Solo vs. couple nomad budgets — the real split.

Most cost guides assume solo. Pulling the data on couples, the split is not 1.5×. It is closer to 1.4×. Where the savings actually come from — and which lines do not budge.

The pattern

Across 24 public budget shares pairing solo and couple line items in the same city, the median couple spend was 1.36–1.45× the solo equivalent. Rent, transport, and coworking carry the discount. Food and Everything Else do not.

Where couples save

• ≈ 1.0–1.1×Rent · biggest saver · A one-bedroom that fits two costs the same as a one-bedroom that fits one. Couples report the same furnished apartment as solo nomads at the same price.
• ≈ 1.4×Transport · modest saver · Two transit passes, but shared cabs and shared trip costs flatten the line.
• ≈ 1.5–1.8×Coworking · smaller saver · Two memberships needed if both work. A few couples report sharing one drop-in pass and rotating café days.

Where the savings stop

• ≈ 1.7–1.9×Food & Groceries · barely shared · Two people eat ~2× the food. Couples cook more often than solo nomads, which dampens it slightly, but not by much.
• ≈ 1.6–1.8×Everything Else · barely shared · Haircuts, gym, eSIMs, weekend trips — most of it is per-person.

The takeaway

A couple in Lisbon at solo-median rent ($980) plus 1.4× of everything else lands around $2,500/month. Two solo nomads at $1,847 each would spend $3,694. Couples save roughly $1,200/month versus living solo in the same city — almost entirely on the rent line.

Sources

• Twenty-four public solo and couple budget shares (r/digitalnomad, r/expatFIRE), 2025–2026
• Numbeo Cost of Living family-of-two indices, 2026
• Internations Expat Insider couples segment, 2025