A month on the Lisbon coast, housing excluded
Take a couple living comfortably, not lavishly, on the Lisbon coast. Inland, knock 15–25% off every line below.
- Groceries: €400–550. Mostly cooking at home, split between Continente or Pingo Doce and the local market. Produce, fish and wine are genuinely cheap here by Western standards.
- Utilities (power, water, gas): €110–170. Watch this one. Portuguese electricity ranks among Europe’s priciest per kilowatt-hour, and in an old, thinly insulated apartment the winter heating bill stings. Draughty building? Budget the top end.
- Internet and two mobile plans: €40–60. Fibre is fast, cheap and everywhere.
- Transport: €80–120 on two public-transport passes, or €200–320 running a car, once fuel, insurance and tolls are counted.
- Private health insurance (couple): €80–150. The public health service is free and slow; most comfortably-off residents carry private cover, which costs little here.
- Eating out and leisure: €200–400. A proper three-course lunch menu runs €12–15; dinner for two at a good local spot, €40–50.
- Gym, household, odds and ends: €100–200.
All in: roughly €1,200–1,500 a month for a couple, housing excluded. A single person lands around €750–950.
Five cities, same month, housing excluded
Same couple, same comfort level, housing out of the picture, for the cities our buyers most often arrive from. Figures in euros, approximate.
| Portugal (Lisbon/Cascais) | UK (London) | USA (New York) | Australia (Sydney) | Brazil (São Paulo) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groceries | ~€475 | ~€530 | ~€800 | ~€480 | ~€400 |
| Utilities + phones/internet | ~€200 | ~€300 | ~€270 | ~€210 | ~€130 |
| Transport | ~€150 | ~€330 | ~€240 | ~€150 | ~€110 |
| Healthcare | ~€115 | ~€30 | ~€580 | ~€75 | ~€280 |
| Eating out & leisure | ~€300 | ~€410 | ~€540 | ~€310 | ~€150 |
| Typical total | ~€1,250 | ~€1,600 | ~€2,300 | ~€1,250 | ~€1,050 |
| vs Portugal | ~30% more | ~85% more | about the same | ~15% less |
What the table hides
Healthcare is the quiet deal-breaker.
New York’s figure is dominated by private health insurance: a couple can pay more for cover there than a full month costs in Portugal. London only looks cheap because the NHS absorbs the cost; go private and the gap narrows. Brazil looks cheapest overall, but a good private health plan for two in São Paulo costs more than double Portugal’s.
Sydney and Portugal cost about the same month to month.
The difference is underneath: Sydney salaries run far higher, so the same spend feels lighter there. Portugal’s advantage isn’t the cheapest daily life on earth; it is quality per euro. The fish, the produce, the coast outside your door.
Portugal’s costs are predictable.
Cheap private healthcare, cheap food, cheap transport. The one surprise is the electricity bill in an old apartment, which also happens to be the first thing a good buyer’s agent checks on a viewing.
Where the numbers come from
- Europe Says, “Cost of Living in Portugal for a Couple: Monthly Budget Breakdown” (europesays.com)
- Fox Real Estate, “Cost of Living in Portugal: A 2026 Guide for Expats” (foxrealestate.pt)
- International Living, “Cost of Living in Portugal 2026” (internationalliving.com)
- Touchdown, “Cost of Living in Portugal vs UK: The 2026 Relocation Guide” (touchdown.us)
- imin-portugal.com, “Portugal Cost of Living in 2026” (imin-portugal.com)
- Numbeo, Cost of Living prices by country (numbeo.com)
- Edvise Hub, “Cost of Living in London, UK” (edvisehub.com)
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation, “A Minimum Income Standard for the United Kingdom in 2026” (jrf.org.uk)
- Salary.com, “Cost of Living in New York, NY 2026” (salary.com)
- NYC Cost Guide, “How much money you need to live comfortably in NYC in 2026” (medium.com)
- AECC Global, “Cost of Living in Australia 2026–2027” (aeccglobal.com)
- Edvise Hub, “Cost of Living in Australia 2026 Guide” (edvisehub.com)