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.48 R 140

$16.97 €15.09

-50.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.10 R 34.58

$2.27 €2.02

-7.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 30.91

$1.75 €1.55

7.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.21

$1.85 €1.64

-4.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 R 34.93

$2.57 €2.28

-17.51%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.86 €1.65

-10.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.09

$2.02 €1.80

-9.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 R 24.55

$1.44 €1.28

3.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 R 21.70

$0.82 €0.73

60.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.38 R 55.8

$6.56 €5.83

-48.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.09 R 100

$5.62 €5.00

8.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 R 31.11

$1.28 €1.14

47.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 R 39.52

$2.07 €1.84

15.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.49 R 24.54

$2.35 €2.09

-36.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.82 R 13.44

$3.99 €3.55

-79.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.91 R 15.01

$1.09 €0.97

-16.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.50 R 239

$16.64 €14.81

-12.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 R 24.59

$2.28 €2.03

-34.65%

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

$35.2K R 579.9K

$33.7K €30.0K

4.53%

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

$31.5K R 519.7K

$39.3K €35.0K

-19.72%

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

$233 R 3,832

$167 €149

38.89%

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

$38.09 R 628

$18.80 €16.72

102.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.25 R 597

$33.09 €29.43

9.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.16 R 530

$46.01 €40.93

-30.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.57 R 174

$19.19 €17.07

-44.92%

Cinema Ticket

$7.69 R 127

$9.84 €8.75

-21.85%

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

$246 R 4,052

$677 €602

-63.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,459 R 89.9K

$16.9K €15.1K

-67.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.1 R 957

$101 €90.1

-42.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.31 R 763

$45.76 €40.70

1.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 R 1,766

$100.0 €88.9

7.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,757

$123 €109

-13.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$395 R 6,502

$1,614 €1,436

-75.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$354 R 5,834

$1,197 €1,065

-70.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 R 12.1K

$2,862 €2,545

-74.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$737 R 12.1K

$1,990 €1,770

-62.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$890 R 14.7K

$7,577 €6,740

-88.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$658 R 10.8K

$4,307 €3,831

-84.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.91

3.85

183.38%

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

Last update for Sun City: October 10, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sun City

$354 28.2%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 238% $843

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sun City

$307 24.5%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 28.5% $88

Groceries & Markets

Sun City

$219 17.5%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 22.9% $50

Eating Out

Sun City

$172 13.7%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 40.5% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Sun City

$143 11.4%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 16.2% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Sun City

$48 3.8%

Lisbon

$66 3% 38.2% $18

Getting Around

Sun City

$11 * 0.9%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 456% $52

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 $395 in Sun City and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44.00 in Sun City vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $219 vs $269 per month, with Sun City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Sun City

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

10:18 10:18 AM

09:18 9:18 AM

1 h behind Sun City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,556

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 18, 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sun City Lisbon 8,060 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Sun City
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

Sun City vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sun City and Lisbon differ by about 77% in total monthly costs ($1,255 vs $2,223 including rent). Sun City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,882 in Sun City and $3,335 in Lisbon to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $395 in Sun City versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 23% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,255 per month in Sun City versus $2,223 in Lisbon – a 77% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,255 in Sun City versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sun City but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sun City 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, Sun City 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 Sun City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 77% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.