Three worked monthly budgets
Each line below is either a figure from the dataset or a fixed US reference amount scaled by this country's index for that category. The reference column stays on screen so you can see exactly what was multiplied by what, and swap in your own number where your life differs.
One person, outside the city centre
A single adult renting a one-bedroom away from the centre, cooking most nights, using public transport rather than running a car.
| Line item | How it was derived | In Portugal | Same line, US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent, one-bed outside the centre | Market average for a one-bedroom, taken straight from the data | $1,000 | $1,350 |
| Groceries and household | $400 US reference × groceries index 91 | $364 | $400 |
| Utilities, phone and internet | $210 US reference × utilities index 72 | $151 | $210 |
| Local transport | $120 US reference × transport index 96 | $115 | $120 |
| Eating and drinking out | $170 US reference × restaurant index 64 | $109 | $170 |
| Everything else (clothes, leisure, repairs) | $240 US reference × overall price index 63 | $151 | $240 |
| Monthly total | $1,890 | $2,490 | |
The same basket runs $600 a month less than it would in the United States, or about $7,200 across a year.
A couple, one-bedroom in the centre
Two people sharing a central one-bedroom, two transport passes, a bigger grocery bill and a real restaurant habit.
| Line item | How it was derived | In Portugal | Same line, US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent, one-bed in the centre | Market average for a one-bedroom, taken straight from the data | $1,200 | $1,700 |
| Groceries and household | $680 US reference × groceries index 91 | $619 | $680 |
| Utilities, phone and internet | $265 US reference × utilities index 72 | $191 | $265 |
| Local transport, two people | $215 US reference × transport index 96 | $206 | $215 |
| Eating and drinking out | $360 US reference × restaurant index 64 | $230 | $360 |
| Everything else (clothes, leisure, repairs) | $430 US reference × overall price index 63 | $271 | $430 |
| Monthly total | $2,717 | $3,650 | |
The same basket runs $933 a month less than it would in the United States, or about $11,196 across a year.
Remote worker still paid by a US employer
Central flat, no local employer and therefore no local employer health cover, plus the travel and connectivity costs that come with keeping a US job from abroad.
| Line item | How it was derived | In Portugal | Same line, US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent, one-bed in the centre | Market average for a one-bedroom, taken straight from the data | $1,200 | $1,700 |
| Groceries and household | $470 US reference × groceries index 91 | $428 | $470 |
| Utilities, phone, internet and a desk | $300 US reference × utilities index 72 | $216 | $300 |
| Local transport | $150 US reference × transport index 96 | $144 | $150 |
| Eating and drinking out | $420 US reference × restaurant index 64 | $269 | $420 |
| Everything else, including travel home | $520 US reference × overall price index 63 | $328 | $520 |
| Private health cover, one adult | Typical private premium in the dataset, not scaled | $75 | Not comparable |
| Monthly total | $2,660 | $3,560 | |
The same basket runs $975 a month less than it would in the United States, or about $11,700 across a year. The US column excludes health cover because the structures do not line up: Employer-sponsored single coverage averaged about $777 a month in total premium, most of it paid by the employer, before deductibles and out-of-pocket costs.
These are models, not surveyed household budgets. They take national price levels and apply them to a fixed reference basket, so they describe the price environment rather than anyone's actual spending. Capital cities routinely run above the national index, second cities below it, and a car, school fees, childcare or debt payments would each add a line that is not here.
Category by category against the US
The overall index hides the spread. The category that comes out best against the US is rent at an index of 47; the one that comes out worst is transport at 96, a spread of 49 points between them. Budget from the categories you actually spend in rather than from the headline number: a household that eats out four nights a week is exposed to a different index than one that cooks.
| Category | Index | Compared with the US | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall consumer prices (including rent) | 63 | Much cheaper | 37% less |
| Rent | 47 | Much cheaper | 53% less |
| Groceries | 91 | Cheaper | 9% less |
| Restaurants | 64 | Much cheaper | 36% less |
| Transport | 96 | Similar | 4% less |
| Utilities | 72 | Cheaper | 28% less |
| Location | Portugal | United States |
|---|---|---|
| City centre | $1,200 | $1,700 |
| Outside centre | $1,000 | $1,350 |
| Average net salary | $2,077 | $4,230 |
Rent is the line worth stress-testing first. A central one-bedroom averages $1,200 against $1,700 in the US, and moving out of the centre takes it to $1,000, a difference of $200 a month before anything else in the budget changes.
