Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kyoto and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Kyoto: $1,290 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Kyoto
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Kyoto Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Kyoto

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,290

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,290 per month in Kyoto vs $2,210 in Lisbon, rent included.

Kyoto $1,290
Lisbon $2,210

A couple spends around $1,932 per month in Kyoto vs $3,275 in Lisbon, rent included.

Kyoto $1,932
Lisbon $3,275

A family of three spends $2,574 per month in Kyoto vs $4,341 in Lisbon, rent included.

Kyoto $2,574
Lisbon $4,341

Kyoto is about 42% cheaper than Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Kyoto sits 5% below the global median, while Lisbon is 62% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.77 ¥1,539

$16.65 €14.91

-41.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.34 ¥5,094

$61.7 €55.3

-47.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.11 ¥806

$11.36 €10.17

-55.02%

Cappuccino

$3.22 ¥506

$2.97 €2.66

8.42%

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

$0.89 ¥141

$2.29 €2.05

-61.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.71 ¥111

$1.74 €1.56

-59.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.22 ¥508

$3.40 €3.05

-5.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.85 ¥921

$3.31 €2.96

76.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 ¥245

$1.16 €1.04

33.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 ¥253

$1.91 €1.71

-15.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.84 ¥921

$1.51 €1.35

286.75%

Eggs

$2.11 ¥332

$4.02 €3.60

-47.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.84 ¥1,392

$12.94 €11.59

-31.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.92 ¥1,248

$7.77 €6.96

1.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.70 ¥1,686

$17.76 €15.91

-39.75%

Apples (1kg)

$5.19 ¥817

$2.30 €2.06

125.65%

Banana (1kg)

$2.37 ¥374

$1.73 €1.55

36.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.15 ¥812

$1.86 €1.66

176.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.69 ¥581

$2.59 €2.32

42.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.87 ¥294

$1.82 €1.63

2.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.66 ¥261

$1.97 €1.76

-15.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 ¥180

$1.47 €1.32

-22.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 ¥148

$0.72 €0.65

30.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.04 ¥637

$6.58 €5.90

-38.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.73 ¥1,218

$5.61 €5.02

37.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ¥254

$1.36 €1.22

18.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.37 ¥530

$2.14 €1.91

57.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.42 ¥224

$2.33 €2.09

-39.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$62.1 ¥9,781

$44.68 €40.01

38.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 ¥519

$3.85 €3.45

-14.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.88 ¥611

$1.07 €0.96

262.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.74

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ¥174

$2.20 €1.97

-50.00%

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

$22.7K ¥3.6M

$34.2K €30.6K

-33.56%

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

$15.5K ¥2.4M

$38.7K €34.7K

-59.99%

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

$101 ¥15.9K

$161 €144

-37.26%

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

$23.51 ¥3,703

$18.41 €16.49

27.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.41 ¥4,790

$32.74 €29.32

-7.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 ¥8,126

$44.55 €39.90

15.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.87 ¥2,973

$19.10 €17.10

-1.20%

Cinema Ticket

$13.72 ¥2,161

$9.60 €8.60

42.92%

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

$718 ¥113.1K

$668 €598

7.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,490 ¥1.0M

$17.6K €15.8K

-63.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.7 ¥8,936

$102 €91.4

-44.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.07 ¥7,100

$44.46 €39.82

1.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.3 ¥11.1K

$98.5 €88.2

-28.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 ¥16.1K

$124 €111

-17.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$638 ¥100.5K

$1,608 €1,440

-60.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$379 ¥59.8K

$1,190 €1,066

-68.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,176 ¥185.2K

$2,812 €2,519

-58.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$577 ¥90.9K

$2,013 €1,803

-71.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,226 ¥665.7K

$7,839 €7,021

-46.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,921 ¥460.1K

$4,576 €4,098

-36.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,873 ¥295.0K

$1,575 €1,411

18.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.23

3.85

-42.08%

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

Last update for Kyoto: October 25, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kyoto

$379 29.4%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 214% $811

Groceries & Markets

Kyoto

$296 22.9%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 8% $24

Eating Out

Kyoto

$166 12.9%

Lisbon

$243 11% 45.9% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kyoto

$155 12%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 36.9% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Kyoto

$123 9.6%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 34.4% $42

Getting Around

Kyoto

$90 7%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 30.1% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Kyoto

$79 6.1%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 19.3% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $638 in Kyoto versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 19% higher in Kyoto, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Kyoto versus $62 in Lisbon. Groceries tell a different story – $296 in Kyoto vs $272 in Lisbon – so Lisbon wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Kyoto

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

02:19 2:19 AM

17:19 5:19 PM

9 h behind Kyoto

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,475,183

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to JPY in detail →

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Between locations

Kyoto Lisbon 11,060 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

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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

Kyoto vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,290 in Kyoto, $2,210 in Lisbon – Kyoto comes out roughly 42% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,934 per month in Kyoto and $3,315 in Lisbon. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kyoto, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $638 there versus $1,608 in Lisbon.

Interestingly, groceries are about 8% cheaper in Lisbon – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $32 in Kyoto and $62 in Lisbon. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Kyoto, where all-in costs run around $1,290, than in Lisbon at $2,210. In Kyoto it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lisbon it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Kyoto costs $1,290 versus $2,210 in Lisbon. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.