Cost of living and working in Portugal

cost of living and working in portugal

You’ve been dreaming of living and working in Portugal for a very long time? Do you want to work in an international environment while enjoying all the beautiful things Portugal has to offer in your spare time? Sounds like a real Portuguese dream, right? 😜 And we can definitely confirm this: living and working in Portugal is great! And it gets even more beautiful because Portugal’s cost of living is still one of the lowest in Europe even though it’s gotten more expensive in the last few years.

Living and working in Portugal: how expensive is it?

Let’s see what the average prices are in Portugal. Like, how much does dinner cost in Portugal? How much do you spend on the rent of your apartment? How much money do you need for your weekly shopping in Portugal? Are you curious about the prices in Portugal? Then keep reading as we break out the average prices of food, restaurants, drinks, and accommodations.

Renting an apartment in Portugal: how much is it?

Living and working in Portugal has many advantages. First of all, you can enjoy a high standard of living and a low cost of living! Indeed, you can have a very nice life in Portugal from just 750-1000€ per month! Renting an apartment in Portugal is therefore fairly cheap: if you decide to live in Porto or Coimbra, you will only spend about 400€ per month on your apartment.
Would you rather live in the great capital of Portugal? That won’t be too expensive either, you can rent a one-bedroom apartment here for only €650 per month. And if you would like to live in a shared apartment – the easiest way to meet people when you arrive in a new country – you can expect to pay around 350€ for a room. In a number of villages in Portugal, you can even buy a house for the price of a new car!

Grocery shopping in Portugal

Going grocery shopping has never been better than when you live in Portugal! The prices are pretty low and if you decide to live like a local then you won’t spend much on food. The basics: fruits, vegetables, and bread are cheap in the Portuguese mercados. Meat can get quite expensive though with 12€/kg. Wine and beers are quite inexpensive: 4€ for a bottle of wine and between 1 to 2€ for a famous bottle of beer.
Many Portuguese also get their groceries at the open market in Portugal. You will find a market in almost every town and village where you have the opportunity to buy regional products at low prices. Check out the local markets Mercado do Campo de Oourique and Mercado da Ribeira in Lisbon. We bet you will never get enough of the Portuguese food when living and working in Portugal

Living and working in Portugal: a nice evening out

Are you a real party animal and do you like to go wild every now and then in a nightclub? 💃 Then you are in the right place in Portugal, because the Portuguese are always up for a good party! Bars and nightclubs can be found everywhere in Portugal. In Lisbon, you have free entry to most nightclubs on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Also, good tips: you can enter almost all clubs for free until 01:00, and there are some special theme nights where the entrance is free. Honestly, living and working in Portugal is just one big party when you think about it! 🥳

And if you’re ever wondering about how to get home after a few (or many) drinks when living and working in Portugal, a taxi is only 0,7€/km so you can get home safely for cheap.

Drinks in Portugal

Apart from cheap beers and wine, you can also enjoy some nice cocktails in Portugal. Cocktails are a big thing in Portugal. In Lisbon, they even introduced the Lisbon Cocktail Week, which takes place from April 22 to May 1. During that week you can drink two cocktails for the price of one in different places in Lisbon! In Portugal, you can get a cheap cocktail for 6€, but you can also order expensive cocktails for €24! So you can decide how fancy a night you want to have!
Local tips: The Algarve is the cheapest for a nice glass of wine: it’s only 1,20€ for a glass. Order a local beer and you won’t pay more than 1,80€ for a pint! 🍺

Living and working in Portugal: the price of eating out

We all love going out for dinner, right? Eating in a restaurant in Portugal is actually not that much more expensive than cooking yourself. A three-course meal for 2 people in an average restaurant costs about 30€.
Our little advice? Order the prato do dia in a local Portuguese restaurant and you will pay less than 8€ for a typical and delicious meal! Usually, you can add a drink and a dessert and the bill won’t be more than 10€. In Portugal, it is customary to tip at checkout. Most people tip about 10% of the bill.
For the fast-food lovers, a McMeal at Mcdonalds or a combo meal at BurgerKing cost only 6€ when you live in Portugal. Do you want to know something even nicer? a cheeseburger is only 1,80€! The perfect deal when you’re hungover or when you’re on your way home early in the morning from a night out! 🍻

If you don’t already have a job abroad and are dying to try the Portuguese way of life, then have a look at our vacancies and apply! You could be taking the first step to live the best experience of your life (no pressure 😜)