Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Butare

For one person, living is cheaper in Butare: $371 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $22,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
18

Cost of Living Index in Butare
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Butare Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Butare

🇷🇼 Rwanda

$371

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Butare

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Lisbon and in Butare actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $371 in Butare.

Lisbon $2,223
Butare $371

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $592 in Butare.

Lisbon $3,271
Butare $592

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $813 in Butare.

Lisbon $4,319
Butare $813

Living in Lisbon is roughly 499% more expensive than in Butare, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Butare is 72% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$2.73 RWF 4,008

504.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$30.73 RWF 45.2K

99.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$6.88 RWF 10.1K

63.81%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.38 RWF 3,502

28.57%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$0.75 RWF 1,096

201.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.55 RWF 807

214.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$1.05 RWF 1,540

222.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$2.42 RWF 3,557

40.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$0.32 RWF 476

250.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.78 RWF 1,143

138.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$0.93 RWF 1,364

64.52%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$1.65 RWF 2,424

140.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$1.66 RWF 2,442

668.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$2.42 RWF 3,556

226.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$3.07 RWF 4,515

452.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.06 RWF 3,023

10.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$0.80 RWF 1,172

118.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.12 RWF 1,647

65.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$0.83 RWF 1,223

209.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.40 RWF 583

365.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$0.26 RWF 378

676.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.15 RWF 223

860.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.81 RWF 1,190

1.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$2.05 RWF 3,013

220.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$10.30 RWF 15.1K

-45.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.03 RWF 1,513

24.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.59 RWF 2,335

30.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$2.68 RWF 3,936

48.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$2.06 RWF 3,030

-47.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$3.37 RWF 4,951

393.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.86 RWF 2,740

22.58%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$26.5K RWF 38.9M

27.26%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$29.8K RWF 43.8M

31.90%

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

$167 €149

$84.2 RWF 123.7K

99.04%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$7.11 RWF 10.5K

164.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$21.26 RWF 31.3K

55.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$3.44 RWF 5,054

186.05%

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

$677 €602

$114 RWF 167.3K

495.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$9,535 RWF 14.0M

77.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$17.64 RWF 25.9K

473.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$15.47 RWF 22.7K

195.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$22.48 RWF 33.0K

344.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$34.06 RWF 50.1K

260.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

16.2

-76.23%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Butare: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Butare

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Butare

$112 30.2% 58.3% $157

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Butare

$86 23.2% 64.4% $156

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Butare

$113 30.3% 48.7% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Butare

$40 10.9% 75.8% $126

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Butare

$6.9 * 1.9% 89.5% $59

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Butare

$13 * 3.5% 79.4% $50

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $31.00 in Butare for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $112 per month, with Butare cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇷🇼 Butare

🕒 Local time

03:03 3:03 AM

04:03 4:03 AM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

62,823

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Rwandan Franc RWF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 RWF = 6.8 USD

10,000 RWF = 6.05 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RWF, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

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

Rwandan Franc exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1,470 RWF (10,000 RWF = 6.8 USD). 1 EUR = 1,653 RWF (10,000 RWF = 6.05 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Butare 6,080 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Butare

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

Lisbon vs Butare: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Butare wins on cost – living expenses run 499% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Butare the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $3,335 in Lisbon and $557 in Butare to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 140% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,223 per month in Lisbon versus $371 in Butare – a 499% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $371 in Butare versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Butare but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Butare the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Butare delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $371 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Butare hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Lisbon and Butare 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 Butare gentler on the wallet – expenses run 499% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.