City comparison
Cost of living in San Francisco vs Lisbon
One person needs about €3,942 a month in San Francisco and €1,874 in Lisbon, rent included — Lisbon is 52% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Lisbon the way you live in San Francisco on €3,000, you need
€1,426/ month net
52% less than today (-€1,574)
- San Francisco today
- Basket €3,942 · left over -€942 (-31%)
- Lisbon at the matched salary
- Basket €1,874 · left over -€448 (-31%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 128% over in Lisbon (tight) vs 241% in San Francisco. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇺🇸 San Francisco
The highest pay on the planet for engineers, and the rent to prove it.
Monthly budget: €3,942
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
🇵🇹 Lisbon
Visa-friendly and well connected, but local salaries lag far behind expat-driven rents.
Monthly budget: €1,874
Sources: Statistics Portugal (INE) + Eurostat, HICP & house-rent statistics (2025) · 331 community reports
Should you move to San Francisco or Lisbon?
On salary, San Francisco pays more for tech roles (€9,500 versus €2,400 a month), so the money left over after costs is €5,558 in San Francisco at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €2,900 in San Francisco against €1,300 in Lisbon. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores San Francisco at 62 and Lisbon at 83 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.