Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sunderland and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Sunderland: $1,845 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

89

Cost of Living Index in Sunderland
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Sunderland Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Sunderland

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,845

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,845 in Sunderland versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

Sunderland $1,845
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,755 in Sunderland versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

Sunderland $2,755
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,665 in Sunderland versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Sunderland $3,665
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Sunderland costs roughly 16% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sunderland 36% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.54 £13.91

$17.04 €15.15

8.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.2 £52.7

$62.3 €55.4

12.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.87 £6.66

$11.02 €9.80

-19.51%

Cappuccino

$5.02 £3.77

$3.12 €2.78

60.90%

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

$2.32 £1.74

$2.27 €2.02

2.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.74 €1.55

12.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.63 £3.48

$3.42 €3.04

35.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.30 £3.23

$3.74 €3.33

14.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 £1.08

$1.17 €1.04

23.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 £1.03

$1.86 €1.66

-26.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 £1.80

$1.54 €1.37

55.84%

Eggs

$3.52 £2.64

$4.06 €3.61

-13.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.72 £7.29

$12.91 €11.49

-24.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.99 £6.74

$7.90 €7.03

13.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.35 £10.76

$17.64 €15.69

-18.65%

Apples (1kg)

$3.26 £2.44

$2.26 €2.01

44.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 £1.39

$1.75 €1.55

5.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.92 £2.19

$1.89 €1.68

54.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.79 £2.84

$2.56 €2.27

48.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.79 £1.34

$1.85 €1.64

-3.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 £1.11

$1.97 €1.75

-24.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.45 €1.29

-17.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 £1.13

$0.77 €0.69

94.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.99 £17.25

$6.71 €5.97

242.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.19 £7.65

$5.67 €5.04

79.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.57 £2.68

$1.37 €1.22

160.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.49 £2.62

$2.11 €1.88

65.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.08 £1.56

$2.32 €2.07

-10.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$119 £89.6

$44.43 €39.52

168.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 £3.30

$3.95 €3.51

11.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.05 €0.93

47.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.14 £21.11

$17.15 €15.26

64.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.57

$2.19 €1.95

-4.57%

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

$38.3K £28.8K

$33.8K €30.0K

13.49%

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

$40.5K £30.4K

$38.3K €34.0K

5.82%

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

$248 £186

$164 €146

51.37%

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

$16.93 £12.70

$18.48 €16.43

-8.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.31 £31.74

$32.96 €29.32

28.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.70 £30.53

$45.87 €40.80

-11.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.01 £9.01

$18.68 €16.61

-35.71%

Cinema Ticket

$10.66 £8.00

$9.75 €8.67

9.33%

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

$819 £614

$684 €608

19.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K £13.2K

$17.6K €15.7K

-0.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.1 £68.4

$104 €92.3

-12.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.14 £35.37

$46.20 €41.09

2.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 £81.4

$99.7 €88.7

8.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.7 £71.1

$125 €111

-24.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$792 £594

$1,589 €1,414

-50.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$595 £446

$1,169 €1,040

-49.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,356 £1,017

$2,851 €2,536

-52.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$957 £718

$1,993 €1,773

-51.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,663 £2,748

$1,600 €1,423

128.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.15

3.85

33.77%

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

Last update for Sunderland: October 20, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sunderland

$595 32.2%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 96.5% $574

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sunderland

$307 16.7%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 29.9% $92

Groceries & Markets

Sunderland

$303 16.4%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 10% $30

Eating Out

Sunderland

$284 15.4%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 12.9% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Sunderland

$154 8.3%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 9.6% $15

Getting Around

Sunderland

$140 7.6%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 55% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Sunderland

$62 3.4%

Lisbon

$65 3% 5.4% $3.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $792 in Sunderland and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sunderland pays 129% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $70.0 in Sunderland vs $62.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $303 vs $273 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Sunderland

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

05:35 5:35 AM

Same time as Sunderland

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

275,300

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

Sunderland Lisbon 1,890 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Sunderland
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

Sunderland vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sunderland and Lisbon differ by about 19% in total monthly costs ($1,845 vs $2,202 including rent). Sunderland is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 129% higher in Sunderland, 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: $792 in Sunderland versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $819 in Sunderland versus $684 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 11% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,845 in Sunderland versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Sunderland but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sunderland 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, Sunderland 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 Sunderland gentler on the wallet – expenses run 19% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.