Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Cixi

For one person, living is cheaper in Cixi: $709 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $17,900 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Cixi
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Cixi Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Cixi

🇨🇳 China

$709

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Cixi

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 Cixi actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $709 in Cixi.

Lisbon $2,202
Cixi $709

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $1,125 in Cixi.

Lisbon $3,274
Cixi $1,125

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,542 in Cixi.

Lisbon $4,346
Cixi $1,542

Living in Lisbon is roughly 210% more expensive than in Cixi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Cixi is 48% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$2.75 ¥18.38

519.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$21.47 ¥144

190.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$4.78 ¥31.99

130.54%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$2.98 ¥19.94

4.70%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$0.43 ¥2.88

427.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.29 ¥1.94

500.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$0.94 ¥6.30

263.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$2.12 ¥14.19

76.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.87 ¥12.50

-37.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.57 ¥10.48

18.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$0.97 ¥6.51

58.76%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$1.54 ¥10.30

163.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$12.61 ¥84.3

2.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$3.12 ¥20.89

153.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$10.08 ¥67.4

75.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.81 ¥12.10

24.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.25 ¥8.36

40.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.54 ¥10.30

22.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$1.09 ¥7.29

134.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$0.70 ¥4.65

164.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.94 ¥6.30

109.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.59 ¥3.96

145.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.54 ¥3.63

42.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$3.05 ¥20.39

120.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$10.52 ¥70.3

-46.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$0.74 ¥4.93

85.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.64 ¥10.96

28.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$0.29 ¥1.96

700.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$16.43 ¥110

170.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$1.43 ¥9.54

176.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.36 ¥2.38

191.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$6.57 ¥43.90

161.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.13 ¥7.54

93.81%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$19.1K ¥127.9K

76.61%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$17.4K ¥116.5K

119.57%

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

$164 €146

$45.68 ¥305

258.60%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$9.85 ¥65.8

87.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$11.86 ¥79.3

177.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$41.22 ¥276

11.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$13.86 ¥92.7

34.78%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$5.82 ¥38.92

67.53%

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

$684 €608

$334 ¥2,231

105.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$16.5K ¥110.6K

6.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$42.93 ¥287

141.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$30.21 ¥202

52.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$71.7 ¥479

39.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$72.1 ¥482

73.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$280 ¥1,875

466.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$190 ¥1,268

516.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$590 ¥3,942

383.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$358 ¥2,394

456.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$3,020 ¥20.2K

158.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$2,070 ¥13.8K

113.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.89

-1.03%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Cixi: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Cixi

$190 26.7% 83.8% $980

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Cixi

$197 27.8% 27.8% $76

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Cixi

$84 11.8% 66.1% $164

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Cixi

$67 9.5% 68.7% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Cixi

$98 13.8% 42.1% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Cixi

$53 7.5% 19.1% $13

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Cixi

$21 2.9% 66.9% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $280 in Cixi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $21.00 in Cixi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $197 per month, with Cixi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇳 Cixi

🕒 Local time

04:37 4:37 AM

11:37 11:37 AM

7 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,829,488

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Lisbon Cixi 10,790 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Lisbon vs Cixi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cixi wins on cost – living expenses run 210% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Cixi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $3,302 in Lisbon and $1,064 in Cixi 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $280 in Cixi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $684 in Lisbon versus $334 in Cixi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 39% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $709 in Cixi versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cixi but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Cixi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Cixi delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $709 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Cixi hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Lisbon and Cixi 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 Cixi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 210% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.