---
title: "Living in Setúbal as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/setubal
description: "Port city south of Lisbon with the Arrábida hills and Troia's beaches at hand"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Setúbal, Portugal

Setúbal scores 74.5/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 15 of 1000 cities. Expect about $2,000 per month (country-level estimate), a nomad visa (Digital nomad residence visa (D8)), and a measured median download speed of 51.1 Mbps.

Setúbal is an unpretentious port and fishing city about 50 km south of Lisbon, backed by the limestone Arrábida hills and facing the Sado estuary, home to dolphins and a ferry to the Troia peninsula beaches. Rents are well below Lisbon's and the market and seafood are excellent, but it is a gritty working town with few coworking spaces, and the train to central Lisbon takes about an hour.

Known for: Arrábida natural park, Ferry to Troia beaches, Sado estuary dolphins, Choco frito (fried cuttlefish).

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 74.5 |
| Cost of living | 33 |
| Safety | 83 |
| Healthcare | 85 |
| Internet | 75 |
| Visa ease | 75 |
| Getting there & around | 75 |
| Climate | 58 |
| Air quality | 100 |
| Quality of life | 87 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $2,000 | country | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 0.71 | country | 2023 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 77.9 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 83 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 81.2 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 51.1 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 19.4 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Available | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | Digital nomad residence visa (D8) (min $4,131/mo) | country | 2026-10-04 | [^10] |
| Visa guide | [Portugal long-stay visa guide](https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/portugal) | country | 2026-10-04 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | 90 days / unlimited / 90 days | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (LIS) | 153 | city | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 196 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 4 / 3 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 7 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 5 | city | 2024 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.89 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | very-high | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 10.6 | 60 | 83 | no |
| Feb | 11.1 | 51 | 80 | no |
| Mar | 13.2 | 60 | 76 | no |
| Apr | 15.3 | 54 | 73 | yes |
| May | 18.3 | 34 | 67 | yes |
| Jun | 21.5 | 13 | 64 | yes |
| Jul | 23.2 | 3 | 62 | yes |
| Aug | 23.6 | 5 | 61 | yes |
| Sep | 21.8 | 28 | 66 | yes |
| Oct | 18.5 | 78 | 74 | yes |
| Nov | 13.7 | 86 | 80 | no |
| Dec | 11 | 61 | 83 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Lisbon Airport | LIS | 153 | 144 | 9 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 153, of which 144 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Cascais](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/cascais) (75.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/cascais-vs-setubal)
- [Évora](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/evora) (72.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/evora-vs-setubal)
- [Porto](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/porto) (72.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/porto-vs-setubal)
- [Sintra](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/sintra) (72.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/setubal-vs-sintra)
- [Coimbra](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/coimbra) (72.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/coimbra-vs-setubal)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Setúbal as a digital nomad?

A single person typically spends about $2,000 per month in Setúbal (a country-level estimate for Portugal). That is a 33/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Setúbal safe for digital nomads?

Setúbal scores 83/100 on safety. Portugal records 0.71 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2023) and a political-stability score of 77.9/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Portugal have a digital nomad visa?

Yes. Portugal offers the Digital nomad residence visa (D8) with a minimum income of about $4,131 per month, and it can lead to permanent residence. Verify current rules with the issuing authority before applying. Full guide: https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/portugal

### How fast is the internet in Setúbal?

Measured median download speed in Setúbal was 51.1 Mbps (upload 19.4 Mbps) across 5,489 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

### Is Starlink available in Setúbal?

Yes. Starlink's availability map lists residential service as available in Portugal (checked 2026-10), so a dish can serve as a backup line in Setúbal. Check the exact address on starlink.com before ordering, since capacity varies by area.

### Which airports serve Setúbal and how many nonstop flights are there?

Setúbal is served by Lisbon Airport (LIS) with 153 nonstop destinations, of which 144 are international. 9 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

### When is the best time of year to be in Setúbal?

The most comfortable months are Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct. Mean temperatures range from 51°F (11°C) in Jan to 74°F (24°C) in Aug (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Setúbal or Cascais: which is better for digital nomads?

Cascais is the city with the closest factor profile to Setúbal in this dataset. Which one wins depends on your weights; the comparison page puts every factor side by side with the numbers behind them.

## Plan a trip

[Hotels in Portugal](https://navoy.io/hotels/portugal) on Navoy, the AI travel planner behind Nostos.

## Sources

[^1]: City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^2]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, dataUNODC. UNODC data, free to reuse with attribution. https://data.unodc.org/datareport/hom-victim (retrieved 2026-10-12)
[^5]: Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^6]: UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/uhc-index-of-service-coverage (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^7]: Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/life-expectancy-at-birth-(years) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^8]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. https://www.starlink.com/map (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^10]: Nostos long-stay visa guides, Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/visas (retrieved 2026-10-04)
[^11]: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. https://github.com/ilyankou/passport-index-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^12]: Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-24)
[^13]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8), World Health Organization. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/who-ambient-air-quality-database-(update-jun-2026) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^16]: OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. https://overpass-api.de/ (retrieved 2026-10-02)
[^17]: Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^18]: EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. https://www.ef.com/epi/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/setubal