Back when we finally decided we wanted to put down roots in Portugal, a lot of questions came to mind. Like, what will this actually cost? Spoiler: furnishing a new home in a new country cost a LOT more than I expected.

We wondered about many things. Will our kids love it or hate it? What expenses should we plan for before, during, and after the move? Will we be able to learn Portuguese? 

Now that we’re fully settled and unpacked, our house is furnished, and all five kids are in school, we can look back and say it was all worth it. But figuring out the average cost of living in Portugal wasn’t easy — which is exactly why I’ve put together this guide, mom to mom (or parent to parent), to help you get a real feel for what living in Portugal as an expat actually costs.

HUGE DISCLAIMER:  Cost of living is as personal as music tastes!  Each family has a different tolerance for standard of living, eating out, the cars they drive, etc.  There is no “blanket answer” to what it will cost to live in Portugal as it is so personal.  However, I find it helpful to know some points of reference.  You’ll need to extrapolate what it all means for your family.  

Spoiler: we like nice things and spend a lot more than you need to for an enjoyable life in Portugal.

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Our Experience Affording to Live in Portugal

One of the reasons why we decided Portugal was the place for us was because of the lower cost of living, the weather, the scenery, the culture, the healthcare system… I could go on and on about our long list of reasons why we love it here so much! Having such a big family ourselves, we wanted to give our kids a different kind of life and the opportunity to learn from many different cultures along the way.

So, before we fully dive into the finances, I’ll walk you through the essentials — from housing and groceries to schools in Portugal (public and private). Whether your budget is small or “the limit does not exist,” this guide will give you a clearer picture of how much it costs to live in Portugal with kids.

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Is Portugal Expensive? Cost of Living Compared to the U.S.

Among many of the reasons why we chose to live in Portugal, one of the biggest was that it is great for fulfilling the lifestyle we were looking for, as it is consistently ranked as one of the most affordable countries for expats and digital nomads to live in. So if you’re looking to live a comfortable, tranquil, and family-friendly life abroad, Portugal is definitely worth considering!

Why is it so affordable? Minimum wage here is only about 780€ per month. Yep, that’s for full-time work. It is really hard to earn a good living in Portugal.  In fact, most of the working class generation has moved outside of Portugal to find better salaries. The government is trying to incentivize nationals to come back, but, in the meantime, the Portuguese cannot afford the cost of living of the US, for example.

While I genuinely ache for those I know here that make so very little, I do like that we are using our money earned elsewhere to contribute here. On the flip side, real estate has exploded, in part from expats. This is a constant bitter balance for the Portuguese.

If we compare Portugal to other European countries like the UK, Germany or France, Portugal is far more budget-friendly. When it comes to living expenses like housing, groceries, healthcare, and utilities, it is also a winner. However, whether it feels expensive or not will highly depend on your lifestyle, income level, and spending habits — so your experience may vary.

An average annual American income, in 2025, is around $61,984, whereas, an average Portuguese annual income is just about $28,189.01. While this is just the median of what an average person makes — it does give us an idea of how far your money can go and what you’d need to live comfortably in Portugal as an expat.

Now that we know the average individual income in Portugal vs the U.S., what does it cost for a family of four? The median cost of living in Portugal is about $4,532.36 per month, including rent and around $2,669.56 without it. Let’s say you are considering buying a property in cash. This is difficult in Lisbon but achievable for many outside the large cities. Cost of living, of course, depends on your city, housing choices, and school preferences! Big cities like Lisbon and Cascais tend to be more expensive, while smaller towns or inland areas like Braga or Coimbra can be significantly more affordable.

We live in Lisbon, but I’ve been told that about an hour away from me you can now buy a small property for $50,000.  If you are OK to commute or live outside the city, you really can consider buying something.  I have not verified this, but I’ve seen properties around 100-200K often.

When we were in the U.S., we were spending over $4,000 per month (BIG family, remember) on groceries and another $1,500+ on childcare. In Portugal, groceries and childcare costs are nearly half those prices — and in some cases, much less.

