Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Embu

For one person, living is cheaper in Embu: $517 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $20,500 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
25

Cost of Living Index in Embu
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Embu Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Embu

🇰🇪 Kenya

$517

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Embu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $517 in Embu.

Lisbon $2,223
Embu $517

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $822 in Embu.

Lisbon $3,271
Embu $822

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $1,127 in Embu.

Lisbon $4,319
Embu $1,127

Living in Lisbon is roughly 330% more expensive than in Embu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Embu is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$6.24 KES 809

164.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$30.87 KES 4,002

98.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$5.42 KES 702

107.93%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.35 KES 305

30.21%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$0.36 KES 46.68

527.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.24 KES 31.13

620.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$2.28 KES 296

48.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$2.63 KES 341

29.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$0.56 KES 72.9

100.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.52 KES 66.8

257.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$0.96 KES 124

59.38%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$1.71 KES 222

131.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$3.89 KES 504

228.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$3.21 KES 416

146.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$4.20 KES 544

304.05%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$3.34 KES 433

-32.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.05 KES 136

66.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.06 KES 267

-10.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$0.41 KES 53.0

526.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.63 KES 81.5

195.24%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$0.91 KES 118

121.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.74 KES 95.8

94.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.55 KES 71.9

49.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$3.65 KES 473

79.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$11.48 KES 1,489

-51.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$2.23 KES 289

-42.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$2.70 KES 350

-23.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.14 KES 148

106.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$1.51 KES 196

164.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.58 KES 205

-31.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$2.94 KES 382

465.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.60 KES 207

42.50%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$21.2K KES 2.7M

58.94%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$12.2K KES 1.6M

223.28%

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

$167 €149

$57.1 KES 7,400

193.43%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$15.06 KES 1,952

24.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$34.48 KES 4,470

-4.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$17.41 KES 2,257

164.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$4.28 KES 555

129.91%

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

$677 €602

$251 KES 32.5K

169.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$12.6K KES 1.6M

34.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$9.22 KES 1,196

998.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$29.38 KES 3,809

55.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$70.3 KES 9,113

42.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$15.37 KES 1,993

698.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$76.2 KES 9,876

2018.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$53.1 KES 6,886

2153.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$91.6 KES 11.9K

2072.70%

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

$272 KES 35.3K

483.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

14.71

-73.83%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Embu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Embu

$53 10.3% 95.6% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Embu

$148 28.6% 45.1% $121

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Embu

$113 22% 53.2% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Embu

$107 20.6% 51.4% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Embu

$56 10.8% 66.4% $110

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Embu

$26 5% 60.5% $40

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Embu

$14 * 2.7% 77.8% $49

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 $76.2 in Embu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 484% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $31.00 in Embu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $148 per month, with Embu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇰🇪 Embu

🕒 Local time

18:54 6:54 PM

20:54 8:54 PM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

41,092

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, 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).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Embu 6,450 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Embu

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 Embu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Embu differ by about 330% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $517 including rent). Embu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 484% higher in Lisbon, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $76.2 in Embu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $251 in Embu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Embu – a meal for two runs $31.00 versus $61.0 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $517 in Embu versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Embu but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Embu 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 Embu 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 Embu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 330% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.