The real cost of living in Lisbon: My budget revealed

Before I moved to Lisbon I read that it’s a cheap city. I was encouraged by bloggers and freelancers saying how amazing and affordable it was and how much they loved it there. I looked at the estimated cost of living in Lisbon on different websites and it seemed like they were all right. When I arrived I wasn’t pleasantly surprised, nor do I still think that it’s very cheap. So what is the true cost of living in Lisbon? Let me show you!

When I research yet another destination to go to, I normally check the prices and what people say about the city and the country. I found out that what people perceived as affordable changes depending on where this person is from and what they do. Most of the English speaking bloggers are from the States, or the UK, therefore the prices in Europe are low for them. After living in the UK for 10 years, I have the same comparison, but I also come from Poland, where the reality is completely different. I also lived in Thailand for a while, so when I say cheap, I really mean cheap. That’s why the estimated costs of living in other countries that I find on the Internet are quite unrealistic to me. So, I always try to write about my expenses and what I spend my money every month to give you the best estimates I can.

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If you’re considering moving to Lisbon, you might wonder how much you will have to spend on food and accommodation — 2 basic necessities. Then, you will also want to go out for dinners, parties, wine, Fado, or whatever else you’re into. How much will that cost you? I hope that my article will answer some of your questions.

Average monthly spending in Lisbon

Below prices are prices for 2025. I based them on my own experiences, but also on my internet research.

Rent – a studio near the center, with good access is about 700 euros. You can also find slightly cheaper, but then you have to reckon that the standard will be lower. A 2-bedroom apartment is about 1,000 euros and up. – Prices are from the Idealista website.

Bills – your water bill will depend on how big your apartment is and how many people live in it. If you have a smaller apartment and 1-2 tenants, the bill should be around 30 Euros. The larger the apartment, the higher the bill. The average price on the daily market for electricity is currently €43.94/MWh and ranges from €30.36/MWh to €62.73/MWh. The price depends on the number of tenants, the size of the apartment, and the companies you have a contract with. Internet can cost around €30 or more. Usually the companies also have streaming platforms and internet for the phone.

Transportation – I wrote about transportation in Lisbon here. If you need to commute and want a ticket for all forms of transportation, you will pay 40 Euros per month. At the time of writing this post, gasoline costs about 1.7-1.8. Euros per liter.

Health insurance – if you work here as a salaried employee, health insurance will most likely be paid for by your company and will be offered as an added bonus. If you want to buy the policy yourself, it will cost from 40 Euros per month upwards. You sometimes have to pay a few Euros for government medical care, but these are not high prices.

Entertainment – in Lisbon you will find very cheap bars and restaurants, where a beer will cost from 1 Euro. A glass of wine in the center already costs 5 Euro, but you will find places where it is a bit cheaper. For food, you’ll pay less than 10 Euros per plate. There are many more expensive pubs in Lisbon and there is certainly plenty to choose from.

Accommodation

Finding long term accommodation in Lisbon is a mission impossible. You have to have a lot of money to find something of a good standard. Otherwise, you’ll have to settle for an apartment that looks like a cave and is so damp that your laundry will never dry in the winter.

Downtown apartments are quite expensive. The figures below are just average rental costs. You can still find something at this price or slightly cheaper, but it will definitely take you quite a while. In the suburbs it is always cheaper and a bit easier to rent an apartment.

A 1-bedroom apartment in the center: about €1,200 – €1,500.

A 1-bedroom apartment outside the center: about €1,000 (it may be cheaper if you choose something in the surrounding villages or towns)

Bills (gas, water…etc.): 100€ +

Internet: 20-30€ depending on speed

Apartments for long-term rentals are better to look further away from Alfama, or Baixa Chiado, not only for prices, but also for noise and crowding. Good neighborhoods will be Arroios, or Alcântara, but this one prices are high. Apartments on Benfica and Amadora are quite popular.

I recommend looking for an apartment on the Idealista website. Facebook groups can sometimes help with this, too. It’s worth trying to post an ad there that you are looking for an apartment. Another way is to contact local real estate agencies, although in my experience this is not an effective way unless you are able to put up a sizable deposit and are looking for something expensive.

Renting an apartment will involve formalities that you have to fulfill. To legally rent something, you must have a NIF number, or Portuguese tax number. Landlords also often ask for payslips, tax returns, and hefty deposits a few months in advance.

Renting an apartment for a short period of time is possible, but the rent will cost you much more. Look for such apartments on Airbnb.

Food

In general, food is not that expensive. I would say the prices are similar to Polish ones. If you cook at home, you can definitely save a lot. Small stores are full of fruits and vegetables that you can buy for a very low price. If you prefer to buy organic products, you will pay double.

A liter of milk: €0.89

A loaf of bread (types of bread are plentiful, so it all depends on what kind you choose. It can also be a bit cheaper): 1.50€

12 eggs: €3.29

200g sliced cheese: 4.09€ (10.22/kg)

1 liter of water: 1.19€

1 kg potatoes: 0.90€

Bottle of wine: 5.07€

Small beer: 0.59€

In Lisbon, there are supermarkets in areas where people live (and not just tourists stay). The most popular are Pingo Doçe, Continente and Mini Preço. You can also find Lidl, Aldi and Auchan in the Portuguese market. Most supermarkets offer online shopping with home delivery for an additional fee.

