---
title: "Cost of Living: Lisbon vs Copenhagen — Geo-Parity"
description: "Denmark is 80% more expensive than Portugal for monthly essentials ($2,545 vs $1,414). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/denmark-vs-portugal/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=PT&target=DK"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · PT vs DK

# 🇵🇹 Lisbon vs 🇩🇰 Copenhagen: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$1,414** in Portugal vs **$2,545** in Denmark — 80% more expensive.

- **Essentials, Portugal**: $1,414/mo
- **Essentials, Denmark**: $2,545/mo
- **Difference**: +80%
- **1-bed city rent, Denmark**: $1,861/mo

## Biggest differences

Smallest premium in Denmark

- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: +21%
- Jeans (mid-range brand): +21%
- Running shoes (brand): +21%

Pricier in Denmark

- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: +95%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: +95%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: +95%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | Portugal | Denmark | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $955 | $1,861 (12,325 DKK) | +95% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $764 | $1,489 (9,860 DKK) | +95% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $1,747 | $3,403 (22,537 DKK) | +95% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $11.19 | $18.89 (125 DKK) | +69% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $46.62 | $78.72 (521 DKK) | +69% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $7.14 | $11.50 (76 DKK) | +61% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $0.78 | $1.14 (8 DKK) | +46% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $2.26 | $3.31 (22 DKK) | +46% |
| Eggs, dozen | $2.41 | $3.52 (23 DKK) | +46% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $7.08 | $10.36 (69 DKK) | +46% |
| White rice, 1kg | $2.83 | $4.14 (27 DKK) | +46% |
| Apples, 1kg | $3.40 | $4.97 (33 DKK) | +46% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $8.49 | $12.43 (82 DKK) | +46% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.42 | $2.07 (14 DKK) | +46% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $3.73 | $6.30 (42 DKK) | +69% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $6.73 | $8.14 (54 DKK) | +21% |
| Cappuccino | $3.11 | $5.25 (35 DKK) | +69% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $1.63 | $2.38 (16 DKK) | +46% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $42.19 | $67.93 (450 DKK) | +61% |
| Public transport, one-way | $1.78 | $2.87 (19 DKK) | +61% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $2.49 | $4.20 (28 DKK) | +69% |
| Taxi, per km | $1.12 | $1.89 (13 DKK) | +69% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.80 | $0.97 (6 DKK) | +21% |
| Utilities & comms |  |  |  |
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $130 | $209 (1,384 DKK) | +61% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $45.43 | $73.15 (484 DKK) | +61% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $29.21 | $47.03 (311 DKK) | +61% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $31.08 | $52.48 (348 DKK) | +69% |
| Cinema seat | $8.70 | $14.69 (97 DKK) | +69% |
| Men's haircut | $18.65 | $31.49 (209 DKK) | +69% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $46.27 | $55.98 (371 DKK) | +21% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $75.71 | $91.60 (607 DKK) | +21% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $155 | $262 (1,738 DKK) | +69% |

Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the [interactive tool](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=prices&base=PT&target=DK).

## Beyond prices

What each place pays, charges and offers — wages, rent, healthcare, climate, risk and time off. Figures come from the same engines behind the individual tools, so they match what those pages say. They sit about **2,472 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 🇩🇰 Denmark |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $2,073 | $4,980 |
| Rent, 1-bed Monthly, USD. | $619 | $1,545 |
| Rent as % of a local wage Are locals priced out? | 29.8% | 31% |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $838 | $935 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 5.8 | 4.5 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Lisbon and Copenhagen. | 130 | 66 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | strong | very strong |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 1.9 (very low) | 1.4 (very low) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 13 + 3 regional | 10 |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 6.5 | 7.9 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 82.4 | 82.3 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 0.7 | 0.8 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 88.5% | 99.8% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 257.5 | 263.5 |

## Cheap for you, or cheap for everyone?

Rent measured twice: against a $6,000/month remote income, and against what people actually earn locally. The gap between the two is the arbitrage — and it is the reason somewhere can be affordable to you and unaffordable to a local at once.

🇵🇹 Portugal

19.5 pts

10.3% of your income vs 29.8% of a local wage

🇩🇰 Denmark

5.2 pts

25.8% of your income vs 31% of a local wage

Worked at $6,000/month. [Run it on your own income](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=housing)

## The whole Portugal → Denmark move, in one place

Everything above is free and always will be. The relocation report is the same engines run together for this one corridor: what you keep after rent, prices, healthcare and tax; the local wage ladder you would be earning against; which visas your income qualifies for; the day count that makes you tax-resident; and the months worth being there for.

[See the Portugal → Denmark report — £7](https://geo-parity.com/report/portugal-to-denmark/) One-off. No subscription. Free preview first.

## Related

- [Reverse view: Denmark vs Portugal](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/denmark-vs-portugal/)
- [Fair salary: Portugal → Denmark](https://geo-parity.com/salary/portugal-to-denmark/)
- [How much to retire in Denmark?](https://geo-parity.com/fire/denmark/)
- [Cost of living in Denmark vs the US](https://geo-parity.com/ppp/denmark/)

## More comparisons

### Portugal compared with

- [Portugal vs Switzerland](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/portugal-vs-switzerland/)
- [Portugal vs Australia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/portugal-vs-australia/)
- [Portugal vs United Kingdom](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/portugal-vs-united-kingdom/)
- [Portugal vs Norway](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/portugal-vs-norway/)
- [Portugal vs New Zealand](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/portugal-vs-new-zealand/)
- [Portugal vs Sweden](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/portugal-vs-sweden/)

### Moving to Denmark from

- [Japan vs Denmark](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/japan-vs-denmark/)
- [Spain vs Denmark](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/spain-vs-denmark/)
- [Italy vs Denmark](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/italy-vs-denmark/)
- [Singapore vs Denmark](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/singapore-vs-denmark/)
- [Greece vs Denmark](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/greece-vs-denmark/)
- [Czechia vs Denmark](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/czechia-vs-denmark/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much more expensive is Denmark than Portugal?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $2,545 in Denmark versus $1,414 in Portugal — 80% more. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- **What does a beer cost in Denmark?**: A domestic draught pint is roughly $6.30 in Denmark (≈ 41.72 DKK), versus about $3.73 in Portugal.
- **How much is rent in Denmark compared to Portugal?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $1,861/month in Denmark versus $955/month in Portugal (+95%). Housing is the most locally-priced item in the basket.
- **How are these prices estimated?**: Curated US baseline prices scaled by each country's purchasing-power price level with per-item elasticities (housing 1.4, services 1.1, groceries 0.8, world-priced goods 0.4) — model estimates for orientation, not quotes.

Model estimates — verify locally. Agents: GET /api/micro-costs.json?base=PT&target=DK.

---

Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/denmark-vs-portugal/ · JSON: https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=PT&target=DK