Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Esperanza

For one person, living is cheaper in Esperanza: $694 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $18,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Esperanza
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Esperanza Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Esperanza

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$694

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Esperanza

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $694 in Esperanza.

Lisbon $2,206
Esperanza $694

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,142 in Esperanza.

Lisbon $3,276
Esperanza $1,142

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,591 in Esperanza.

Lisbon $4,346
Esperanza $1,591

Living in Lisbon is roughly 218% more expensive than in Esperanza, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Esperanza is 49% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.08

$9.67 DOP 581

74.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.6

$48.55 DOP 2,916

25.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.82

$7.62 DOP 458

44.09%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.73

$2.31 DOP 138

32.03%

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

$2.28 €2.04

$1.01 DOP 60.9

125.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$0.55 DOP 32.75

205.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.07

$2.39 DOP 143

43.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.49

$3.13 DOP 188

24.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.03

$1.36 DOP 81.8

-15.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.69

$1.51 DOP 90.9

25.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.62 DOP 97.3

-7.41%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.68

$2.26 DOP 136

82.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.63

$7.04 DOP 423

84.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.19

$5.41 DOP 325

48.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €16.00

$6.47 DOP 388

176.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.03

$3.23 DOP 194

-29.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.78 DOP 46.60

123.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$2.66 DOP 160

-31.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.40

$1.80 DOP 108

49.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.58

$1.98 DOP 119

-10.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.73

$2.14 DOP 129

-9.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.03 DOP 61.6

41.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.97 DOP 58.4

-21.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.95

$5.14 DOP 309

29.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.04

$10.31 DOP 619

-45.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$2.57 DOP 154

-49.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.98 DOP 179

-28.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.06

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.36

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.56

$3.21 DOP 193

23.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$2.26 DOP 136

-71.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.92

$5.76 DOP 346

228.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.43 DOP 86.1

59.44%

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

$33.4K €29.8K

$29.2K DOP 1.8M

14.23%

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

$38.5K €34.4K

$34.0K DOP 2.0M

13.42%

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

$158 €141

$92.2 DOP 5,537

71.59%

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

$17.54 €15.68

$31.44 DOP 1,888

-44.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.89

$35.25 DOP 2,117

-11.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.92

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.97

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.56

$7.30 DOP 439

31.23%

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

$674 €602

$248 DOP 14.9K

171.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$7,383 DOP 443.4K

153.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$45.16 DOP 2,713

126.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €41.04

$46.44 DOP 2,789

-1.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.4

$85.8 DOP 5,151

19.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$124 DOP 7,438

-1.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,467

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,062

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,526

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,805

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €7,007

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,204

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,508

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

13.56

-71.83%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Esperanza: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Esperanza

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Esperanza

$218 31.4% 20.7% $57

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Esperanza

$152 22% 37.9% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Esperanza

$159 22.9% 23.2% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Esperanza

$136 19.5% 19.1% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Esperanza

$15 * 2.1% 77.1% $49

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Esperanza

$14 * 2.1% 76% $46

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $49 in Esperanza for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $218 per month, with Esperanza cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇩🇴 Esperanza

🕒 Local time

21:08 9:08 PM

17:08 5:08 PM

4 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

51,694

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 DOP = 1.67 USD

100 DOP = 1.49 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DOP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.894 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 60.06 DOP (100 DOP = 1.67 USD). 1 EUR = 67.17 DOP (100 DOP = 1.49 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Esperanza 6,250 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

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Esperanza

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 Esperanza: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Esperanza wins on cost – living expenses run 69% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Esperanza the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $3,309 in Lisbon and $1,040 in Esperanza 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 $674 in Lisbon versus $248 in Esperanza. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Esperanza – a meal for two runs $49 versus $61 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $694 in Esperanza versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $800 budget is realistic in Esperanza but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Esperanza 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.