Renting vs Buying in Portugal: What Expats Should Know

Should you rent or buy when you move to Portugal? Easy answer: it depends. All families are different; they come in different shapes and sizes! For example, my family has seven members in total.  We also work from home (both my husband and I) and want home offices.  Your family might be bigger or smaller, and this completely changes your housing needs vs my housing needs. This is why, for this post, I will be doing it as what it’d be like for an American family of four living in Portugal.  The good ol’ two parents, two kids scenario!

Take into consideration: what are you looking for? Do you want to take your time and find the ideal house for your family? Maybe renting an AirBnB or using Expedia (it also has rental houses as an option,) like we did initially, would work while you find the house of your dreams. 

Are you looking for something with a backyard or a house you can flip? Buying is the best option. Just know real estate in Portugal is a whole different ballgame.  There are very few regulations, real estate agents answer to no-one except their client, and deals are difficult to get done.

When finding a place to live, you should consider things like how many rooms you need, if you need an office, or even if you’d like to live inside the city or on the outskirts! These things can significantly lower or raise the cost of housing in Portugal you’re looking for. So, all things said, let’s go one by one with your options.

Our Experience Renting A House in Portugal

We rented an Airbnb in an area of Lison, Setubal, that we were considering, while we looked at rental houses.  This accomplished two things at the same time: it gave us somewhere to land and helped us eliminate this area off our list!  Setubal is beautiful but too far from the city for us.

If you’ve tried to reach out to real estate agents (the most common site is Idealista) and you aren’t getting a great response, you are not alone.  We couldn’t get anyone to pay attention to us before we were actually physically in Portugal.  You can read about how we got around the visa issue here.

We looked at around 10 homes in total and went with the first one.  We got very lucky – it was the first day it opened for viewing, and she had an offer for $1000 more per month the next day!  However, Portuguese often lead with their heart, and our landlord picked us and our family.  

She was there (the landlord often is!) when we toured and gave us a personal tour.  She also helped us set up our utilities, our mobile phone, and much more.  She has become a friend to us!  I do not expect this to be the experience of everyone, but the experience of renting in Portugal is much more “personal” than in the US.  We had other friends who also were invited to their landlord’s house for dinner.  Considering I’ve never even met the renters we have in our US house, this is so different!

Renting in Portugal as Americans

Some people like to buy and be owners, but other people like to rent because of the flexibility it brings. Nonetheless, it really does depend on your plans for the future. You’ll want to consider, for example, if you plan to stay a long time or if you plan to move to another city or even country. If you like to rent, here’s some info that might help you get an idea of the cost of renting a house or apartment in Portugal.

The average cost of renting a three-bedroom apartment in Portugal, in a big city (like Lisbon or Porto), can range from $1,050 to $1,700 per month according to Numbeo.com. But if you’re looking for something cheaper, outside the major cities, the average price is around $1,300/mo for a three-bedroom apartment. You can also find apartments for $400-500/mo. Price differences depend on the apartment conditions, how updated it is, location, and proximity to schools, markets, or neighborhoods.

Buying a Property in Portugal

If you’re looking to stay in Portugal for the long run, you might be interested in buying a house or an apartment here!  We were too nervous to buy a house (we wanted to make sure we liked the area and our house needs put us in a VERY high price range with a large cash down payment).  Know that you need to plan to have 30% in cash to buy a house.  The minimum down payment is 20%, maybe more for expats, and closing costs and taxes come in around 10%.

The cost of buying a house really depends on where you are planning to live. On average, the price per square meter for an apartment in a city is around $3,000. And outside the city the average is $2,000. So, what does this mean?

• In Lisbon, for a three-bedroom apartment, you could easily pay around €500,000 to over €1 million depending on the area and facilities.

• In smaller cities, you can find cheaper homes under €300,000 (if you’re a fixer-upper this can be a great option for you). Also, these homes sometimes tend to have way more space!

Now that we’ve covered the basics of housing, let’s move on to the day-to-day expenses — the ones that really add up and shape what life in Portugal actually feels like. 

