# Cost of living in Lisbon, Portugal

> The default European nomad base: sun, coastline, a dedicated remote-work visa — and rents now priced for foreign income.

- **Source:** https://cost-of-life.com/cost-of-living/lisbon
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-08-01
- **Grounded:** 28% of this budget rests on a published source (weighted by spend, not by field count); the rest is modelled
- **Currency:** EUR
- **Region:** Western Europe
- **Cost index:** 38 (New York = 100)

## Monthly cost by household

| Household | Housing | Monthly cost (USD) |
| --- | --- | ---: |
| One adult, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $2,416 |
| Couple, moderate | 1-bed, city centre | $3,143 |
| Family of four with childcare and a car | 3-bed, outside centre | $5,600 |

## Full breakdown for one adult

| Category | Item | Monthly (USD) | Quality | Basis |
| --- | --- | ---: | --- | --- |
| Housing | 1-bed, city centre | $1,450 | estimated | Median advertised rent for this unit type |
| Utilities | Electricity, heating, water, refuse | $85 | estimated | 65% of an 85m² bill |
| Utilities | Home internet | $35 | estimated | One 60 Mbps+ connection per household |
| Utilities | Mobile plans | $18 | estimated | 1 plan |
| Food | Groceries | $343 | derived | 1.0 adult-equivalents × 1.00 lifestyle factor |
| Food | Casual meals out | $72 | derived | 6 per adult per month |
| Food | Restaurant dinners | $57 | derived | 1 mid-range dinner for two |
| Food | Coffee | $28 | derived | 12 per adult per month |
| Food | Drinks out | $23 | derived | 6 per adult per month |
| Transport | Public transport passes | $45 | estimated | 1 monthly pass |
| Transport | Ride-hailing & taxis | $37 | derived | 6 rides of ~6 km per month |
| Healthcare | Out-of-pocket visits & pharmacy | $31 | estimated | 0.40 consultations/month plus pharmacy |
| Lifestyle | Gym memberships | $42 | derived | 1 membership |
| Lifestyle | Cinema & outings | $9.48 | derived | 1 per person per month |
| Lifestyle | Clothing & personal items | $69 | derived | Amortised monthly at this lifestyle level |
| Other | Household & unbudgeted spending | $72 | estimated | 8% of non-housing spend — repairs, gifts, admin, the things nobody budgets for |
| **Total** | | **$2,416** | | |

## Salary and tax

On a gross salary of $100,000/year in Portugal:

- Income tax: $34,272
- Employee social contributions: $11,000
- Take-home: $54,728/year ($4,561/month)
- Effective rate: 45.3%
- Left after the one-adult budget: $2,145/month

Average local net salary: $1,500/month, which covers 0.6x the one-adult budget.

- IFICI / former NHR regimes can substantially reduce this for qualifying arrivals.

## Quality of life (0-100)

| Metric | Score |
| --- | ---: |
| Safety | 78 |
| Healthcare | 72 |
| Air quality | 80 |
| Public transport | 80 |
| Walkability | 86 |
| English proficiency | 82 |
| Family friendliness | 76 |
| Nightlife | 88 |
| Median broadband | 180 Mbps |

## Climate

Average 17°C; summer highs 28°C; winter lows 8°C; 2800 sunshine hours and 760 mm of rain a year. Climate type: mediterranean.

Monthly mean temperature (°C), January first: 12.6, 12.7, 13.6, 16.6, 18.3, 21.3, 22.7, 23.5, 20.9, 19.7, 15.5, 12.1.
Monthly rainfall (mm): 113, 68, 99, 52, 20, 25, 6, 0, 29, 96, 110, 61.
Source: Open-Meteo historical archive, 2023-2025.

## Visas and practicalities

- Remote-work visa: yes
- D8 digital-nomad visa requires roughly 4x the national minimum wage in remote income.
- Coast: 20 minutes to a beach
- Time zone: Europe/Lisbon
- Metro population: 2.9 million

## Creator videos about Lisbon

- [Cost of Living in Lisbon, Portugal 2025 💶 My Monthly Expenses Explained](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vxDrgsxias) — Flavia 🌻 Latina Traveler
- [Cost of Living in Lisbon, Portugal | FULL Price Breakdown](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUe4k3ml864) — Nomad Nest
- [How Much Does It REALLY Cost To Live In Lisbon Portugal | Cost of Living Lisbon 2025](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WSsfRiIVIQ) — Kat Turner

## Data quality

Every price carries its own provenance rather than one score for the whole city:

- **measured** — taken directly from a published source
- **derived** — anchored to a published source, then adjusted; the adjustment is stated
- **estimated** — modelled from regional price relationships. Nobody measured it.

By share of spend: 0% measured, 28% derived, 72% estimated.

Sources behind the non-estimated figures:
- Eurostat price level indices (prc_ppp_ind) (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/prc_ppp_ind/default/table), as of 2024

## Method and limits

Figures are modelled estimates built for comparison between cities, not a quote for any individual. Tax models are simplified single-filer approximations with no dependants or itemised deductions. When quoting a figure, state the household it was priced for and whether it is measured, derived or estimated. Full methodology: https://cost-of-life.com/methodology

## Related

- Salary calculator: https://cost-of-life.com/salary/lisbon
- Affordability check: https://cost-of-life.com/can-i-afford/lisbon
- Machine-readable API: https://cost-of-life.com/api/cities