Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kiambu and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Kiambu: $503 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $20,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Kiambu
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Kiambu Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Kiambu

🇰🇪 Kenya

$503

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $503 in Kiambu versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Kiambu $503
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $823 in Kiambu versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Kiambu $823
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,143 in Kiambu versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Kiambu $1,143
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Kiambu costs roughly 77% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kiambu is 63% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.41 KES 833

$16.65 €14.95

-61.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.12 KES 4,431

$61.7 €55.5

-44.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.52 KES 847

$11.36 €10.20

-42.61%

Cappuccino

$2.60 KES 337

$2.97 €2.67

-12.46%

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

$0.64 KES 83.4

$2.29 €2.06

-72.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 KES 81.1

$1.74 €1.56

-64.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 KES 293

$3.40 €3.06

-33.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 KES 340

$3.31 €2.97

-20.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.54 KES 70.8

$1.16 €1.04

-53.45%

White Bread (500g)

$0.55 KES 71.5

$1.91 €1.72

-71.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 KES 237

$1.51 €1.36

21.19%

Eggs

$1.37 KES 179

$4.02 €3.61

-65.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.71 KES 1,391

$12.94 €11.62

-17.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.67 KES 866

$7.77 €6.98

-14.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.01 KES 520

$17.76 €15.95

-77.42%

Apples (1kg)

$3.50 KES 455

$2.30 €2.07

52.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 KES 135

$1.73 €1.56

-39.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.75 KES 97.0

$1.86 €1.67

-59.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.59 KES 77.1

$2.59 €2.33

-77.22%

Potato (1kg)

$0.72 KES 93.7

$1.82 €1.64

-60.44%

Onion (1kg)

$0.71 KES 92.5

$1.97 €1.77

-63.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.30 KES 38.52

$1.47 €1.32

-79.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.37 KES 47.84

$0.72 €0.65

-48.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.39 KES 440

$6.58 €5.91

-48.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.49 KES 1,493

$5.61 €5.04

104.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.27 KES 295

$1.36 €1.22

66.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 KES 350

$2.14 €1.92

26.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 KES 81.3

$2.33 €2.10

-72.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 KES 196

$3.85 €3.46

-60.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 KES 47.33

$1.07 €0.96

-66.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.81 KES 365

$16.46 €14.79

-82.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 KES 208

$2.20 €1.98

-27.27%

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

$19.2K KES 2.5M

$34.2K €30.7K

-43.80%

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

$21.6K KES 2.8M

$38.7K €34.8K

-44.20%

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

$56.4 KES 7,320

$161 €145

-65.04%

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

$7.86 KES 1,020

$18.41 €16.54

-57.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.13 KES 4,562

$32.74 €29.41

7.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

Cinema Ticket

$5.82 KES 755

$9.60 €8.62

-39.37%

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

$280 KES 36.4K

$668 €600

-58.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.5K KES 1.6M

$17.6K €15.8K

-28.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.56 KES 3,579

$102 €91.6

-72.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.19 KES 3,791

$44.46 €39.94

-34.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.1 KES 9,109

$98.5 €88.5

-28.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.5 KES 7,466

$124 €111

-53.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$116 KES 15.0K

$1,608 €1,445

-92.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,175 KES 152.6K

$7,839 €7,042

-85.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$125 KES 16.3K

$1,575 €1,415

-92.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.71

3.85

282.08%

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

Last update for Kiambu: 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

Kiambu

$180 35.8%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 51.4% $92

Eating Out

Kiambu

$124 24.6%

Lisbon

$243 11% 96.3% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kiambu

$99 19.7%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 114% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Kiambu

$83 16.5%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 99.9% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Kiambu

$12 * 2.3%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 448% $52

Getting Around

Kiambu

$5.8 * 1.2%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 982% $57

Accommodation & Living

Kiambu

- * 0%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

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 $116 in Kiambu and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 13 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $34 in Kiambu vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $180 vs $272 per month, with Kiambu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Kiambu

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

04:21 4:21 AM

01:21 1:21 AM

3 h behind Kiambu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

147,870

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇪 Kenyan Shilling (Sh)

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to KES in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kiambu Lisbon 6,450 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Kiambu
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

Kiambu vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kiambu is about 77% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 92% lower in Kiambu. 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: $116 in Kiambu versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $280 in Kiambu 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 Kiambu – a meal for two runs $34 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $503 in Kiambu versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kiambu but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Kiambu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Kiambu wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.