Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Ensenada

For one person, living is cheaper in Ensenada: $1,067 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 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
51

Cost of Living Index in Ensenada
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Ensenada Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Ensenada

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,067

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Ensenada

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,067 in Ensenada.

Lisbon $2,210
Ensenada $1,067

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,704 in Ensenada.

Lisbon $3,275
Ensenada $1,704

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,340 in Ensenada.

Lisbon $4,341
Ensenada $2,340

Living in Lisbon is roughly 107% more expensive than in Ensenada, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Ensenada is 22% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$12.01 MX$224

38.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$33.29 MX$620

85.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$7.07 MX$132

60.68%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.99 MX$55.7

-0.67%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.19 MX$22.22

92.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.70 MX$13.09

148.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.72 MX$50.6

25.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$4.08 MX$76.1

-18.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.79 MX$33.44

-35.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$2.64 MX$49.16

-27.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.64 MX$30.50

-7.93%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.53 MX$47.18

58.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$8.12 MX$151

59.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$6.72 MX$125

15.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$10.16 MX$189

74.80%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.17 MX$40.48

5.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.55 MX$28.95

11.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.78 MX$33.10

4.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.59 MX$29.66

62.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.31 MX$24.47

38.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.78 MX$33.24

10.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.44 MX$26.76

2.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.05 MX$19.60

-31.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.93 MX$73.3

67.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$13.15 MX$245

-57.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.75 MX$32.66

-22.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.64 MX$49.20

-18.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.84 MX$15.73

177.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

$42.37 MX$789

5.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$2.78 MX$51.8

38.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.91 MX$35.61

-43.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$19.18 MX$357

-14.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.39 MX$25.89

58.27%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$24.6K MX$457.9K

39.10%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$23.3K MX$434.3K

66.10%

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

$161 €144

$46.42 MX$865

247.31%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$31.55 MX$588

-41.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$25.24 MX$470

29.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$27.30 MX$509

63.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$10.72 MX$200

78.17%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$4.49 MX$83.7

113.81%

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

$668 €598

$190 MX$3,548

250.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$4,838 MX$90.1K

264.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$53.2 MX$990

91.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$41.89 MX$780

6.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$102 MX$1,908

-3.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$57.5 MX$1,071

115.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$518 MX$9,650

210.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$322 MX$5,991

270.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$977 MX$18.2K

187.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$641 MX$11.9K

214.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$1,346 MX$25.1K

482.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$666 MX$12.4K

586.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$650 MX$12.1K

142.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

11.3

-65.93%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Ensenada: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Ensenada

$322 30.1% 73% $868

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Ensenada

$251 23.5% 7.9% $21

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Ensenada

$182 17.1% 24.8% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Ensenada

$103 9.7% 51.4% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Ensenada

$115 10.8% 30.8% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Ensenada

$36 3.4% 43.1% $27

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Ensenada

$58 5.4% 8.1% $5.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $518 in Ensenada. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $33 in Ensenada for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $251 per month, with Ensenada cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇽 Ensenada

🕒 Local time

05:04 5:04 AM

22:04 10:04 PM

7 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

330,652

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Lisbon Ensenada 9,170 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

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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 Ensenada: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,067 in Ensenada, so Ensenada is about 52% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.4 times higher, 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $518 in Ensenada. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $1,067 in Ensenada – Ensenada is about 52% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Ensenada runs roughly 5% less than in Lisbon. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,067 in Ensenada versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ensenada but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Ensenada 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 Ensenada are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Ensenada gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.