How Much Are Utilities and Basic Expenses in Portugal? A Family’s Monthly Breakdown

When budgeting for your new life in Portugal, it’s very important that you consider your basics! Whether it’s just you or you have a large crew (like ours), your monthly bills will definitely vary. Keep in mind that costs can also shift depending on the season and where you live — because, of course, everything from heating to fresh produce has its own changes.

Take note that electricity in Portugal (and maybe all of Europe) is much more expensive than in the US.  You’ll notice all Europeans are energy conscious (constantly unplugging appliances, turning off lights, etc).  I used to think this is because they are so much more earth conscious than the US, which they are, but it’s also due to the price!!  If we have one bad month of us using a lot of appliances, heaters, etc, our energy bill can soar to €1K or more!  On our best months, we still pay at least €250.  However, we are a big house with a lot of folks.  Not only are we seven, but we now have another young adult with us and have a Ukrainian family living with us.  That’s 11 folks in total.  We also are willing to pay some extra to use a clothes dryer, which most apartments don’t even have.

For a better example for a family of four, you can expect:

Weather in Portugal is not that extreme. However, you’ll find that during summer your electricity bill might go up a bit (to cool down) as well as during winter to keep your house warm. Same goes with your water and gas bill! A family of two will obviously spend way less than a family of four or a family of seven (that, I know perfectly). 

Also, when it comes to internet, TV and phone, cost changes depending on how much you need that service.  A person who commutes to work in an office will have different internet needs than someone who works from home. Based on this, this price might increase or decrease.   We have unlimited data on our 4 phone lines, a mobile hotspot (also unlimited), the top speed of wifi in our home, and TV – all for around €450/mo.

Other factors to consider for the cost of utilities are the location of your house and whether your house is old or new. The energy efficiency of a house built in the 1990s (ours was built in the 80s!) won’t be the same as one built in 2025. So keeping this in mind will help you get a rough estimate of what basic expenses cost in Portugal.

Grocery Shopping in Portugal: What a Family of Four Really Spends

Now, when it comes to food, that’s a whole different topic. This, apart from depending on your family size, also varies depending on your families eating habits (like if you like to have snacks, or if you’re vegetarian, etc.). You’ll need to consider if you like to eat mostly at home or you’d rather always order your food or eat out. So what’s the average food cost for families in Portugal?

On average, a family of four will spend from  $113 to $160 weekly on groceries according to some people on Facebook. An American family will spend from $250 to up to $400 weekly. This makes a HUGE difference! 

We tend to spend about €400-600 per week in Portugal, but we are feeding a lot of people.  Not only are we 8+, but we regularly entertain groups of 15-20 (average once a week).  Due to poor earning potential, we love to feed others.  We can afford to invest into food and share.  I love a full dinner table!  I’m also not going for the cheapest option on food (we indulge in some foreign foods, drinks like kombucha and sparkling water, and US snacks).

Of course, this will vary, and you should consider the following:

1. Types of Grocery Stores: There are many options you will find around and of course all supermarkets in Portugal have their ups and downs and some are even tailored to certain sectors. For example, Lidl and Aldi are great options for lower prices while Continente has a bigger range of goods and a variety of prices.  I’m nearly 100% Continente due to their mobile ordering and delivery!
   
2. Farmer’s Markets and Local Shops: We love visiting farmer’s markets. It’s a great way to meet our community, shop local, and also to find the best prices (and even nicer fruits and veggies!). Depending on the season, you’ll find incredible products, but the best part of this option is, most times, you’ll get better food quality too!
   
3. Imported vs Local Products: Being expats, we sometimes miss some food that you can only get in the U.S. However, beware! If you find items that are hard to find here, your food cost might be affected by these products. So my tip would be to bring some of the food from the U.S. you can’t live without or find an alternative product that will help reduce your expenses.  We travel back and forth enough that we bring 1-3 suitcases of our favorites each time.  These include fruit snacks, beef jerky, Chick-fil-a sauce, enchilada sauce, corn tortillas, etc.