Portuguese people like to eat out and spend a lot of time in pubs, whether for coffee or food. The cheapest snacks and drinks are at bakeries, and neighborhood bars, where coffee costs about 1 Euro. If they serve food, they are sure to have a menu for lunch, which you can cost about 10 Euros. In small restaurants, so-called tascas, you’ll pay about 15 Euros for a single dish.

Transportation

Comparing to London, transportation in Lisbon is very cheap. It’s worth buying a monthly pass, which allows you to use most of the transport modes in the city.

Taxis are very cheap in Lisbon in general. It’s best to use Uber or Taxify.

One-way ticket: 1.85€

24-hour ticket for elevators, subway and buses – 10€

Monthly ticket: 40€

Gasoline: 1.67€

Uber ride from the suburbs to the center: 7€

Restaurant and going out

Going out in Lisbon can be very expensive if you don’t know where to go. Mid-range restaurants charge quite a bit for a meal. If you work here, you won’t be able to visit them that often. However, there are always tascas – small, local bars, where you can eat for a little less. There are everywhere in Lisbon and eating there is a real, Portuguese experience.

• Meal for 1 person in a cheap bar: 8€
• Meal in a mid-range restaurant for 1 person: 15€

Health Insurance

In Portugal, medical care is free or almost free. If you don’t have private insurance, you can go to the Centro do Saudé. There you will make an utente number, which will give you the right to receive health care in Portugal. You may have to pay for the visit, but it will be a small amount. Prescription drugs are reimbursed to a certain extent, and there will always be a cost. It is worth adding here that medicines in general are more expensive in Portugal than in Poland.

Medical insurance in Portugal is very popular. It is usually provided by the employer as an additional benefit. The price depends on your age and what you want the insurance to include. For a person around 40 years old, Médis insurance is a cost starting at 18 euros a month for the most basic coverage.

Health care in Portugal is of average quality – at least that is my experience. The problem is the lack of doctors. Government hospitals are not staffed. In my city, for example, we don’t have nurses and doctors to help pregnant women, and that department has been closed for a year.

Entertainment

How much you spend on additional entertainment will depend on what you are interested in and how much you need to be happy. Coffee at a small kiosk is about 1 Euro, but already a good quality wine at some good wine bar costs 10 Euro per bottle and more.

Want to join a gym? No problem. A monthly pass costs about 40 Euros.

A movie ticket is about 5-8 Euros. Tickets for concerts and events are at different prices. I’ve seen ones where you only have to buy a drink, but also ones where admission cost 50 Euros or more.

Trips outside of Lisbon can be quite cheap. A ticket to Sintra costs 2.40 – 2.50 Euros one way. A ticket to Porto already costs 25 Euros one way. You can get to many places by train and bus, but somewhere further off the beaten track, you need a car. I recommend renting a car in the low season. Rentals have very good deals and you’ll pay under 10 euros for a day. In high season, promotions are less frequent and prices are much higher.

Other costs of living in Lisbon

What else can you spend your money on? A few things come to mind:

Cell phone bill – Your plan may be very cheap at 30-40 euros, but if you want bigger and faster internet or add streaming platforms, you’ll pay 50-60 euros or more.

VPN – If you want to use a VPN and, for example, watch Polish movies on Netflix (not all of them are available in Portugal) or access sites that don’t work in Portugal, it’s worth buying a VPN. The cost is small. I use NordVPN and prices there start at 5 euros per month, and on top of that NorVPN often has promotions.

Portuguese lessons – the language is worth learning in courses or with a teacher. A group course costs about 120-180 Euros for about 8 weeks. Individual courses are more expensive and cost as low as 100 Euros for 5 lessons or more.

Co-working spaces – if you are a nomad in Portugal, you are bound to use co-working spaces. Some offer daily rates – around 20 Euros per day. Others sell only monthly subscriptions. Prices start at 150 Euros per month.

How much money do you need to live in Lisbon?

A person who likes to save and who doesn’t live beyond his means can certainly live on about 1,200 Euros, assuming he rents a room and shares an apartment with others.

If you want to live on your own and like to go out to restaurants, meet up with friends or take trips out of town, or like to travel, I think you need a minimum of 2,000 Euros to live well.

People who want to live even more luxuriously need even more to live well in Lisbon.

I have lived in Portugal for 7 years. 3 years I lived in Lisbon itself. Now I live just outside the capital, but I travel to it often. The reality of life has changed a lot in the last few years, and I can feel it myself, it’s more expensive and prices keep going up. Living here is definitely good for people who either have their own businesses or are not looking for a career field. Lisbon is for those who want a taste of life in a warmer country and have a taste for adventure.

If you are thinking of moving to Lisbon, I advise you to first carefully calculate the cost of living and compare it to your earnings. Sometimes it’s better to choose another country and take a short vacation to Lisbon.