Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cuiaba and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Cuiaba: $1,018 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Cuiaba, Brazil
Lisbon, Portugal
Cuiaba
🇧🇷 Brazil
$1,018
/mo nomad
Lisbon
🇵🇹 Portugal
$2,210
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cuiaba 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 Cuiaba and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,018 in Cuiaba versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

  • Cuiaba $1,018
  • Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,540 in Cuiaba versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

  • Cuiaba $1,540
  • Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,062 in Cuiaba versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

  • Cuiaba $2,062
  • Lisbon $4,341

Living in Cuiaba costs roughly 54% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cuiaba is 25% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cuiaba
Lisbon
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$5.16 R$27.61
$16.65 €14.96
-69.01%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$27.37 R$146
$61.7 €55.5
-55.67%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.52 R$40.25
$11.36 €10.20
-33.80%
Cappuccino
$1.71 R$9.16
$2.97 €2.67
-42.42%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.36 R$7.28
$2.29 €2.06
-40.61%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.72 R$3.83
$1.74 €1.56
-58.62%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.91 R$10.20
$3.40 €3.06
-43.82%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.54 R$13.57
$3.31 €2.97
-23.26%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cuiaba
Lisbon
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.14 R$6.09
$1.16 €1.04
-1.72%
White Bread (500g)
$1.49 R$7.99
$1.91 €1.72
-21.99%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.69 R$9.03
$1.51 €1.36
11.92%
Eggs
$2.95 R$15.78
$4.02 €3.61
-26.62%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$16.16 R$86.5
$12.94 €11.62
24.88%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$4.24 R$22.70
$7.77 €6.99
-45.43%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.25 R$54.8
$17.76 €15.96
-42.29%
Apples (1kg)
$2.21 R$11.82
$2.30 €2.07
-3.91%
Banana (1kg)
$2.33 R$12.48
$1.73 €1.56
34.68%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.40 R$12.82
$1.86 €1.67
29.03%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.86 R$15.30
$2.59 €2.33
10.42%
Potato (1kg)
$2.38 R$12.72
$1.82 €1.64
30.77%
Onion (1kg)
$1.97 R$10.55
$1.97 €1.77
-
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.53 R$8.20
$1.47 €1.32
4.08%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.39 R$7.43
$0.72 €0.65
93.06%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.17 R$11.61
$6.58 €5.92
-67.02%
Wine (Bottle)
$10.90 R$58.3
$5.61 €5.04
94.30%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.83 R$9.78
$1.36 €1.22
34.56%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.88 R$15.43
$2.14 €1.92
34.58%
🚌 Getting Around
Cuiaba
Lisbon
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.95 R$5.09
$2.33 €2.10
-59.23%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$35.73 R$191
$44.68 €40.14
-20.03%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
-
$3.85 €3.46
-
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
-
$1.07 €0.96
-
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
-
$16.46 €14.79
-
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.20 R$6.44
$2.20 €1.98
-45.45%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$28.1K R$150.1K
$34.2K €30.7K
-17.96%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.3K R$167.3K
$38.7K €34.8K
-19.25%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cuiaba
Lisbon
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$165 R$881
$161 €145
2.08%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$17.94 R$96.0
$18.41 €16.54
-2.55%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$24.18 R$129
$32.74 €29.41
-26.15%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cuiaba
Lisbon
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$24.40 R$131
$44.55 €40.03
-45.23%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.93 R$101
$19.10 €17.16
-0.89%
Cinema Ticket
$5.66 R$30.26
$9.60 €8.62
-41.04%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cuiaba
Lisbon
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$408 R$2,181
$668 €600
-38.95%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$8,796 R$47.1K
$17.6K €15.8K
-50.06%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cuiaba
Lisbon
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$72.2 R$386
$102 €91.7
-29.24%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$46.11 R$247
$44.46 €39.95
3.71%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$141 R$754
$98.5 €88.5
43.12%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$64.1 R$343
$124 €111
-48.15%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cuiaba
Lisbon
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$310 R$1,658
$1,608 €1,445
-80.73%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$218 R$1,169
$1,190 €1,069
-81.64%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$734 R$3,928
$2,812 €2,527
-73.90%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$391 R$2,090
$2,013 €1,809
-80.60%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,266 R$6,772
$7,839 €7,043
-83.86%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$742 R$3,969
$4,576 €4,111
-83.79%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cuiaba
Lisbon
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$365 R$1,953
$1,575 €1,415
-76.82%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
16.1
3.85
318.18%

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

Last update for Cuiaba: October 26, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Groceries & Markets
Cuiaba
$265
Lisbon
$272 2.9% $7.6
Accommodation & Living
Cuiaba
$218
Lisbon
$1.2K 445% $972
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cuiaba
$207
Lisbon
$212 2.7% $5.7
Clothing & Footwear
Cuiaba
$146
Lisbon
$166 14% $20
Eating Out
Cuiaba
$107
Lisbon
$243 126% $135
Getting Around
Cuiaba
$40 *
Lisbon
$63 59.9% $24
Sport & Entertainment
Cuiaba
$36
Lisbon
$64 78.5% $28

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 $310 in Cuiaba and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 4.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $27 in Cuiaba vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $265 vs $272 per month, with Cuiaba cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇧🇷 Cuiaba
🇵🇹 Lisbon
🕒 Local time
07:04 7:04 AM
11:04 11:04 AM
4 h ahead of Cuiaba
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
650,877
545,923 Capital
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.96 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

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

On the map
Between locations
  • Cuiaba Lisbon 7,760 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Cuiaba
  • 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
Cuiaba vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Cuiaba or Lisbon?
Cuiaba wins on cost – living expenses run 54% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Cuiaba the obvious pick if budget is a priority.
Are salaries higher in Cuiaba or in Lisbon?
On paper, salaries run 77% lower in Cuiaba. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
How much does a 1-bedroom apartment cost in Cuiaba compared to Lisbon?
Rent for a central apartment: $310 in Cuiaba versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
How do dining costs compare in Cuiaba and in Lisbon?
Dining out is cheaper in Cuiaba – a meal for two runs $27 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
How much does it cost to live in Cuiaba compared to Lisbon?
All in, you’ll spend $1,018 per month in Cuiaba versus $2,210 in Lisbon – a 117% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Can you live on $1,000/month in Cuiaba or in Lisbon?
Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Cuiaba is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.
Which city offers a better quality of life: Cuiaba or Lisbon?
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.
Which city is more affordable for expats?
Expats usually find Cuiaba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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