Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Townsville and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,206 a month against $2,606 in Townsville, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Townsville
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Townsville Living Index
106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Townsville

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,606

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,606 in Townsville versus $2,206 in Lisbon.

Townsville $2,606
Lisbon $2,206

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,842 in Townsville versus $3,276 in Lisbon.

Townsville $3,842
Lisbon $3,276

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,078 in Townsville versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Townsville $5,078
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Townsville is roughly 18% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Townsville 93% above, Lisbon 63% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.82 A$32.57

$16.86 €15.00

35.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.4 A$101

$61.0 €54.3

15.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.35

$10.98 €9.77

10.75%

Cappuccino

$3.58 A$5.11

$3.05 €2.71

17.38%

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

$2.64 A$3.76

$2.28 €2.03

15.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 A$3.53

$1.68 €1.50

47.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.53 A$12.17

$3.44 €3.06

147.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.20 A$10.28

$3.91 €3.48

84.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 A$2.53

$1.15 €1.02

53.91%

White Bread (500g)

$2.27 A$3.23

$1.89 €1.68

20.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 A$1.94

$1.50 €1.34

-9.33%

Eggs

$5.23 A$7.46

$4.12 €3.66

26.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.16 A$11.65

$13.01 €11.57

-37.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.89 A$14.11

$8.04 €7.16

23.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.37 A$19.09

$17.89 €15.92

-25.27%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 A$5.90

$2.27 €2.02

81.94%

Banana (1kg)

$2.70 A$3.85

$1.74 €1.55

55.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.58 A$5.11

$1.82 €1.62

96.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.29 A$6.12

$2.69 €2.39

59.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.64 A$3.77

$1.77 €1.57

49.15%

Onion (1kg)

$2.85 A$4.07

$1.94 €1.72

46.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.28

$1.46 €1.30

57.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.26 A$4.65

$0.76 €0.68

328.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$30.58 A$43.65

$6.66 €5.92

359.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.71 A$15.28

$5.64 €5.02

89.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$6.93 A$9.89

$1.29 €1.15

437.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.54 A$12.19

$2.14 €1.90

299.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.11 A$3.02

$2.30 €2.05

-8.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.2 A$78.8

$44.02 €39.17

25.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.62 A$3.75

$3.98 €3.54

-34.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 A$2.92

$0.64 €0.57

218.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$44.02 A$62.8

$18.93 €16.84

132.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 A$1.76

$2.28 €2.03

-45.61%

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

$28.1K A$40.2K

$33.4K €29.7K

-15.66%

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

$27.8K A$39.7K

$38.5K €34.3K

-27.68%

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

$383 A$546

$158 €141

141.98%

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

$36.42 A$52.0

$17.54 €15.61

107.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$66.0 A$94.2

$31.18 €27.75

111.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.4 A$79.0

$44.64 €39.73

24.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.73 A$28.16

$18.98 €16.89

3.95%

Cinema Ticket

$15.23 A$21.74

$9.58 €8.52

58.98%

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

$2,084 A$2,975

$674 €599

209.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.2K A$17.5K

$18.7K €16.7K

-34.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$92.5 A$132

$102 €90.9

-9.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.1 A$100

$45.90 €40.85

52.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$164 A$234

$102 €91.0

60.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 A$188

$122 €109

7.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,286 A$1,835

$1,641 €1,460

-21.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 A$1,463

$1,187 €1,057

-13.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,313 A$3,301

$2,825 €2,514

-18.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,845 A$2,634

$2,018 €1,796

-8.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,976 A$7,103

$7,836 €6,973

-36.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,112 A$5,870

$4,701 €4,183

-12.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,066 A$5,804

$1,687 €1,501

141.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.68

3.82

48.69%

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

Last update for Townsville: November 3, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Townsville

$1K 39.3%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 15.9% $163

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Townsville

$485 18.6%

Lisbon

$207 9.4% 57.4% $278

Groceries & Markets

Townsville

$389 14.9%

Lisbon

$275 12.5% 29.3% $114

Eating Out

Townsville

$340 13%

Lisbon

$245 11.1% 27.8% $94

Clothing & Footwear

Townsville

$206 7.9%

Lisbon

$168 7.6% 18.7% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Townsville

$86 3.3%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 25.7% $22

Getting Around

Townsville

$77 2.9%

Lisbon

$60 2.7% 21.1% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,286 in Townsville and $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Townsville pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $70 in Townsville vs $61 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $389 vs $275 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Townsville

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

02:15 2:15 AM

16:15 4:15 PM

10 h behind Townsville

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

173,724

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.701 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.701 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Townsville Lisbon 16,850 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Townsville
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

Townsville vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,606 in Townsville and $2,206 in Lisbon, so Lisbon is about 15% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Townsville is about 2.4 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: $1,286 in Townsville versus $1,641 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,084 in Townsville versus $674 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Townsville. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Lisbon gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, Townsville and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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