How much a housekeeper or cleaner costs in Portugal in 2026: hourly rates by city from real profiles, the true cost with Social Security, and a calculator.

How Much Does a Housekeeper Cost in Portugal in 2026?

What a housekeeper or cleaner costs in Portugal in 2026 — hourly rates by city, full-time salaries, and the true cost of hiring legally with Social Security, subsidies and insurance.

Quick answer: In Portugal, a housekeeper or cleaner typically costs €7 to €12 an hour, with €10 the most common rate. Full-time, the salary runs from €920 (the 2026 legal minimum) to about €1,300 a month. But hiring legally costs almost 40% more than the salary, once Social Security, the two extra salary payments and mandatory insurance are added.

Hourly rates in Portugal in 2026

Most figures you find online come from small samples or aggregator averages. The numbers below come from the 814 active profiles with an hourly rate on Domestyca in Portugal — what housekeepers actually ask, not a theoretical estimate.

Housekeepers	Hourly rate asked
10% ask up to	€7.00
25% ask up to	€8.50
Median	€10.00
75% ask up to	€10.00
90% ask up to	€12.00

In short: 8 in 10 housekeepers ask between €7 and €12 an hour, and €10 is by far the most common rate. These profiles have 6 years' experience on average. Rates above €12 are mostly for specialised services or central Lisbon.

Cleaner or housekeeper? In Portugal, the rules are the same

Whether you call it a cleaner, a housekeeper or a nanny, Portuguese law treats paid work in a private home as domestic service (serviço doméstico) — and that is what determines the contract, Social Security and the worker's rights. It covers:

Cleaning and tidying the home
Laundry and ironing
Cooking
Childcare
Caring for elderly or dependent people
Looking after pets and the garden

What defines the legal framework is that the work is done in a family's home, not the job title. Someone hired only to clean for a few hours a week comes with the same obligations as a full-time housekeeper, in proportion to the hours — see hiring a cleaner a few hours a week.

Hourly rates in the main cities

Rates vary with the local cost of living and demand. Below: the median rate asked in each city and the range covering the middle half of housekeepers, from active Domestyca profiles. Each city links straight to the housekeepers available there.

Lisbon — median €10/h, middle half €9–€10 · the country's largest market. Lisbon cost guide · see housekeepers
Cascais — median €10/h, middle half €10–€12 · the highest average experience in the country (8 years). Cascais cost guide · see housekeepers
Porto — median €10/h, middle half €8–€10. Porto cost guide · see housekeepers
Sintra — median €10/h. See housekeepers in Sintra
Setúbal — median €10/h. See housekeepers in Setúbal
Amadora — median €10/h. See housekeepers in Amadora
Vila Nova de Gaia — median €9/h, middle half €8–€10. See housekeepers in Gaia
Odivelas — median €10/h. See housekeepers in Odivelas
Loures — median €10/h. See housekeepers in Loures
Gondomar — median €9/h, middle half €8–€10. See housekeepers in Gondomar
Algarve — median €10/h, middle half €10–€12. Algarve cost guide · see housekeepers
Oeiras — median €10/h, middle half €10–€12. See housekeepers in Oeiras

Most expensive: Cascais, Oeiras and the Algarve — in all three, a quarter of housekeepers ask €12 or more an hour. Cheapest: Vila Nova de Gaia and Gondomar, with medians of €9 an hour. Outside the Lisbon and Porto metropolitan areas, reference rates drop to €6–€10 an hour.

In the Algarve, rates rise in high season and for holiday homes with changeover cleans between stays.

Full-time: the monthly cost

For a full 40-hour week, the starting point is the 2026 national minimum wage: €920 a month. That works out at a minimum of €5.31 an hour (€920 × 12 months ÷ 52 weeks ÷ 40 hours).

In practice, real job ads sit between €920 and about €1,300 a month, depending on experience, combined duties and area. Some "market averages" published online are well above this — treat them as a ceiling, not a typical figure.

Live-in: the salary isn't the whole bill

For a live-in housekeeper, board and lodging count as payment in kind and are added to the cash salary. As a practical reference, the cash salary is around €900–€1,300 a month on top of a room and meals — but it depends heavily on the duties and the availability agreed.

If you are weighing up the two, see live-in vs live-out housekeepers.

The true cost: the salary is about 70% of the bill

This is what most online estimates leave out. Hiring legally adds three costs to the salary:

Social Security contributions — 33.3% under the real-pay regime (22.3% employer + 11.0% worker) or 28.3% under the conventional regime (18.9% + 9.4%), the latter calculated on a value indexed to the IAS rather than the actual salary. See how much Social Security you pay.
Holiday and Christmas subsidies — two extra salary payments a year, plus 22 working days of paid holiday.
Work-accident insurance — mandatory and separate from Social Security. See work-accident insurance.

