Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cambridge, New Zealand and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Cambridge: $2,066 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in Cambridge
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Cambridge Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

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Cambridge

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,066

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cambridge and in Lisbon

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cambridge and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,066 in Cambridge versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Cambridge $2,066
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,874 in Cambridge versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Cambridge $2,874
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,682 in Cambridge versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Cambridge $3,682
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Cambridge costs roughly 7% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cambridge 52% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.04 NZ$25.01

$16.65 €14.95

-15.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.6 NZ$120

$61.7 €55.5

9.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 NZ$16.62

$11.36 €10.20

-17.96%

Cappuccino

$3.45 NZ$6.15

$2.97 €2.67

16.16%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 NZ$3.56

$2.29 €2.06

-12.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 NZ$3.51

$1.74 €1.56

13.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.10 NZ$10.87

$3.40 €3.06

79.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.86 NZ$12.23

$3.31 €2.97

107.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 NZ$2.82

$1.16 €1.04

36.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.18 NZ$3.88

$1.91 €1.72

14.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.89 NZ$3.37

$1.51 €1.36

25.17%

Eggs

$5.99 NZ$10.68

$4.02 €3.61

49.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.57 NZ$15.28

$12.94 €11.62

-33.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.81 NZ$17.49

$7.77 €6.98

26.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.13 NZ$23.39

$17.76 €15.95

-26.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 NZ$4.61

$2.30 €2.07

12.17%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 NZ$3.91

$1.73 €1.56

27.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.96 NZ$5.27

$1.86 €1.67

59.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.85 NZ$10.43

$2.59 €2.33

125.87%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 NZ$3.73

$1.82 €1.64

14.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 NZ$2.75

$1.97 €1.77

-21.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 NZ$4.10

$1.47 €1.32

56.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 NZ$1.95

$0.72 €0.65

51.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$25.73 NZ$45.85

$6.58 €5.91

291.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.16 NZ$18.12

$5.61 €5.04

81.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.36 NZ$5.99

$1.36 €1.22

147.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.00 NZ$7.14

$2.14 €1.92

86.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.88 NZ$5.13

$2.33 €2.10

23.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.24 NZ$3.99

$3.85 €3.46

-41.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.01 NZ$3.58

$1.07 €0.96

87.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.01 NZ$57.1

$16.46 €14.79

94.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.73 NZ$3.08

$2.20 €1.98

-21.36%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$27.0K NZ$48.1K

$34.2K €30.7K

-21.02%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$22.6K NZ$40.3K

$38.7K €34.8K

-41.65%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$102 NZ$182

$161 €145

-36.80%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$26.30 NZ$46.87

$18.41 €16.54

42.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.4 NZ$91.6

$32.74 €29.41

56.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

Cinema Ticket

$13.94 NZ$24.84

$9.60 €8.62

45.21%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$666 NZ$1,187

$668 €600

-0.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.8K NZ$35.2K

$17.6K €15.8K

12.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.1 NZ$111

$102 €91.6

-39.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.70 NZ$67.2

$44.46 €39.94

-15.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.6 NZ$169

$98.5 €88.5

-3.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 NZ$191

$124 €111

-13.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$582 NZ$1,037

$1,608 €1,445

-63.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,130 NZ$2,014

$1,190 €1,069

-5.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,215 NZ$2,165

$2,812 €2,526

-56.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,489 NZ$2,654

$2,013 €1,808

-26.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,539 NZ$8,089

$7,839 €7,042

-42.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,027 NZ$7,176

$4,576 €4,110

-12.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,569 NZ$4,579

$1,575 €1,415

63.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

55.84%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Cambridge: October 26, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Cambridge

$1.1K 54.7%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 5.3% $60

Groceries & Markets

Cambridge

$327 15.8%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 16.8% $55

Eating Out

Cambridge

$242 11.7%

Lisbon

$243 11% 0.3% $0.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cambridge

$180 8.7%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 18.3% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Cambridge

$136 6.6%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 22.3% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Cambridge

$28 * 1.4%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 129% $36

Getting Around

Cambridge

$24 * 1.2%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 166% $39

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $582 in Cambridge and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cambridge pays 63% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68 in Cambridge vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $327 vs $272 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Cambridge

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

06:43 6:43 AM

17:43 5:43 PM

13 h behind Cambridge

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,400

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.561 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cambridge Lisbon 19,600 km ≈ 25 h nonstop flight

From you

Cambridge
Lisbon

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Cambridge vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cambridge is cheaper overall, especially in transport, leisure, and clothing. The 7% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 63% higher in Cambridge, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $582 in Cambridge versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $666 in Cambridge versus $668 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Lisbon – a meal for two runs $62 versus $68 in Cambridge. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Cambridge gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Cambridge and Lisbon are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.