Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Harare and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Harare: $1,018 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Harare
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Harare Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Harare

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

$1,018

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,018 in Harare versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

Harare $1,018
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,696 in Harare versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

Harare $1,696
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,375 in Harare versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Harare $2,375
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Harare costs roughly 54% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.95 ZWL 265

$17.04 €15.15

-41.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.58 ZWL 1,213

$62.3 €55.4

-26.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.63 ZWL 150

$11.02 €9.80

-48.91%

Cappuccino

$2.98 ZWL 79.3

$3.12 €2.78

-4.49%

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

$0.94 ZWL 24.95

$2.27 €2.02

-58.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.45 ZWL 11.98

$1.74 €1.55

-74.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.99 ZWL 26.31

$3.42 €3.04

-71.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 ZWL 51.8

$3.74 €3.33

-47.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 ZWL 40.78

$1.17 €1.04

30.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.02 ZWL 27.05

$1.86 €1.66

-45.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.66 ZWL 44.16

$1.54 €1.37

7.79%

Eggs

$1.98 ZWL 52.7

$4.06 €3.61

-51.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.37 ZWL 303

$12.91 €11.49

-11.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.40 ZWL 144

$7.90 €7.03

-31.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.79 ZWL 181

$17.64 €15.69

-61.51%

Apples (1kg)

$3.06 ZWL 81.4

$2.26 €2.01

35.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 ZWL 43.25

$1.75 €1.55

-6.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.05 ZWL 54.6

$1.89 €1.68

8.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.52 ZWL 40.50

$2.56 €2.27

-40.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.73 ZWL 46.09

$1.85 €1.64

-6.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 ZWL 47.94

$1.97 €1.75

-8.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 ZWL 34.35

$1.45 €1.29

-11.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.00 ZWL 26.67

$0.77 €0.69

29.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.95 ZWL 51.8

$6.71 €5.97

-70.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.33 ZWL 222

$5.67 €5.04

46.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 ZWL 36.62

$1.37 €1.22

0.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 ZWL 52.4

$2.11 €1.88

-6.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 ZWL 26.02

$2.32 €2.07

-57.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 ZWL 1,618

$44.43 €39.52

36.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.88 ZWL 103

$3.95 €3.51

-1.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 ZWL 54.6

$1.05 €0.93

95.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.12 ZWL 136

$17.15 €15.26

-70.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 ZWL 47.75

$2.19 €1.95

-18.26%

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

$21.9K ZWL 582.6K

$33.8K €30.0K

-35.19%

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

$27.2K ZWL 722.7K

$38.3K €34.0K

-29.03%

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

$50.7 ZWL 1,348

$164 €146

-69.08%

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

$21.89 ZWL 583

$18.48 €16.43

18.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.5 ZWL 1,849

$32.96 €29.32

110.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.15 ZWL 1,255

$45.87 €40.80

2.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.40 ZWL 596

$18.68 €16.61

19.91%

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 ZWL 271

$9.75 €8.67

4.41%

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

$467 ZWL 12.4K

$684 €608

-31.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,608 ZWL 229.1K

$17.6K €15.7K

-51.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.43 ZWL 623

$104 €92.3

-77.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.48 ZWL 572

$46.20 €41.09

-53.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$38.24 ZWL 1,018

$99.7 €88.7

-61.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.39 ZWL 1,075

$125 €111

-67.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$384 ZWL 10.2K

$1,589 €1,414

-75.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$311 ZWL 8,284

$1,169 €1,040

-73.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$835 ZWL 22.2K

$2,851 €2,536

-70.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$743 ZWL 19.8K

$1,993 €1,773

-62.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$939 ZWL 25.0K

$7,793 €6,932

-87.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$393 ZWL 10.4K

$4,418 €3,930

-91.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$419 ZWL 11.2K

$1,600 €1,423

-73.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.69

3.85

255.58%

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

Last update for Harare: October 20, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Harare

$311 30.6%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 276% $858

Groceries & Markets

Harare

$216 21.2%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 26.5% $57

Eating Out

Harare

$147 14.4%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 68.7% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Harare

$142 14%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 51.6% $73

Getting Around

Harare

$79 7.8%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 20.2% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Harare

$68 6.6%

Lisbon

$65 3% 3.2% $2.1

Clothing & Footwear

Harare

$56 5.5%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 203% $113

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $384 in Harare and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 282% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $46.00 in Harare vs $62.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $216 vs $273 per month, with Harare cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇼 Harare

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

14:29 2:29 PM

13:29 1:29 PM

1 h behind Harare

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,606,000 Capital

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Zimbabwean Dollar ZWL $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZWL = 3.76 USD

100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ZWL – Zimbabwean Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇼 Zimbabwean Dollar ($)

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 26.61 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.76 USD). 1 EUR = 29.92 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZWL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Harare Lisbon 7,550 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Harare
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

Harare vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Harare is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 116% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 282% lower in Lisbon. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $384 in Harare versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $467 in Harare versus $684 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,018 in Harare versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Harare but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Harare the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Harare is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Lisbon, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Harare 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.

Expats usually find Harare gentler on the wallet – expenses run 116% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.