How each category ranks across the tracked countries
The table above compares Portugal with the United States. This one compares it with everywhere else on this site, category by category, so you can see which line items are a real advantage here and which are simply normal across the countries Americans look at.
| Category | Portugal | Median of the set | Rank | Cheapest in the set |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall prices | 63 | 87 | 3 of 15 | Thailand (32) |
| Rent | 47 | 77 | 3 of 15 | Thailand (29) |
| Groceries | 91 | 93 | 6 of 15 | Thailand (64) |
| Restaurants | 64 | 94 | 2 of 15 | Thailand (26) |
| Transport | 96 | 103 | 6 of 15 | Thailand (52) |
| Utilities | 72 | 93 | 3 of 15 | Thailand (17) |
Where Portugal ranks in this dataset
Against the 15 countries tracked here, Portugal is number 3 from the cheapest, and 12 of them are more expensive. The cheapest in the set is Thailand at 32, the priciest Ireland at 100.
| Rank | Country | Index | vs US | 1-bed, centre | $4,230 of US spending costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thailand | 32 | 67.7% less | $475 | $1,366 |
| 2 | Mexico | 62 | 38% less | $765 | $2,623 |
| 3 | Portugal You are here | 63 | 37% less | $1,200 | $2,665 |
| 4 | Japan | 66 | 34.3% less | $1,280 | $2,779 |
| 5 | Spain | 70 | 30% less | $1,390 | $2,961 |
| 6 | Italy | 71 | 29% less | $1,200 | $3,003 |
| 7 | Germany | 72 | 28.5% less | $645 | $3,024 |
| 8 | New Zealand | 87 | 13% less | $1,112 | $3,680 |
| 9 | Netherlands | 88 | 12% less | $1,640 | $3,722 |
| 10 | Canada | 91 | 9% less | $1,433 | $3,849 |
| 11 | Sweden | 92 | 8% less | $1,206 | $3,892 |
| 12 | United Kingdom | 92 | 8% less | $2,370 | $3,892 |
| 13 | Norway | 99 | about level | $1,642 | $4,188 |
| 14 | Australia | 100 | about level | $1,675 | $4,230 |
| 15 | Ireland | 100 | about level | $2,263 | $4,230 |
What a US take-home packet is worth in Portugal
The same dollars buy a different amount of life once the local price level applies. Each card takes a US monthly take-home figure, reprices the identical standard of living at an index of 63, and shows what is left over. Rent share is the central one-bedroom as a percentage of that take-home, next to the same share in the US.
Modest take-home
$3,000/mo take-home
- Same lifestyle costs
- $1,890
- Left over each month
- +$1,110
- Buys what this would in the US
- $4,762
- Central rent as a share of pay
- 40% vs 57% in the US
US average net pay
$4,230/mo take-home
- Same lifestyle costs
- $2,665
- Left over each month
- +$1,565
- Buys what this would in the US
- $6,714
- Central rent as a share of pay
- 28% vs 40% in the US
Senior take-home
$8,000/mo take-home
- Same lifestyle costs
- $5,040
- Left over each month
- +$2,960
- Buys what this would in the US
- $12,698
- Central rent as a share of pay
- 15% vs 21% in the US
Take-home is the number that matters here, so these figures assume you have already paid tax somewhere. Where that tax is due is a separate question with real money attached. How the Portugal tax rules treat Americans →
The same budgets against the pay that usually funds them
An index tells you what things cost, not whether you can afford them. The average local net salary in Portugal is $2,077 a month against $4,230 in the US, so the budgets above land very differently depending on who is paying you. The share column is the modelled budget as a percentage of that net pay.
| Household | Budget in Portugal | Income assumed | Share of net pay | Same basket, US pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single person, local job | $1,890 | Local average net pay, $2,077 | 91% | 59% |
| Couple, two local jobs | $2,717 | Two local average net salaries, $4,154 | 65% | 43% |
| Remote worker, US employer | $2,660 | US average net pay, $4,230 | 63% | 84% |
A local job also means local deductions. The top personal income tax rate in Portugal is 48% and VAT or sales tax runs at 23% on most of what you buy, which is already inside the price indices above but not inside a US gross salary you might be comparing against.
