Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Swansea and Lisbon

For one person, living costs are similar in Swansea and in Lisbon: $2,196 and $2,210 a month, rent and utilities included.

106

Cost of Living Index in Swansea
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Swansea Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

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Swansea

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,196

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,196 in Swansea versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Swansea $2,196
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,130 in Swansea versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Swansea $3,130
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,065 in Swansea versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Swansea $4,065
Lisbon $4,341

Monthly costs are close between Swansea and Lisbon; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Swansea 61% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.41 £15.24

$16.65 €14.91

22.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.1 £47.08

$61.7 €55.3

2.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 £7.82

$11.36 €10.17

-7.83%

Cappuccino

$4.76 £3.56

$2.97 €2.66

60.27%

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

$2.36 £1.76

$2.29 €2.05

3.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.26 £0.94

$1.74 €1.56

-27.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.89 £4.40

$3.40 €3.05

73.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.38 £4.77

$3.31 €2.96

92.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 £1.00

$1.16 €1.04

15.52%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 £1.53

$1.91 €1.71

7.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 £1.54

$1.51 €1.35

36.42%

Eggs

$3.52 £2.62

$4.02 €3.60

-12.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.78 £5.81

$12.94 €11.59

-39.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.33 £6.22

$7.77 €6.96

7.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.87 £9.61

$17.76 €15.91

-27.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.32 £1.73

$2.30 €2.06

0.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 £0.93

$1.73 €1.55

-28.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 £2.14

$1.86 €1.66

54.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.57 £2.67

$2.59 €2.32

37.84%

Potato (1kg)

$2.25 £1.68

$1.82 €1.63

23.63%

Onion (1kg)

$3.05 £2.28

$1.97 €1.76

54.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 £0.95

$1.47 €1.32

-13.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.29 £1.71

$0.72 €0.65

218.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.23 £17.34

$6.58 €5.90

253.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.63 £7.93

$5.61 €5.02

89.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 £1.74

$1.36 €1.22

71.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 £2.54

$2.14 €1.91

58.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.12 £3.08

$2.33 €2.09

76.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.1 £72.5

$44.68 €40.01

117.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 £2.95

$3.85 €3.45

2.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.68 £2.00

$1.07 €0.96

150.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.33 £24.88

$16.46 €14.74

102.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.95 £1.46

$2.20 €1.97

-11.36%

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

$38.9K £29.1K

$34.2K €30.6K

13.80%

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

$40.5K £30.2K

$38.7K €34.7K

4.51%

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

$306 £229

$161 €144

90.09%

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

$14.81 £11.06

$18.41 €16.49

-19.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.20 £32.26

$32.74 €29.32

31.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.28 £24.85

$44.55 €39.90

-25.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.52 £11.59

$19.10 €17.10

-18.74%

Cinema Ticket

$9.85 £7.36

$9.60 €8.60

2.60%

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

$1,777 £1,327

$668 €598

166.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.7 £66.9

$102 €91.4

-12.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.22 £36.01

$44.46 €39.82

8.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 £91.3

$98.5 €88.2

24.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.6 £61.6

$124 €111

-33.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,112 £830

$1,608 €1,440

-30.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$891 £665

$1,190 €1,066

-25.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,500 £1,120

$2,812 €2,519

-46.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 £999

$2,013 €1,803

-33.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,563 £2,660

$7,839 €7,021

-54.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,615 £1,952

$4,576 €4,098

-42.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,263 £2,436

$1,575 €1,411

107.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.04

3.85

56.88%

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

Last update for Swansea: October 27, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Swansea

$891 40.6%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 33.6% $299

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Swansea

$364 16.6%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 41.7% $152

Eating Out

Swansea

$309 14.1%

Lisbon

$243 11% 21.4% $66

Groceries & Markets

Swansea

$293 13.4%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 7.2% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Swansea

$154 7%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 7.6% $12

Getting Around

Swansea

$131 6%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 51.7% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Swansea

$53 2.4%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 20.3% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,112 in Swansea and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Swansea pays about 2.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $63 in Swansea vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $272 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Swansea

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

21:30 9:30 PM

Same time as Swansea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

239,000

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

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

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Swansea Lisbon 1,490 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Swansea
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

Swansea vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay in Swansea is about 2.1 times higher, 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: $1,112 in Swansea versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,777 in Swansea 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 7% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Swansea is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Swansea delivers better value at $2,196 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Swansea hard to pass up.