How Much Do Extras Cost in Portugal? From Travel to Movie Tickets

Life in Portugal with kids is full of experiences, and sometimes these experiences come out as “extras” — the fun (and sometimes unexpected) expenses. Since our family likes to travel, we spend money on short trips, birthdays, new clothes (who knew kids grow so fast?)…it all adds up. But luckily, the cost of entertainment and overall lifestyle in Portugal tends to be more affordable than in the U.S.

Among those expenses, there is great public transportation in Portugal, which can be budget-friendly. No matter if you work from home or have to commute every day to work, transportation is essential. If you don’t own a car, you’ll probably want to own a public transport pass, which can cost you around €20 to €60. Good news: students are now free!

If you own a car, the average gas price per liter is $1.91, and let’s not forget about toll roads which cost from €23 to €25 for cars!

Circling back to entertainment in Portugal, movie tickets are about €6–€8, and eating out as a family can cost much less than in the States — unless you have three teenage boys who are hungry most of the time. Adding up expenses for a family of four in Portugal can cost, just for leisure, about €400.

Kids Extracurriculars in Portugal

Overall, extracurricular activities are more affordable in Portugal than in the US.  Most sports are around €30-50 per month, be it swimming or dance.  International schools can drive these prices up, but check out the local gyms or facilities around your home.

Some other examples from our family: a month of surf lessons with wetsuit included can range around €120/mo.  We pay €225/mo for four kids to go to jui jitzu (unlimited lessons).  We have a private piano tutor (English speaking) that comes to our house for all five kids each week that costs €45/hr.  

School Costs in Portugal: Public vs Private in 2025

Last but not least, school is a whole topic when it comes to the cost of education in Portugal. Trust me, with 5 kids living under my roof, I know a lot about this topic! And it all comes down to what’s best for you, as it all has its pros and cons when we talk about schools. Here’s what you should know:

• Public Schools: As in pretty much every country that I know of, public schools in Portugal are free. They might have some small fees every now and then for books or materials your kids might need for class. The only downside I found is that if your kids don’t know the language yet they should start learning it as most of these schools are only in Portuguese.  Classes are offered to help learn Portuguese, but it will take 1-2 years to really catch up.  Older kids can struggle. 
  
• Private/International Schools: Some private and international schools teach in English. I love this option because your kids can take the time to learn Portuguese while not getting behind in school. The only downside would be that you’d have to pay for this type of education, and prices can range up to €10,000+ per year per child.

We went for a Portuguese private school so the kids would learn the language, but the school is a bit more “American” than a private school.  As of next year, three of our older kids will be out of this school and into English speaking international school.  The youngest two had the easiest time with Portuguese and will likely continue through 9th grade in Portuguese.  They were 4 and 6 when we arrived.

We pay around €600/mo per child for private schooling, plus more for transport, lunch, activities, uniforms, etc.

• Preschool and Daycare: This option is for the smallest ones, and you have choices of free and pay options. However, the free daycare program does not apply to every kid. This program includes educational activities, food, registration, and insurance costs for your kids. 

Taking all of these options into account, you should still keep in mind that education, no matter if it’s free, comes with other expenses such as school supplies, uniforms, transportation, meals and any extracurricular activities that the school offers.

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Before I wrap up, I’d like to give an enormous shout out to all my expat Facebook groups as they were extremely helpful when gathering information and different ideas to give you a close look into what living in Portugal has been for so many of us!

Was it easy for us to understand all the expenses? No – at first we had to figure it out as we navigated our life here. But now it’s so much easier (and affordable!). The quality of life Portugal offers is like no other: it’s safe, the weather is really nice, and the overall scenery of this country makes it really feel worth it that we decided to take a leap and move here. All things said, if you’re looking to upgrade your family’s lifestyle without draining your wallet, considering moving out of your comfort zone and into Portugal would be a great idea.

Additional Readings

Moving Your Family to Portugal from the United States: What to Know

How To Find A Rental Home In Portugal: What To Look For And What To Avoid

Getting Your Kids Into School in Portugal