Run your own number for Portugal
Put your real take-home in and the comparison reruns against the Portugal price level, with and without rent.
A ratio, not a budget: it scales your income by the country's overall consumer price level against the US average. Your actual costs depend on the city and how you live. Rent figures are national market averages for a one-bedroom apartment.
Cost questions about Portugal
How much money do I need to move to Portugal from the US?
For the D7 passive income visa the published floor in 2026 is EUR 920 a month for one adult and EUR 1,380 for a couple, but consulates want a Portuguese bank balance of roughly twelve months of that. The D8 remote work visa requires three months of income averaging EUR 3,680. Add EUR 110 for the visa, EUR 247.30 in AIMA fees, and housing deposits that can run three to six months of rent.
Is Portugal actually cheaper than the US?
Yes, but unevenly. The OECD puts Portugal's overall consumer price level at 63% of the US as of July 2026. Restaurants are about 64%, health about 41%, and the whole housing, water and energy group about 47%, though that group is dominated by rent: the utility bill on its own, electricity plus heating, water, sewerage and refuse, runs closer to 72% of a US bill at roughly EUR 130 a month. Groceries are only about 9% cheaper and transport is nearly identical, because cars, fuel and electricity all cost more than in America. The savings are concentrated in housing, services, healthcare and eating out.
How much does it cost to rent an apartment in Lisbon?
INE recorded a median of EUR 17.42 per square metre on new leases in the municipality of Lisbon in Q1 2026, up 8.2% year on year, against EUR 9.46 nationally. For a 60 square metre one-bedroom that is roughly $1,200 a month in the city and about $1,000 across Grande Lisboa at EUR 14.38. Across the river the Península de Setúbal median of EUR 11.35 works out near $790.
Sources and method
Indices are expressed against a US national average of 100 and reconciled from the sources below. Rent and salary figures are national averages in US dollars. The budget tables multiply those indices by the reference amounts printed in each row; no figure on this page comes from a household survey, and none of it is financial advice.
What these numbers are. The headline figures were re-derived from primary sources during review. Some category indices could not be matched to a published statistic and are reasoned estimates, marked as such in the list below. Where a source entry says a value is derived, estimated or crowd-sourced, that is exactly what it is: no international body publishes a like-for-like index for every category, and private insurance premiums are not published at all in most countries. Rent figures are national market averages, so a capital city will run above them. How the dataset is built.
