Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tembisa and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Tembisa: $1,105 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Tembisa
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Tembisa Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Tembisa

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,105

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,105 in Tembisa versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Tembisa $1,105
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,734 in Tembisa versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Tembisa $1,734
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,363 in Tembisa versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Tembisa $2,363
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Tembisa costs roughly 50% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tembisa is 19% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.69 R 161

$16.65 €14.95

-41.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.77 R 663

$61.7 €55.5

-35.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.82 R 97.0

$11.36 €10.20

-48.77%

Cappuccino

$2.31 R 38.53

$2.97 €2.67

-22.22%

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

$1.10 R 18.29

$2.29 €2.06

-51.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 R 13.79

$1.74 €1.56

-52.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.41 R 40.12

$3.40 €3.06

-29.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.80 R 46.70

$3.31 €2.97

-15.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 R 19.53

$1.16 €1.04

0.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 R 18.37

$1.91 €1.72

-42.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 R 30.35

$1.51 €1.36

20.53%

Eggs

$2.54 R 42.40

$4.02 €3.61

-36.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.39 R 140

$12.94 €11.62

-35.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.91 R 81.9

$7.77 €6.98

-36.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.19 R 120

$17.76 €15.95

-59.52%

Apples (1kg)

$1.81 R 30.09

$2.30 €2.07

-21.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.11

$1.73 €1.56

-2.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 R 28.76

$1.86 €1.67

-6.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.71

$2.59 €2.33

-35.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.26

$1.82 €1.64

-19.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 R 24.12

$1.97 €1.77

-26.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 R 20.62

$1.47 €1.32

-15.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.41

$0.72 €0.65

61.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.33 R 55.4

$6.58 €5.91

-49.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.03 R 83.8

$5.61 €5.04

-10.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.20

$1.36 €1.22

2.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 R 32.84

$2.14 €1.92

-7.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.56 R 26.03

$2.33 €2.10

-33.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 R 10.61

$3.85 €3.46

-83.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R 15.53

$1.07 €0.96

-13.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.73 R 195

$16.46 €14.79

-28.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 R 24.63

$2.20 €1.98

-32.73%

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

$36.3K R 604.7K

$34.2K €30.7K

6.13%

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

$33.3K R 554.9K

$38.7K €34.8K

-14.01%

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

$149 R 2,479

$161 €145

-7.73%

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

$35.37 R 589

$18.41 €16.54

92.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.16 R 619

$32.74 €29.41

13.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.03 R 534

$44.55 €40.02

-28.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.74 R 179

$19.10 €17.16

-43.77%

Cinema Ticket

$7.37 R 123

$9.60 €8.62

-23.23%

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

$247 R 4,116

$668 €600

-63.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,513 R 91.9K

$17.6K €15.8K

-68.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.4 R 906

$102 €91.6

-46.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.07 R 551

$44.46 €39.94

-25.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 R 1,687

$98.5 €88.5

2.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.2 R 1,486

$124 €111

-27.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$392 R 6,537

$1,608 €1,445

-75.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$359 R 5,987

$1,190 €1,069

-69.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$746 R 12.4K

$2,812 €2,526

-73.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$753 R 12.5K

$2,013 €1,808

-62.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$877 R 14.6K

$7,839 €7,042

-88.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$682 R 11.4K

$4,576 €4,110

-85.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$566 R 9,430

$1,575 €1,415

-64.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

3.85

184.16%

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

Last update for Tembisa: 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

Tembisa

$359 32.5%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 231% $831

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tembisa

$221 20%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 4% $8.9

Groceries & Markets

Tembisa

$193 17.5%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 41.1% $79

Eating Out

Tembisa

$148 13.4%

Lisbon

$243 11% 63.8% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Tembisa

$125 11.3%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 32.7% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Tembisa

$47 4.2%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 36.3% $17

Getting Around

Tembisa

$12 * 1%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 448% $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 $392 in Tembisa and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $40 in Tembisa vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $193 vs $272 per month, with Tembisa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Tembisa

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

14:04 2:04 PM

12:04 12:04 PM

2 h behind Tembisa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

463,109

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tembisa Lisbon 8,180 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Tembisa
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

Tembisa vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tembisa and Lisbon differ by about 100% in total monthly costs ($1,105 vs $2,210 including rent). Tembisa is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 64% lower in Tembisa. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $392 in Tembisa versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,105 per month in Tembisa versus $2,210 in Lisbon – a 100% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,105 in Tembisa versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Tembisa but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Tembisa 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.

It comes down to priorities – Tembisa wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.