For hourly work there is also a contribution floor: the reference base is €3.10 an hour in 2026, and at least 30 hours a month must be declared — a base of €93.00, which means €26.32 in contributions (€17.58 from the employer and €8.74 from the worker).

Worked example: the true cost of a €920 salary

For a full-time contract at the minimum wage, under the real-pay regime:

Item	Per month
Gross salary	€920.00
Employer Social Security (22.3%)	€205.16
Holiday and Christmas subsidies (2 months ÷ 12)	€153.33
Total, before insurance	≈ €1,280

That is almost 40% above the salary. A further €101.20 (11.0%) is withheld from the worker's pay, so €306.36 a month goes to Social Security in total.

To work out the figures for your own hours, use the calculator below.

Hiring as a foreigner: what you need

As the employer, the legal obligations are yours, whatever your nationality. Before the first day of work:

Register the hire with Social Security through Segurança Social Direta, with the worker's NISS (or NIF), date of birth, start date and pay type — step by step here.
Take out work-accident insurance, in force from day one — even for a few hours a week.
Put the contract in writing — mandatory for fixed-term hires and strongly advised for all. A free contract template is ready to adapt.

The full process is in how to legally hire a housekeeper in Portugal as a foreigner, and the worker's rights in housekeeper rights in Portugal.

Hourly or monthly: which is cheaper?

For a few hours a week or occasional tasks, paying by the hour is simpler and cheaper. From around half-time upwards, a monthly contract usually works out better per hour actually worked — and saves managing variable hours every month.

Not sure how many hours you need? This guide helps you estimate.

Agency or direct hire

An agency usually charges more per hour but handles the insurance, contributions and paperwork. Hiring directly costs less per hour — that is the gap between the €7–€12 above and agency rates — but the legal obligations become yours.

👉 Compare housekeepers across Portugal and see each profile's actual rate.

Conclusion

Budget €7–€12 an hour in Portugal — €10 is the most common rate — or €920–€1,300 a month full-time. The figure that matters, though, is the total: on a €920 salary, the employer pays about €1,280 a month. Hiring legally costs more than the salary alone, but it protects both sides and is the only way to avoid liability in an inspection or a dispute.

Official sources

This guide is for general information only and is not legal advice. Rules and figures (IAS, the minimum wage, contribution rates) are updated periodically and may have changed since this was last updated. Always confirm the details with the official sources listed above and seek professional advice if in doubt.

FAQ

How much does a cleaner cost per hour in Portugal in 2026?

Typically €7 to €12 an hour, with a median of €10. Rates are higher in Cascais, Oeiras and the Algarve and lower in Vila Nova de Gaia and Gondomar. Figures from the 814 active Domestyca profiles with an hourly rate in Portugal.

What is the most common hourly rate?

€10 an hour. It is both the median and the rate most housekeepers choose. A quarter ask €8.50 or less and a tenth ask €12 or more.

How much does a full-time housekeeper cost?

The salary runs from €920 (the 2026 legal minimum) to about €1,300 a month. On top of that come Social Security contributions, the holiday and Christmas subsidies and mandatory work-accident insurance.

What is the minimum wage for a housekeeper in Portugal in 2026?

€920 a month for a full 40-hour week, which works out at a minimum of €5.31 an hour. Paying less is not legal on a full-time contract.

How much does the employer pay in Social Security?

Under the real-pay regime, 22.3% of the salary. On a €920 salary that is €205.16 a month from the employer, plus €101.20 withheld from the worker. Under the conventional regime, the employer rate is 18.9% on a value indexed to the IAS.

Is a cleaner treated differently from a housekeeper?

No. Portuguese law treats paid work in a private home as domestic service (serviço doméstico), whether it is cleaning, cooking, laundry, childcare, elderly care, pets or the garden. The obligations are the same, in proportion to the hours.

Is the true cost much higher than the salary?

Yes — about 40% higher. A €920 salary costs the employer roughly €1,280 a month once Social Security (€205.16) and the holiday and Christmas subsidies (€153.33) are included, before work-accident insurance.

Where in Portugal is a housekeeper most expensive?

Cascais, Oeiras and the Algarve: in all three, a quarter of housekeepers ask €12 or more an hour. Lisbon, Porto, Sintra, Setúbal, Amadora, Odivelas and Loures sit at a median of €10 an hour. Vila Nova de Gaia and Gondomar are the cheapest, with medians of €9.

Can I hire a housekeeper in Portugal as a foreigner?

Yes. As the employer you must register the hire with Social Security before work starts, take out work-accident insurance and respect Portuguese employment law, whatever your nationality.