- OECD, Monthly comparative price levels, Portugal against United States = 100 (value 63, July 2026) — accessed September 4, 2026
- OECD, PPP detailed results: price level indices by consumption category, Portugal with United States = 100, 2024 (household final consumption 60.5; food and non-alcoholic beverages 87.6; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels 44.7; transport 92.0; restaurants and accommodation services 61.7; health 39.5). Category indices published on this page were scaled by 63/60.5 to align with the July 2026 monthly reading, giving groceries 91, transport 96, dining 64, rent 47 and health 41. Note on rent_index_vs_us: the OECD publishes no rent-only price level in this table, so the whole CP04 group (actual and imputed rentals, maintenance, water and household energy) is used as the proxy. Because that group also contains the utilities separately indexed at 72, housing rent alone is very likely below 47, and 47 should be read as a conservative, slightly high estimate of the rent price level rather than a measured rent index. — accessed September 4, 2026
- INE (Statistics Portugal), Estatísticas de Rendas da Habitação ao Nível Local, 1.º trimestre de 2026 (released 26 June 2026): national median new-lease rent EUR 9.46/m2 across 39,395 new contracts, +9.1% y/y; Grande Lisboa EUR 14.38/m2; Madeira EUR 11.97/m2; Península de Setúbal EUR 11.35/m2; Algarve EUR 10.71/m2; Área Metropolitana do Porto EUR 10.13/m2; municipality of Lisboa EUR 17.42/m2, +8.2% y/y. The rent_1bed figures apply those medians to a 60 m2 one-bedroom and convert at 1.1622 USD/EUR. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Eurostat, Annual net earnings (earn_nt_net), Portugal 2025, single person without children at 100% of the average wage: gross EUR 27,768, taxes EUR 3,264.47, employee social security EUR 3,054.48, net EUR 21,449.05. Monthly net EUR 1,787.42 converted at the ECB rate of 1.1622 USD/EUR gives $2,077; monthly gross is EUR 2,314. — accessed September 4, 2026
- European Central Bank, US dollar / Euro daily reference exchange rate, 4 September 2026: 1 EUR = 1.1622 USD (rate used for every conversion on this page) — accessed September 4, 2026
- Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Portuguese visa portal, Means of subsistence for national visas: the 2026 minimum monthly salary is EUR 920 (Decreto Regulamentar n.º 139/2025, de 29 de dezembro), counted at 100% for the applicant, 50% for each additional adult and 30% for each dependent child, so an applicant plus spouse needs EUR 1,380 a month — accessed September 4, 2026
- Eurostat, Monthly minimum wages (earn_mw_cur), Portugal 2026 semester 1: EUR 1,073 on a 12-month basis, equivalent to the statutory retribuição mínima mensal garantida of EUR 920 paid 14 times a year — accessed September 4, 2026
- Eurostat, Electricity prices for household consumers (nrg_pc_204), Portugal, band DC (2,500-4,999 kWh), all taxes and levies included, second half of 2025: EUR 0.2435 per kWh, equal to 28.30 US cents at 1.1622 USD/EUR — accessed September 4, 2026
- Eurostat, Complete energy balances (nrg_bal_c), Portugal final energy consumption in households 2024: electricity 14,767.4 GWh, natural gas 2,964.8 GWh, liquefied petroleum gases 3,458.5 GWh, all products 34,188.0 GWh (the balance is mostly firewood). Divided by the 4,473,300 private households counted in 2024, this is the consumption assumption behind the utilities index: about 275 kWh of electricity, 55 kWh of piped natural gas and 64 kWh of bottled LPG per household per month, in a housing stock that mostly has no central heating. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Basis for utilities_index_vs_us (72): the typical monthly Portuguese household bill for electricity, heating fuels, water, sewerage and refuse, indexed against about $210 a month for the same basket in the United States. Built from Eurostat national accounts (nama_10_co3_p3), Portugal 2022 current prices: EUR 4,947.4 million of household spending on electricity, gas and other fuels (COICOP CP045) and EUR 1,903.3 million on water supply and miscellaneous services relating to the dwelling (CP044). The 2025 HICP item weights put 9.83 of CP044's 11.29 per mille on water supply, sewerage and refuse collection, so EUR 1,657 million of CP044 belongs in this basket and EUR 246 million of condominium and other dwelling services does not. The EUR 6,605 million total over the 4,102,600 households Eurostat counted in 2022 is EUR 134 per household per month; re-priced to 2025 annual-average HICP it is EUR 137 on the 2022 household base and EUR 124 spread over the 4,562,100 households counted in 2025. A bottom-up cross-check on 2024 consumption at second-half-2025 prices (275 kWh of electricity at EUR 0.2435, 55 kWh of piped gas at the band D1 price of EUR 0.1659, about 64 kWh of bottled LPG