When you are moving to Portugal, you need to make sure you can get an idea of how much you will need to maintain your life here.
To help you with this, we offer our annual Cost of Living Survey, comparing costs in Portugal with the UK. We used the exchange rate on 30th March 2022 GBP/EUR: 1.18.
Find homes in Portugal via our property portal.
While some imported and less traditionally “Portuguese” items are more expensive here, the overall cost of food, running a home and getting around the country is very reasonable.
As you would expect from Portugal, known for its quality of life and cost-effective lifestyle, a significant proportion of regular items are cheaper in Portugal than in the UK. While some imported and less traditionally “Portuguese” items are more expensive here, the overall cost of food, running a home and getting around the country is very reasonable, all adding to the country’s appeal for expats and holiday home owners.
| Products and services | Cost in UK (£)* | Cost in Portugal (£)** | Is Portugal more of less expensive than the UK? |
| In the supermarket | |||
| Large, wholemeal sliced loaf of bread | 1.10 | 1.26 | 15% |
| 250g pack of butter | 1.50 | 1.18 | -21% |
| 2 pints of milk / 1 litre milk | 0.80 | 0.39 | -51% |
| 6 eggs, large free range | 1.00 | 0.72 | -28% |
| Iceberg lettuce | 0.70 | 1.02 | 45% |
| Teabags (per 100) | 2.50 | 6.33 | 153% |
| Fresh pineapple (whole) | 1.00 | 1.71 | 71% |
| Fresh tomatoes | 2.50 | 1.43 | -43% |
| Fresh chicken for roasting (regular, bog standard) | 3.40 | 1.97 | -42% |
| Fresh chicken for roasting (free-range and organic or corn-fed) | 7.50 | 3.44 | -54% |
| Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream | 4.20 | 5.75 | 37% |
| fresh white fish, cod type. | 13.50 | 12.37 | -8% |
| Jar of mayonnaise, Helman’s type | 2.50 | 2.97 | 19% |
| Heinz cream of tomato soup | 0.95 | 2.42 | 154% |
| 2 litre Coca-cola zero | 1.95 | 1.69 | -13% |
| Bottle of whisky (blended, Bell’s/famous grouse type) | 15.00 | 14.06 | -6% |
| Dark chocolate bar | 2.00 | 2.19 | 10% |
| Complete dog food, Bakers type of quality | 10.00 | 11.76 | 18% |
| Laundry detergent (40 washes) | 4.50 | 8.92 | 98% |
| Kitchen roll, 4-pack | 2.20 | 1.43 | -35% |
| Travel | |||
| 1 litre petrol (unleaded) | 1.30 | 1.47 | 13% |
| Car hire, small car, 1 week | 124.00 | 94.49 | -24% |
| Return train fare, London to Brighton equivalent (about one hour), off peak, adult, booked that morning. | 26.00 | 3.81 | -85% |
| Car tax, electric/hybrid, 1 year | 140.00 | 642.37 | 359% |
| In the home*** | |||
| Paying a domestic cleaner – per hour | 12.50 | 9.32 | -25% |
| 2.5 litre white Dulux emulsion, or equivalent | 14.00 | 14.40 | 3% |
| Ikea “Billy” bookcase. | 35.00 | 33.05 | -6% |
| Samsung TV, 55” | 549.00 | 677.12 | 23% |
| Alexa echo dot (if available) | 35.00 | 50.84 | 45% |
| Home internet cost – broadband, home only, no TV package, no data limit, (one year contract) | 15.00 | 24.57 | 64% |
| Leisure | |||
| Medium cappuccino in local independent coffee shop | 2.80 | 1.02 | -64% |
| 500ml Bottle of coke zero from local shop | 1.50 | 1.27 | -15% |
| pain au chocolat in coffee shops in local independent coffee shop | 1.90 | 1.06 | -44% |
| Big Mac/quarter pounder cheeseburger | 3.09 | 3.39 | 10% |
| 2nd cheapest bottle of red wine in local mid-range restaurant | 17.95 | 8.47 | -53% |
| Half litre draft beer in bar | 2.20 | 1.27 | -42% |
| Three course meal in local mid-range restaurant (not including drinks) | 27.00 | 15.25 | -44% |
| Percentage tip you would add (or would be added) for meal (above) | 3.00 | 1.53 | -49% |
| Cinema ticket | 11.00 | 5.97 | -46% |
| Spotify Premium subscription, per month | 10.00 | 5.92 | -41% |
| daily Newspaper (equivalent to Times) | 1.80 | 1.10 | -39% |
| Women’s Running shoes, mid-range, from proper sports shop | 105.00 | 101.69 | -3% |
| Paperback fiction book | 9.00 | 10.17 | 13% |
| SuperMario Kart (latest version, download version), on Nintendo Switch | 43.00 | 50.84 | 18% |
| Healthcare | |||
| Dentist – basic check up, no other work | 22.70 | 16.95 | -25% |
| 16 paracetamol tablets – generic, the cheapest available | 0.68 | 0.85 | 25% |
| Prescription charge (working person) | 9.00 | 3.81 | -58% |
| Children | |||
| Nappies, medium-sized, pampers-type | 0.10 | 0.13 | 27% |
| Children’s swim at local pool | 3.00 | 2.54 | -15% |
| Other | |||
| Women’s jeans – mid- range, Zara or equivalent | 26.00 | 25.38 | -2% |
| One midweek night in a mid-range city hotel, Premier Inn/Ibis equivalent | 72.00 | 70.34 | -2% |
| Men’s haircut, old fashioned type barber | 12.00 | 8.47 | -29% |
*Portugal grocery prices from continente.pt , other costs from personal expat experience
** prices from Tesco.com, 30th March 2022
*** Housing costs are very subjective depending on usage etc.
