Cost of Living: Porto 🇵🇹vs. San Francisco 🇺🇸(Updated 2025)

If you're thinking about moving to Portugal or the United States , understanding the cost of living is an essential step in planning. For this guide, we used updated data from Numbeo (August 2025) to compare two very different, but highly attractive cities: Porto and San Francisco, CA.

The result? Living in San Francisco can cost up to twice as much (or more!) as in Porto, depending on the category analyzed. Let's look at the numbers.

📊 General Comparison

• Cost of living (excluding rent):
  San Francisco is 96.4% more expensive than Porto.

• Cost of living (including rent):
  San Francisco is 118.7% more expensive than Porto.

• Rent:
  San Francisco is a staggering 164.3% more expensive .

• Restaurants:
  Eating out costs an average of 129.1% more in San Francisco.

• Supermarket:
  Prices are 122.6% higher in San Francisco.

• Local purchasing power:
  Despite the high cost of living, those living in San Francisco have 156.1% more purchasing power than in Porto, thanks to higher wages.

💡 Practical example:
To maintain the same standard of living you would have with €3,900 in Porto , you would need approximately €8,530 in San Francisco .

🍽️ Food and Restaurants

• Simple meal: €10 in Porto vs. €25.62 in San Francisco (+156%)

• Meal for 2 in an average restaurant: €50 vs €119.57 (+139%)

• Cappuccino: €1.88 vs €5.16 (+174%)

Result: Eating out in San Francisco costs more than double.

🛒 Supermarket

• 1kg of rice: €1.41 in Porto vs €5.65 in San Francisco (+300%)

• 1kg of apples: €1.92 vs €6.09 (+217%)

• Bread (500g): €1.32 vs €4.42 (+236%)

• Medium bottle of wine: €4.35 vs €15.37 (+254%)

👉 Even basic everyday items are much more expensive in San Francisco.

🚇 Transportation

• Monthly pass: €40 in Porto vs. €79 in San Francisco (+97%)

• Taxi fare per 1 km: €0.70 vs €1.72 (+146%)

• Gasoline: €1.74 in Porto vs. €1.10 in San Francisco (-36%)

Interesting fact: gasoline is cheaper in the US , but public transportation is still almost twice as expensive.

🏠 Housing

• One-bedroom apartment (city center): €1,028 in Porto vs. €2,880 in San Francisco (+180%)

• 3-bedroom apartment (outside the city center): €1,415 vs €3,816 (+170%)

• Price per m² (city center): €3,993 vs €9,389 (+135%)

👉 Living in San Francisco is one of the most expensive parts of the equation.

💼 Salaries

• Average net salary in Porto: €1,133

• Average net salary in San Francisco: €6,347 (+460%)

Although expenses are much higher in San Francisco, salaries are also significantly higher.

🎯 Conclusion

• Porto offers a much more affordable cost of living, especially in terms of food, rent, and services.

• San Francisco has higher salaries and greater purchasing power, but living there requires a much more substantial budget.

👉 For those seeking quality of life at a lower cost , Porto is an excellent option.
👉 For those seeking high salaries and opportunities in the technology sector , San Francisco remains attractive, but with prices that can be quite high.

Read also: Comparison Lisbon Vs. Austin, TX .