at an estimated EUR 0.19 per kWh, firewood, and about EUR 36 of water, sewerage and refuse) gives EUR 128. The page takes a central EUR 130 a month, $151 at 1.1622 USD/EUR, so 151/210 = 72. The $210 denominator is this site's standard US monthly household utility basket (electricity, heating fuels, water, sewerage and refuse), applied unchanged on every country page so the utilities index is comparable across countries; for scale, its electricity component alone is about $165 a month on the EIA figures cited below (899 kWh at 18.34 cents). Two components are estimated rather than measured: the bottled-LPG unit price, for which Portugal publishes no official household series, and the choice of household denominator, which is unusually sensitive because Eurostat's household count rose 11% between 2022 and 2025. The honest band is roughly 68 to 76. Portuguese leases do not customarily bundle heating or water, so the whole amount is additional to rent. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Eurostat, HICP item weights (prc_hicp_inw), Portugal 2025, in per mille of household monetary consumption: water supply 5.42, refuse collection 2.04, sewerage collection 2.37, other services relating to the dwelling 1.46 (CP044 total 11.29); electricity, gas and other fuels (CP045) 37.58. Used to separate the water, sewerage and refuse part of the national accounts CP044 aggregate from condominium and other dwelling services. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Eurostat, HICP annual average index (prc_hicp_aind, 2015 = 100), Portugal: water supply and miscellaneous dwelling services (CP044) 111.98 in 2022 and 128.98 in 2025; electricity, gas and other fuels (CP045) 123.11 in 2022 and 120.67 in 2025. Used to re-price the 2022 national accounts utility basket into 2025 money. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Eurostat, Natural gas prices for household consumers (nrg_pc_202), Portugal, band D1 (annual consumption below 20 GJ), all taxes and levies included, second half of 2025: EUR 0.1659 per kWh. Band D1 is the right band here because 55 kWh a month is about 2.4 GJ a year, far below the 20 GJ ceiling. (For reference the other bands in the same release are D2, 20-199 GJ, at EUR 0.1405 and D3, 200 GJ and above, at EUR 0.1204.) — accessed September 4, 2026
- Eurostat, Number of private households (lfst_hhnhtych), Portugal: 4,102,600 in 2022, 4,382,000 in 2023, 4,473,300 in 2024 and 4,562,100 in 2025. The 11% rise over three years, driven by immigration, is why the utilities basket is quoted as a central figure with a band rather than a single per-household number. — accessed September 4, 2026
- US Energy Information Administration, FAQ: average annual electricity purchased by a US residential utility customer was 10,791 kWh in 2022, about 899 kWh per month — accessed September 4, 2026
- US Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A (data for June 2026, released 26 August 2026): US total average residential price of electricity 18.34 cents per kWh — accessed September 4, 2026
- European Commission, Weekly Oil Bulletin price history: Portugal Euro-super 95 including duties and taxes, week of 31 August 2026, EUR 2,013 per 1,000 litres (EUR 2.013 per litre, about $8.85 per US gallon at 1.1622 USD/EUR); automotive diesel EUR 2.029 per litre — accessed September 4, 2026
- Metropolitano de Lisboa, fares: navegante municipal monthly pass EUR 30, navegante metropolitano monthly pass EUR 40 (2026 tariff) — accessed September 4, 2026
- Eurostat, Population on 1 January by age and sex (demo_pjan): Portugal 10,749,635 residents on 1 January 2025 — accessed September 4, 2026
- Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Portuguese visa portal: national residency visa categories and required documentation, including the digital nomad test of four times the minimum guaranteed monthly remuneration over the last three months and the highly qualified thresholds of 1.5 times the average gross salary or three times the IAS (1.2 times or twice for priority sectors) — accessed September 4, 2026
- Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Portuguese visa portal: national visa fee of EUR 110 — accessed September 4, 2026
- AIMA, Autorização de Residência para Investimento (Art. 90.º-A): current qualifying investments (10 jobs, EUR 500,000 research, EUR 250,000 culture, EUR 500,000 non-property collective investment fund with 5-year maturity and 60% in Portuguese-headquartered companies, EUR 500,000 company plus five permanent jobs) and the minimum stay of 7 days in year one and 14 days thereafter — accessed September 4, 2026
- AIMA, Autorização de Residência: regime e requisitos gerais (Art. 77.º, n.º 1): temporary residence permits are valid for two years from issuance and renewable for successive three-year periods, and applicants must show health insurance or SNS cover — accessed September 4, 2026
