Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. Portugal Cost of Living Summary
United States is 57.9% more expensive than Portugal overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 35.5% more in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 67.7% more in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 11.1% more in United States
- Housing
-
pay 69.7% more in United States
- Childcare
-
pay 2.5 times more in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 81.6% more in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 6.5% less in United States
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in United States are more expensive than in Portugal. Notably, childcare and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in United States.
United States vs. Portugal Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of Portugal, you would:
pay 35.5% more for restaurants
|
Portugal
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$13.13
€11.33
|
$19.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.44
€8.14
|
$11.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.93
€1.66
|
$2.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.40
€1.20
|
$2.00
|
|
Portugal vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 67.7% more for groceries
|
Portugal
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.52
€1.31
|
$3.56
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.73
€4.94
|
$6.50
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.12
€3.55
|
$3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.14
€2.71
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.42
€2.95
|
$5.41
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.06
€0.91
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.68
€0.58
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.84
€0.73
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.17
€1.01
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.74
€0.64
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.90
€0.78
|
$1.38
|
|
Portugal vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 11.1% more for transportation
|
Portugal
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.46
€6.43
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$39.12
€33.73
|
$65.85
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,916.24
€30,109.22
|
$32,336.38
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$12.78
€11.02
|
$17.61
|
|
Portugal vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 69.7% more for housing
|
Portugal
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$41.01
€35.37
|
$68.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$954.63
€823.21
|
$1,664.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$787.92
€679.44
|
$1,416.15
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$95.92
€82.71
|
$150.19
|
|
Portugal vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 2.5 times more for childcare
|
Portugal
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$512.86
€442.26
|
$1,387.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,479.69
€9,036.92
|
$23,196.46
|
|
Portugal vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 81.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Portugal
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.56
€2.21
|
$5.84
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.05
€1.76
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.30
€5.43
|
$9.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.69
€38.54
|
$51.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.76
€7.55
|
$13.64
|
|
Portugal vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.5% less for clothing
|
Portugal
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$82.22
€70.90
|
$51.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.56
€34.11
|
$41.81
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$89.53
€77.20
|
$87.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$103.44
€89.20
|
$112.04
|
|
Portugal vs. United States - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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