Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hamilton, New Zealand and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Hamilton: $1,917 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

93

Cost of Living Index in Hamilton
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Hamilton Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index

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Hamilton

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,917

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,917 in Hamilton versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Hamilton $1,917
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Hamilton versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Hamilton $2,828
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,739 in Hamilton versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Hamilton $3,739
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Hamilton costs roughly 13% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Hamilton 41% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.20 NZ$21.74

$16.65 €14.95

-26.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.6 NZ$133

$61.7 €55.5

20.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.34 NZ$14.86

$11.36 €10.20

-26.58%

Cappuccino

$3.49 NZ$6.22

$2.97 €2.67

17.51%

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

$2.31 NZ$4.12

$2.29 €2.06

0.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 NZ$4.46

$1.74 €1.56

43.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.08 NZ$10.83

$3.40 €3.06

78.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.61 NZ$10.00

$3.31 €2.97

69.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 NZ$2.60

$1.16 €1.04

25.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 NZ$2.23

$1.91 €1.72

-34.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 NZ$3.45

$1.51 €1.36

28.48%

Eggs

$5.52 NZ$9.83

$4.02 €3.61

37.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.78 NZ$10.30

$12.94 €11.62

-55.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.18 NZ$12.80

$7.77 €6.98

-7.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.70 NZ$20.85

$17.76 €15.95

-34.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.71 NZ$4.82

$2.30 €2.07

17.83%

Banana (1kg)

$2.31 NZ$4.12

$1.73 €1.56

33.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.24 NZ$5.78

$1.86 €1.67

74.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.21 NZ$11.06

$2.59 €2.33

139.77%

Potato (1kg)

$2.05 NZ$3.65

$1.82 €1.64

12.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.41 NZ$2.52

$1.97 €1.77

-28.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.49 NZ$4.43

$1.47 €1.32

69.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 NZ$1.75

$0.72 €0.65

36.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$26.19 NZ$46.68

$6.58 €5.91

298.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.72 NZ$19.11

$5.61 €5.04

91.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.02 NZ$7.17

$1.36 €1.22

195.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.14 NZ$7.38

$2.14 €1.92

93.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.66 NZ$4.74

$2.33 €2.10

14.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.7 NZ$93.8

$44.68 €40.14

17.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.70 NZ$6.59

$3.85 €3.46

-3.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.67 NZ$2.97

$2.20 €1.98

-24.09%

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

$28.2K NZ$50.3K

$34.2K €30.7K

-17.47%

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

$22.4K NZ$39.8K

$38.7K €34.8K

-42.28%

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

$58.3 NZ$104

$161 €145

-63.86%

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

$36.48 NZ$65.0

$18.41 €16.54

98.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 NZ$98.9

$32.74 €29.41

69.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.73 NZ$45.86

$44.55 €40.02

-42.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.98 NZ$51.6

$19.10 €17.16

51.73%

Cinema Ticket

$13.93 NZ$24.83

$9.60 €8.62

45.10%

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

$670 NZ$1,195

$668 €600

0.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.5K NZ$40.0K

$17.6K €15.8K

27.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.7 NZ$113

$102 €91.6

-37.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.93 NZ$69.4

$44.46 €39.94

-12.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.7 NZ$169

$98.5 €88.5

-3.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 NZ$190

$124 €111

-13.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,090 NZ$1,942

$1,608 €1,445

-32.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$987 NZ$1,759

$1,190 €1,069

-17.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,636 NZ$2,915

$2,812 €2,526

-41.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,476 NZ$2,631

$2,013 €1,808

-26.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,019 NZ$7,163

$7,839 €7,042

-48.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,525 NZ$8,064

$4,576 €4,110

-1.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,678 NZ$4,773

$1,575 €1,415

70.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.83

3.85

77.40%

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

Last update for Hamilton: 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

Hamilton

$987 51.5%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 20.6% $203

Groceries & Markets

Hamilton

$297 15.5%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 8.4% $25

Eating Out

Hamilton

$225 11.8%

Lisbon

$243 11% 7.6% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hamilton

$150 7.8%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 41.4% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Hamilton

$137 7.1%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 21.3% $29

Getting Around

Hamilton

$67 * 3.5%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 5.7% $3.8

Sport & Entertainment

Hamilton

$54 2.8%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 18.9% $10

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 $1,090 in Hamilton and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hamilton pays 70% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $75 in Hamilton vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $272 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Hamilton

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

04:45 4:45 AM

15:45 3:45 PM

13 h behind Hamilton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

169,500

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

Hamilton Lisbon 19,620 km ≈ 25 h nonstop flight

From you

Hamilton
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

Hamilton vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hamilton is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and leisure. The 15% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 70% higher in Hamilton, 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: $1,090 in Hamilton versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Lisbon – a meal for two runs $62 versus $75 in Hamilton. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,917 per month in Hamilton versus $2,210 in Lisbon – a 15% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Hamilton 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, Hamilton 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.