- AIMA, Tabela de taxas e demais encargos a cobrar pelos procedimentos administrativos (Portaria n.º 307/2023): residence permit processing EUR 133.00 and issuance EUR 114.30; EU Blue Card EUR 169.20 and EUR 160.50; ARI processing EUR 842.80, grant EUR 8,418.90, renewal EUR 4,210.30. Point XIV applies a 25% reduction when the application is submitted through the digital channel. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Diário da República, Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 of 18 May 2026 amending the Nationality Law: Article 6(1)(b) requires seven years of legal residence for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU member states, or ten years for nationals of other countries; Article 7(2) keeps procedures pending at entry into force under the previous text; Article 8 brings the law into force the day after publication (19 May 2026); Article 15(1) counts any period spent legally in Portugal under a visa or residence title — accessed September 4, 2026
- Diário da República, Lei n.º 61/2025 of 22 October 2025, the nineteenth amendment to the foreigners law (Lei n.º 23/2007): it rewrote Article 98, which now requires the sponsor to hold a residence permit valid for at least two years before family reunification with relatives abroad, reduced to 15 months for a qualifying spouse, with exemptions for dependent minors and for holders of permits under Articles 90, 90.º-A (golden visa) and 121.º-A (EU Blue Card). The manifestação de interesse in Articles 88(2) and 89(2) had already been repealed by Decreto-Lei n.º 37-A/2024 of 3 June 2024. — accessed September 4, 2026
- Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, Código do IRS (Article 16 sets the 183-day and habitual residence tests for Portuguese tax residency) — accessed September 4, 2026
- Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, Código do IVA (standard rate 23% on the mainland, with reduced regional rates for Madeira and the Azores) — accessed September 4, 2026
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Portugal individual taxes on personal income (2026 tax year, reviewed 24 July 2026): progressive scale from 12.50% to a top marginal 48% above EUR 86,634, plus an additional solidarity rate of 2.5% above EUR 80,000 and 5% above EUR 250,000; non-residents taxed at a flat 25% on employment income — accessed September 4, 2026
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Portugal individual other taxes: employee social security 11% and employer 23.75%; self-employed 21.4%; VAT standard rate 23% mainland, 22% Madeira, 16% Azores — accessed September 4, 2026
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Portugal individual other tax credits and incentives: the NHR regime was revoked with effect from 1 January 2024; the IFICI regime gives a special 20% rate on Portuguese employment and business income for ten years and exempts foreign-source income with the express exception of pension income and income from blacklisted jurisdictions — accessed September 4, 2026
- IRS, Portugal tax treaty documents (US-Portugal income tax convention, 1994, with 1999 technical explanation) — accessed September 4, 2026
- IRS, Figuring the foreign earned income exclusion: maximum exclusion of $130,000 for 2025 and $132,900 for 2026 — accessed September 4, 2026
- Social Security Administration, POMS GN 01727.001, Overview of the Totalization Agreement with Portugal: effective 1 August 1989 — accessed September 4, 2026
- Serviço Nacional de Saúde: the SNS is universal and general, covering all citizens regardless of economic or social status, plus foreign residents — accessed September 4, 2026
- Entidade Reguladora da Saúde, FAQ on foreign citizens' access to SNS care: holders of a valid residence permit receive a full registration in the Registo Nacional de Utentes and a national user number with costs borne by the SNS; people without a permit who prove more than 90 days of residence via a junta de freguesia declaration receive a partial registration giving urgent and vital care at SNS expense but no family doctor — accessed September 4, 2026
- Decreto-Lei n.º 37/2022, de 27 de maio (Diário da República, 1.ª série, N.º 103), published by ACSS: taxas moderadoras are now charged only in hospital emergency services, and are waived where the SNS made the referral or the episode results in inpatient admission — accessed September 4, 2026
- Médis (Ageas Portugal), published starting prices for individual health cover: Seguro de Saúde Médis from EUR 13.12 per month, Seguro de Saúde Vintage from EUR 49.20 per month, family cover from EUR 40.23 per month. The typical_private_insurance_usd_month figure of $75 is an indicative mid-range individual premium (about EUR 65) rather than an official statistic. — accessed September 4, 2026