Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Upington and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Upington: $1,111 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Upington
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Upington Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Upington

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,111

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,111 in Upington versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Upington $1,111
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,731 in Upington versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Upington $1,731
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,350 in Upington versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Upington $2,350
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Upington 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: Upington is 18% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.13 R 202

$16.65 €14.95

-27.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.62 R 594

$61.7 €55.5

-42.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.83 R 97.2

$11.36 €10.20

-48.68%

Cappuccino

$1.75 R 29.17

$2.97 €2.67

-41.08%

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

$1.02 R 17.06

$2.29 €2.06

-55.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.77 R 12.87

$1.74 €1.56

-55.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.70 R 28.38

$3.40 €3.06

-50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 R 45.95

$3.31 €2.97

-16.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.93 R 15.45

$1.16 €1.04

-19.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.22 R 20.27

$1.91 €1.72

-36.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 R 26.83

$1.51 €1.36

6.62%

Eggs

$2.22 R 36.95

$4.02 €3.61

-44.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.31 R 138

$12.94 €11.62

-35.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.40 R 89.9

$7.77 €6.98

-30.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.17 R 136

$17.76 €15.95

-54.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.06 R 34.27

$2.30 €2.07

-10.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.76

$1.73 €1.56

-13.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.64 R 27.37

$1.86 €1.67

-11.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.76 R 29.31

$2.59 €2.33

-32.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.34 R 22.33

$1.82 €1.64

-26.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.39 R 23.11

$1.97 €1.77

-29.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 R 18.43

$1.47 €1.32

-24.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 R 20.33

$0.72 €0.65

69.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.76 R 46.01

$6.58 €5.91

-58.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.73 R 62.1

$5.61 €5.04

-33.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 R 25.67

$1.36 €1.22

13.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 R 34.77

$2.14 €1.92

-2.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.46 R 24.31

$2.33 €2.10

-37.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 R 10.64

$3.85 €3.46

-83.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 R 13.16

$1.07 €0.96

-26.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.30 R 188

$16.46 €14.79

-31.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 R 24.20

$2.20 €1.98

-34.09%

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

$40.3K R 671.8K

$34.2K €30.7K

17.90%

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

$34.8K R 579.4K

$38.7K €34.8K

-10.21%

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

$148 R 2,472

$161 €145

-7.97%

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

$39.28 R 655

$18.41 €16.54

113.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.62 R 627

$32.74 €29.41

14.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.10 R 468

$44.55 €40.02

-36.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.70 R 195

$19.10 €17.16

-38.74%

Cinema Ticket

$8.00 R 133

$9.60 €8.62

-16.67%

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

$103 R 1,709

$668 €600

-84.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,540 R 92.3K

$17.6K €15.8K

-68.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.8 R 929

$102 €91.6

-45.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.07 R 534

$44.46 €39.94

-27.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 R 1,736

$98.5 €88.5

5.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.3 R 1,405

$124 €111

-31.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$389 R 6,474

$1,608 €1,445

-75.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$358 R 5,958

$1,190 €1,069

-69.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$613 R 10.2K

$2,812 €2,526

-78.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$736 R 12.3K

$2,013 €1,808

-63.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$917 R 15.3K

$7,839 €7,042

-88.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$739 R 12.3K

$4,576 €4,110

-83.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$781 R 13.0K

$1,575 €1,415

-50.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.38

3.85

195.58%

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

Last update for Upington: October 24, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Upington

$358 32.2%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 233% $833

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Upington

$225 20.3%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 5.7% $13

Groceries & Markets

Upington

$193 17.4%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 41.2% $79

Eating Out

Upington

$157 14.1%

Lisbon

$243 11% 54.7% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Upington

$124 11.2%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 33.4% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Upington

$44 4%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 44.6% $20

Getting Around

Upington

$10 * 0.9%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 507% $53

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 $389 in Upington and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $36 in Upington vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $193 vs $272 per month, with Upington cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Upington

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

01:46 1:46 AM

23:46 11:46 PM

2 h behind Upington

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,834

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

Upington Lisbon 8,110 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Upington
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

Upington vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,111 in Upington and $2,210 in Lisbon, so Upington is about 50% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 50% lower in Upington. 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: $389 in Upington 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 $1,111 per month in Upington versus $2,210 in Lisbon – Upington is about 50% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Upington is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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