# Cambridge vs Porto

> On balanced weights, Cambridge and Porto are too close to call: 61 and 61 out of 100. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/cambridge-gb-vs-porto-pt/

Scores out of 100: Cambridge 61, Porto 61. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=cambridge-gb,porto-pt

## Line by line

| Line | Cambridge | Porto |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | €3,950 take-home a month | €3,204 take-home a month |
| Cost of living | €3,269 a month (Price Index of Private Rents; World Development Indicators) | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 21 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 88 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 7 h 42 min | 9 h 12 min |
| Sunshine | no data | 2,529 h a year (Meteostat climate normals) |
| Dry days | 127 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 127 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | no data | 9.4 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 1.1 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 0.7 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 81.4 years (World Development Indicators) | 82.4 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €64 a month (World Development Indicators) | €62 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 12 weeks (mother 12, father 0) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 37 weeks (mother 22, father 15) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | 7.45 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) | 7.30 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) |
| Research output | 95 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 80 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 36 km (OurAirports airports) | 13 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | 12 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 22 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Rail and metro stations | 6 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 68 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | no data | 25 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Cycle network | 0.93 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 0.45 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 89 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 93 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | 48.8 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 11.3 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Quick way out by bike | 0.9 km, about 4 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 7.0 km, about 28 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 65 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 3 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 300 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 45 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 9.1 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 19.9 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 64 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 43 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 98 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 27 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | 33.3 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 7.6 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Doctors | 3.3 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 5.9 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 4.7 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 6.2 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 79.2 % of adults (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) | 29.8 % of adults (Population by educational attainment and NUTS 2 region (edat_lfse_04)) |
| Developers around | no data | 45.6 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 1.53 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 0.77 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | centre, 5.6 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) | centre-right, 6.2 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) |
| Abortion law | also on social or economic grounds; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | no chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 6 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 69 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 5 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 3 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 6 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 24 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 6 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 21 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 276 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 326 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 8 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 165 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 110 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 4 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 10 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 3 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 15 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 6 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### Is it cheaper to live in Cambridge or Porto?

Everyday prices are lower in Portugal: 64.9 against 92.4 on the World Bank price level index (United States = 100, 2025). Open rent data is missing for Porto, so the full monthly cost needs your own rent.

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Cambridge and in Porto?

About £39,727 a year in Cambridge (United Kingdom 2026 tax rules) and €38,447 in Porto (Portugal 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Cambridge or Porto?

Porto is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 19.3 °C against 15.1 °C in Cambridge (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Can a citizen of the United Kingdom live and work in Porto without a visa?

No. Citizens of the United Kingdom need a visa or permit to live and work in Portugal; free movement there covers EU and EEA free movement and Swiss-EU free movement citizens.

## Cite

Borgo, "Cambridge vs Porto", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/cambridge-gb-vs-porto-pt/, figures as of 2026-11-05.