Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and El Viejo

For one person, living is cheaper in El Viejo: $819 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,800 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
40

Cost of Living Index in El Viejo
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El Viejo Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

El Viejo

🇳🇮 Nicaragua

$819

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $819 in El Viejo.

Lisbon $2,223
El Viejo $819

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $1,281 in El Viejo.

Lisbon $3,271
El Viejo $1,281

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $1,744 in El Viejo.

Lisbon $4,319
El Viejo $1,744

Living in Lisbon is roughly 171% more expensive than in El Viejo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, El Viejo is 39% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$10.06 NIO 368

64.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$34.93 NIO 1,279

75.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$7.49 NIO 274

50.47%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.59 NIO 94.8

18.15%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$0.84 NIO 30.75

169.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.68 NIO 24.80

154.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$1.53 NIO 56.0

121.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$2.23 NIO 81.7

52.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.27 NIO 46.47

-11.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.42 NIO 88.6

-23.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.82 NIO 66.6

-15.93%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$2.39 NIO 87.7

65.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$11.41 NIO 418

11.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$6.42 NIO 235

23.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$7.83 NIO 287

116.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$4.12 NIO 151

-44.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$0.58 NIO 21.37

201.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.78 NIO 65.3

3.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$2.41 NIO 88.2

6.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$4.02 NIO 147

-53.73%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$2.17 NIO 79.3

-6.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.08 NIO 39.59

33.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.05 NIO 38.36

-21.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$2.76 NIO 101

137.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$14.69 NIO 538

-61.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.47 NIO 53.8

-12.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$2.16 NIO 79.0

-4.17%

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

$1.59 NIO 58.1

150.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.62 NIO 59.3

-32.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$6.88 NIO 252

141.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.32 NIO 48.19

72.73%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$23.4K NIO 856.7K

43.97%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$26.5K NIO 969.5K

48.43%

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

$167 €149

$151 NIO 5,517

11.19%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$19.34 NIO 708

-2.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$32.75 NIO 1,199

1.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$9.07 NIO 332

8.49%

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

$677 €602

$232 NIO 8,479

192.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$5,987 NIO 219.3K

182.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$59.5 NIO 2,179

70.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$66.2 NIO 2,426

-30.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$120 NIO 4,406

-16.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$143 NIO 5,246

-14.28%

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

11.92

-67.70%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for El Viejo: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

El Viejo

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

El Viejo

$261 31.9% 3.1% $8.2

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

El Viejo

$152 18.6% 37.2% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

El Viejo

$203 24.8% 7.6% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

El Viejo

$175 21.4% 5.3% $8.8

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

El Viejo

$18 * 2.2% 72.4% $48

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

El Viejo

$9.7 * 1.2% 84.7% $53

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 $35.00 in El Viejo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $261 per month, with El Viejo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇳🇮 El Viejo

🕒 Local time

16:05 4:05 PM

09:05 9:05 AM

7 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

33,607

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Nicaraguan Córdoba NIO C$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 NIO = 2.73 USD

100 NIO = 2.43 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NIO, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Nicaraguan Córdoba exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 36.62 NIO (100 NIO = 2.73 USD). 1 EUR = 41.17 NIO (100 NIO = 2.43 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Lisbon El Viejo 8,100 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

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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 Viejo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

El Viejo is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 171% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $3,335 in Lisbon and $1,229 in El Viejo 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.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $232 in El Viejo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in El Viejo – a meal for two runs $35.00 versus $61.0 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $819 in El Viejo versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in El Viejo but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes El Viejo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, El Viejo is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Lisbon, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Lisbon and El Viejo 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 El Viejo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 171% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.