Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Toowoomba and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Toowoomba: $2,110 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

Toowoomba
🇦🇺 Australia
$2,110
/mo nomad
Lisbon
🇵🇹 Portugal
$2,223
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,110 in Toowoomba versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

  • Toowoomba $2,110
  • Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,921 in Toowoomba versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

  • Toowoomba $2,921
  • Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,732 in Toowoomba versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

  • Toowoomba $3,732
  • Lisbon $4,319

Living in Toowoomba costs roughly 5% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Toowoomba 56% above, Lisbon 65% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Toowoomba
Lisbon
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$16.56 A$23.82
$16.50 €14.67
0.36%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$72.1 A$104
$61.3 €54.5
17.67%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$9.30 A$13.38
$11.27 €10.03
-17.48%
Cappuccino
$3.81 A$5.48
$3.06 €2.72
24.51%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.71 A$3.90
$2.26 €2.01
19.91%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.34 A$3.37
$1.73 €1.54
35.26%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$6.78 A$9.75
$3.39 €3.02
100.00%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$7.10 A$10.22
$3.40 €3.02
108.82%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Toowoomba
Lisbon
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.50 A$2.16
$1.12 €1.00
33.93%
White Bread (500g)
$2.27 A$3.27
$1.86 €1.65
22.04%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.94 A$2.80
$1.53 €1.36
26.80%
Eggs
$4.55 A$6.55
$3.96 €3.53
14.90%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.62 A$12.40
$12.76 €11.35
-32.45%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.89 A$12.79
$7.90 €7.02
12.53%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.73 A$16.87
$16.97 €15.09
-30.88%
Apples (1kg)
$3.15 A$4.53
$2.27 €2.02
38.77%
Banana (1kg)
$1.79 A$2.58
$1.75 €1.55
2.29%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.37 A$1.97
$1.85 €1.64
-25.95%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.15 A$3.09
$2.57 €2.28
-16.34%
Potato (1kg)
$2.49 A$3.59
$1.86 €1.65
33.87%
Onion (1kg)
$2.23 A$3.20
$2.02 €1.80
10.40%
Lettuce (1 head)
$2.39 A$3.45
$1.44 €1.28
65.97%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.99 A$1.42
$0.82 €0.73
20.73%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$34.77 A$50.0
$6.56 €5.83
430.03%
Wine (Bottle)
$13.72 A$19.75
$5.62 €5.00
144.13%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$4.59 A$6.60
$1.28 €1.14
258.59%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$6.53 A$9.39
$2.07 €1.84
215.46%
🚌 Getting Around
Toowoomba
Lisbon
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.04 A$4.38
$2.35 €2.09
29.36%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$44.18 €39.30
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.22 A$3.20
$3.99 €3.55
-44.36%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.61 A$2.31
$1.09 €0.97
47.71%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$34.11 A$49.08
$16.64 €14.81
104.99%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.32 A$1.90
$2.28 €2.03
-42.11%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$26.7K A$38.4K
$33.7K €30.0K
-20.75%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.3K A$33.5K
$39.3K €35.0K
-40.67%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Toowoomba
Lisbon
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$74.5 A$107
$167 €149
-55.53%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$30.11 A$43.33
$18.80 €16.72
60.16%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$54.1 A$77.8
$33.09 €29.43
63.37%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Toowoomba
Lisbon
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$41.16 A$59.2
$46.01 €40.93
-10.54%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$17.69 A$25.46
$19.19 €17.07
-7.82%
Cinema Ticket
$13.85 A$19.92
$9.84 €8.75
40.75%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Toowoomba
Lisbon
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$2,039 A$2,934
$677 €602
201.03%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$6,996 A$10.1K
$16.9K €15.1K
-58.65%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Toowoomba
Lisbon
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$75.1 A$108
$101 €90.1
-25.79%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$53.8 A$77.4
$45.76 €40.70
17.57%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$74.8 A$108
$100.0 €88.9
-25.20%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$122 A$176
$123 €109
-0.37%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Toowoomba
Lisbon
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,215 A$1,748
$1,614 €1,436
-24.73%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,130 A$1,626
$1,197 €1,065
-5.59%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,618 A$2,328
$2,862 €2,545
-43.45%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,409 A$2,028
$1,990 €1,770
-29.18%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,392 A$4,881
$7,577 €6,740
-55.23%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,674 A$3,847
$4,307 €3,831
-37.93%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Toowoomba
Lisbon
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$3,869 A$5,567
$1,588 €1,412
143.68%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.69
3.85
47.79%

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

Last update for Toowoomba: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Toowoomba
$1.1K
Lisbon
$1.2K 5.9% $67
Groceries & Markets
Toowoomba
$309
Lisbon
$269 12.7% $39
Eating Out
Toowoomba
$274
Lisbon
$242 11.7% $32
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Toowoomba
$159
Lisbon
$219 38.3% $61
Clothing & Footwear
Toowoomba
$147
Lisbon
$166 13.4% $20
Sport & Entertainment
Toowoomba
$69
Lisbon
$66 4.6% $3.2
Getting Around
Toowoomba
$22 *
Lisbon
$63 181% $41

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 $1,215 in Toowoomba and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Toowoomba pays 144% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $72.0 in Toowoomba vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $309 vs $269 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇦🇺 Toowoomba
🇵🇹 Lisbon
🕒 Local time
02:40 2:40 AM
17:40 5:40 PM
9 h behind Toowoomba
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
108,398
545,923 Capital
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

On the map
Between locations
  • Toowoomba Lisbon 17,870 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Toowoomba
  • 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
Toowoomba vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Toowoomba and in Lisbon?
Toowoomba and Lisbon differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($2,110 vs $2,223 including rent). Toowoomba is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city pays better: Toowoomba or Lisbon?
Average pay runs 144% higher in Toowoomba, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
How do apartment prices compare in Toowoomba and in Lisbon?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,215 in Toowoomba versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 15% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.
Which city is more expensive overall: Toowoomba or Lisbon?
All in, you'll spend $2,110 per month in Toowoomba versus $2,223 in Lisbon – a 5% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Which city is more doable on $3,000 per month?
At $2,110 in Toowoomba versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Toowoomba but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Toowoomba the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Toowoomba and Lisbon?
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.
Is Toowoomba or Lisbon safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Toowoomba 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.
Where should expats move: Toowoomba or Lisbon?
Expats usually find Toowoomba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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