Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and El Nido

For one person, living is cheaper in El Nido: $730 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $17,800 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 El Nido
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El Nido Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

El Nido

🇵🇭 Philippines

$730

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in El Nido

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

A single person spends $2,210 per month in Lisbon vs $730 in El Nido, rent included.

Lisbon $2,210
El Nido $730

A couple spends around $3,275 per month in Lisbon vs $1,156 in El Nido, rent included.

Lisbon $3,275
El Nido $1,156

A family of three spends $4,341 per month in Lisbon vs $1,582 in El Nido, rent included.

Lisbon $4,341
El Nido $1,582

Lisbon costs about 203% more than El Nido, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Lisbon sits 62% above the global median, while El Nido is 46% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$3.86 ₱247

331.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$30.35 ₱1,939

103.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$3.60 ₱230

215.56%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.19 ₱140

35.62%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.14 ₱73.1

100.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.31 ₱20.08

461.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$1.23 ₱78.5

176.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$1.86 ₱119

77.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.84 ₱118

-36.96%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.02 ₱65.3

87.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.27 ₱80.9

18.90%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.85 ₱118

117.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$5.93 ₱379

118.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$3.88 ₱248

100.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$6.76 ₱432

162.72%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$2.31 ₱147

-0.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.61 ₱103

7.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$2.26 ₱144

-17.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.12 ₱71.4

131.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$2.06 ₱131

-11.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$2.22 ₱142

-11.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.14 ₱72.7

28.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.56 ₱36.03

28.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$2.92 ₱186

125.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$8.28 ₱529

-32.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.93 ₱59.2

46.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.78 ₱114

20.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.22 ₱14.10

959.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$13.54 ₱865

229.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$0.77 ₱49.41

400.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.22 ₱13.99

386.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$1.99 ₱127

727.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.27 ₱81.3

73.23%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$19.0K ₱1.2M

79.89%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$20.2K ₱1.3M

91.27%

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

$161 €145

$125 ₱8,015

28.51%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$16.25 ₱1,038

13.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$23.48 ₱1,500

39.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$31.49 ₱2,012

41.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$4.99 ₱319

282.77%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$5.07 ₱324

89.35%

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

$668 €600

$144 ₱9,190

364.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$8,421 ₱538.1K

109.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$33.73 ₱2,155

202.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$19.38 ₱1,238

129.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$65.6 ₱4,190

50.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$62.3 ₱3,980

98.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$248 ₱15.8K

549.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$160 ₱10.2K

642.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$507 ₱32.4K

454.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$359 ₱22.9K

461.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$2,535 ₱161.9K

209.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$1,054 ₱67.3K

334.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$246 ₱15.7K

539.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

6.92

-44.36%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for El Nido: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

El Nido

$160 22% 86.5% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

El Nido

$181 24.8% 33.5% $91

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

El Nido

$84 11.5% 65.5% $159

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

El Nido

$165 22.6% 22.2% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

El Nido

$81 11.2% 50.9% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

El Nido

$42 5.7% 34.7% $22

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

El Nido

$16 2.2% 74.2% $47

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,608 in Lisbon versus $248 in El Nido. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Lisbon are about 6.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62 in Lisbon versus $30 in El Nido. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $272 vs $181 – making El Nido the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇵🇭 El Nido

🕒 Local time

20:32 8:32 PM

04:32 4:32 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

50,494

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.13 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon El Nido 12,320 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
El Nido

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 El Nido: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon, $730 in El Nido – El Nido comes out roughly 67% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,315 per month in Lisbon and $1,094 in El Nido. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in El Nido, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $248 there versus $1,608 in Lisbon.

Public transport costs about 70% less in El Nido. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $668 per month in Lisbon and $144 in El Nido. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in El Nido, where all-in costs run around $730, than in Lisbon at $2,210. In El Nido it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lisbon it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward El Nido – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with El Nido. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Lisbon makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.