Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Dunedin

For one person, living is cheaper in Dunedin: $1,794 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Dunedin
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Dunedin Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Dunedin

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,794

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Dunedin

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $1,794 in Dunedin.

Lisbon $2,223
Dunedin $1,794

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $2,661 in Dunedin.

Lisbon $3,271
Dunedin $2,661

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $3,527 in Dunedin.

Lisbon $4,319
Dunedin $3,527

Living in Lisbon is roughly 24% more expensive than in Dunedin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 65% above, Dunedin 33% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$13.81 NZ$24.43

19.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$61.7 NZ$109

-0.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$11.05 NZ$19.54

1.99%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.28 NZ$5.80

-6.71%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$2.03 NZ$3.58

11.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$2.04 NZ$3.61

-15.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$6.74 NZ$11.92

-49.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$6.27 NZ$11.09

-45.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$2.13 NZ$3.77

-47.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.96 NZ$3.47

-5.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.68 NZ$2.98

-8.93%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$5.75 NZ$10.16

-31.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$8.54 NZ$15.10

49.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$9.45 NZ$16.72

-16.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$16.50 NZ$29.19

2.85%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$3.00 NZ$5.30

-24.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.39 NZ$4.22

-26.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$3.14 NZ$5.56

-41.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$4.93 NZ$8.72

-47.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.85 NZ$3.28

0.54%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.82 NZ$3.22

10.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.34 NZ$4.13

-38.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.59 NZ$1.04

38.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$20.71 NZ$36.63

-68.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$8.90 NZ$15.75

-36.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$3.09 NZ$5.47

-58.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.20 NZ$2.12

72.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.11 NZ$1.96

111.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$66.0 NZ$117

-33.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$5.46 NZ$9.66

-26.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$27.62 NZ$48.84

-39.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.76 NZ$3.12

29.55%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$25.6K NZ$45.2K

31.71%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$24.9K NZ$44.0K

57.89%

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

$167 €149

$111 NZ$196

50.95%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$28.15 NZ$49.78

-33.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$52.5 NZ$92.9

-37.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$47.73 NZ$84.4

-3.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$10.36 NZ$18.33

-5.02%

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

$677 €602

$570 NZ$1,009

18.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$58.9 NZ$104

72.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$34.56 NZ$61.1

32.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$92.5 NZ$164

8.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$132 NZ$234

-7.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$873 NZ$1,545

84.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$749 NZ$1,324

59.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$1,480 NZ$2,617

93.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$1,148 NZ$2,031

73.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$2,200 NZ$3,890

95.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$2,425 NZ$4,288

-34.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

7.07

-45.54%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Dunedin: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Dunedin

$749 41.7% 37.4% $448

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Dunedin

$321 17.9% 19.1% $51

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Dunedin

$246 13.7% 1.4% $3.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Dunedin

$192 10.7% 12.6% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Dunedin

$143 8% 13.9% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Dunedin

$68 3.8% 4.2% $2.8

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Dunedin

$76 * 4.2% 20.5% $13

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 $1,614 in Lisbon and $873 in Dunedin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dunedin pays 53% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $62.0 in Dunedin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $321 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇳🇿 Dunedin

🕒 Local time

00:41 12:41 AM

12:41 12:41 PM

12 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

105,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.77 NZD (1 NZD = 0.565 USD). 1 EUR = 1.99 NZD (1 NZD = 0.503 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Dunedin 19,220 km ≈ 25 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Dunedin

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 Dunedin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Dunedin differ by about 24% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $1,794 including rent). Dunedin is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 53% lower in Dunedin. 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $873 in Dunedin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Dunedin runs roughly 49% less than in Lisbon. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $570 in Dunedin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,794 in Dunedin versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Dunedin but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Dunedin 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.

Safety-wise, Lisbon and Dunedin 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 Dunedin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.