How much does it cost to live in Lisbon (and not only)

Olá!

In this article we will see the main differences between the cost of living in Lisbon, London, Paris and Madrid. Then, we will compare Lisbon with other cities in Portugal, because capitals always have higher prices.

We’ve based on numbers that you can find on numbeo.com. It a great site for you to visit and get some more information about this topic. In order to simplify, we didn’t write details, but all products and services compared are equal or equivalent (as we can confirm on the website).

Salary

First of all, there’s an important aspect to think about: How much money we can earn on these countries: Portugal, Spain, France or England.

Below we have the average monthly salary (after tax) from each one of these cities.

In the previous table we see that Lisbon has to be the cheapest city of these four, because the salary is notably lower.

To have an Apartment

In second place, let’s talk about the apartment prices. You have two options: to buy or to rent an apartment.

For you to buy an apartment, you can choose if you prefer it on the center, which is probably more expensive, or outside of the center, probably cheaper. Here you have the prices to both options:

Prices to buy an apartment – city centre

Prices to buy an apartment – outside of centre

Renting an Apartment

Concerning to rent an apartment, we have the same options, but the price also depends of the size that you want.

– City Center

(*) €/month

– Outside of Center

(*) €/month

Utilities

After thinking about housing, the next step is to think about the utilities. How much is necessary to pay or to keep the house functional, with everything we need? Here are the average prices for utilities:

(*) Monthly average

As we see, the prices for the basics are between 100 and 200, although Lisbon could have almost half of France for example. About the internet the prices are not so different.

Transports

If you have a car, you have to worry about the fuel, if you don’t, there are more things to think about. It is better to check these prices here:

(*) One ticket
(**) Monthly Pass
(***) 1km

Usually we are the cheapest country, but not when we talk about cars. Take a look at some prices to buy a car:

Markets

Another important aspect is the pricing that you can find on markets in general. Below, you can check how much higher (in %) are the average prices in other cities, compared with Lisbon:

Restaurants

And about get some dinner out? How much it costs a good meal for you and your family? Let’s see:

(*) 2 Peolple

Sports And Leisure

Sports and leisure are as important as your basic needs, when we talk about your health. Since we should all be looking for a good time, check out these prices for some Sports and leisure activities:

(*) Monthly Fee
(**) 1 ticket

Lisbon vs. Caldas da Rainha and Leiria

Finally, we will compare Lisbon with two Portuguese cities: Caldas da Rainha and Leiria. We’ve choose these cities for two reasons. First, we think they are representative of a typical Portuguese city. Second, we are located there so we can confirm the rates.

In the table below we can see how much cheaper are the cities comparing with Lisbon. The empty places mean there is no enough information for estimation.

As we see, everything is cheaper in these cities, especially renting prices. In addition, the restaurant prices in Caldas da Rainha are significantly lower, which is a particularity of this city that makes we happy.

Despite the salaries are lower as well, at the end the local purchasing power is higher in Leiria. We don’t have all data for Caldas da Rainha, but we believe it is higher than in Leiria. That’s because salaries are similar, but the living cost is cheaper.

Conclusion

We hope this article was useful for you. Portugal is in a general way, a very good country to live and is one of the cheapest in all Europe. This justifies why so many people have moved here.

But there’s one important thing missing in this article, that you really will need: the language! Want to learn Portuguese? It’s simple: join us!

Remember that we are in different cities of Portugal and also online!

See you soon.