Cost of living comparison

Jamaica

compared to

Portugal

Portugal vs. Jamaica Cost of Living Summary

Portugal is 4.1% more expensive than Jamaica overall.

Restaurants: pay 21.1% more in Portugal
Groceries: pay 41.3% less in Portugal
Transportation: pay 0.4% less in Portugal
Housing: pay 36.6% more in Portugal
Childcare: pay 38.3% more in Portugal
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.2% less in Portugal
Clothing: pay 51.9% more in Portugal

The cost of clothing, childcare, housing, and restaurants in Portugal are more expensive than in Jamaica. Expenses including groceries, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Portugal.

Planning a move to Portugal? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Portugal vs. Jamaica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Portugal instead of Jamaica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 21.1% more for restaurants

	Jamaica	Portugal
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.69 JMD2,020.87	$13.01 €11.58	+2.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.18 JMD1,302.71	$9.54 €8.49	+16.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 JMD172.18	$1.90 €1.69	+76.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 JMD113.81	$1.44 €1.28	+101.9%
Average			+21.1%

Jamaica vs. Portugal - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 41.3% less for groceries

	Jamaica	Portugal
Bread 1 loaf	$3.00 JMD477.64	$1.56 €1.39	-48.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.70 JMD907.58	$5.65 €5.03	-0.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.76 JMD2,190.28	$4.09 €3.64	-70.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.54 JMD563.17	$3.28 €2.92	-7.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.86 JMD454.54	$3.42 €3.04	+19.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.46 JMD391.14	$1.02 €0.91	-58.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.56 JMD247.72	$0.65 €0.58	-58.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.98 JMD475.04	$0.83 €0.74	-72.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.30 JMD206.83	$1.09 €0.97	-16.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.36 JMD216.67	$0.79 €0.70	-42.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 JMD191.12	$0.87 €0.77	-27.8%
Average			-41.3%

Jamaica vs. Portugal - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.4% less for transportation

	Jamaica	Portugal
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.18 JMD823.90	$7.95 €7.08	+53.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.77 JMD6,012.49	$37.81 €33.65	+0.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,062.55 JMD7M	$33,409.36 €29,735.53	-24.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.21 JMD4,172.00	$12.87 €11.46	-50.9%
Average			-0.4%

Jamaica vs. Portugal - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 36.6% more for housing

	Jamaica	Portugal
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$51.12 JMD8,137.47	$39.38 €35.05	-23.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$697.95 JMD111K	$962.54 €856.70	+37.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$438.00 JMD69,728.23	$770.06 €685.38	+75.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$114.56 JMD18,237.90	$94.27 €83.91	-17.7%
Average			+36.6%

Jamaica vs. Portugal - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 38.3% more for childcare

	Jamaica	Portugal
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$324.59 JMD51,673.95	$491.62 €437.56	+51.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,236.21 JMD1M	$10,398.72 €9,255.23	+26.3%
Average			+38.3%

Jamaica vs. Portugal - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 28.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Jamaica	Portugal
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.20 JMD350.73	$2.77 €2.46	+25.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31 JMD845.51	$2.05 €1.83	-61.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.44 JMD1,503.12	$6.15 €5.47	-34.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.18 JMD8,784.92	$43.95 €39.11	-20.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.65 JMD1,853.85	$8.25 €7.34	-29.2%
Average			-28.2%

Jamaica vs. Portugal - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 51.9% more for clothing

	Jamaica	Portugal
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.60 JMD3,757.81	$80.47 €71.62	+240.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.47 JMD5,010.41	$37.54 €33.41	+19.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$74.84 JMD11,913.64	$86.61 €77.08	+15.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.02 JMD14,808.55	$105.16 €93.60	+13.1%
Average			+51.9%

Jamaica vs. Portugal - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Jamaica vs. Portugal

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Portugal?

Quality of Life Comparison · 23 statistics

Make 4.0 times more money in Portugal

Size Comparison · See true size

Jamaica is about 8 times smaller than Portugal.

Moving from Jamaica to Portugal · UN DESA 2020

28 people born in Jamaica live in Portugal.

More cost comparisons

Jamaica vs.

United States

Jamaica vs.

Canada

Jamaica vs.

United Kingdom

Jamaica vs.

Cayman Islands

Jamaica vs.

Bahamas

Jamaica vs.

Antigua and Barbuda

Jamaica vs.

Germany

Jamaica vs.

British Virgin Islands

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Kingston vs. Lisbon

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Jamaica

Add prices for Portugal

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Portugal or Jamaica. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.