Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Gaborone

For one person, living is cheaper in Gaborone: $845 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Gaborone
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Gaborone Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Gaborone

🇧🇼 Botswana

$845

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Gaborone

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $845 in Gaborone.

Lisbon $2,210
Gaborone $845

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,307 in Gaborone.

Lisbon $3,275
Gaborone $1,307

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,768 in Gaborone.

Lisbon $4,341
Gaborone $1,768

Living in Lisbon is roughly 162% more expensive than in Gaborone, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Gaborone is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$10.88 P 147

53.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$29.05 P 392

112.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$5.76 P 77.8

97.22%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.35 P 31.67

26.38%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.68 P 9.24

236.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.40 P 5.46

335.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.01 P 27.17

69.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.48 P 33.44

33.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.48 P 19.94

-21.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$0.84 P 11.30

127.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.78 P 24.04

-15.17%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.44 P 32.90

64.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$6.52 P 88.0

98.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$4.43 P 59.8

75.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$4.99 P 67.3

255.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.59 P 21.40

44.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.45 P 19.49

19.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.98 P 26.74

-6.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.67 P 22.47

55.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.30 P 17.47

40.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.21 P 16.29

62.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.28 P 17.27

14.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.97 P 13.10

-25.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$3.60 P 48.56

82.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$4.25 P 57.3

32.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.38 P 18.68

-1.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.78 P 24.04

20.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.62 P 8.40

275.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$29.95 P 404

49.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$0.60 P 8.14

541.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$2.46 P 33.24

-56.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$2.93 P 39.52

461.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.32 P 17.84

66.67%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$30.0K P 404.8K

13.93%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$20.1K P 271.2K

92.60%

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

$161 €145

$61.0 P 823

164.43%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$18.34 P 247

0.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$43.67 P 589

-25.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$34.07 P 460

30.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$16.29 P 220

17.25%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$6.23 P 84.1

54.09%

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

$668 €600

$129 P 1,744

416.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$2,545 P 34.3K

592.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$48.15 P 650

111.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$16.72 P 226

165.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$72.1 P 972

36.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$78.6 P 1,060

57.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$353 P 4,763

355.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$209 P 2,824

468.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$534 P 7,198

427.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$356 P 4,802

465.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$2,034 P 27.4K

285.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$1,260 P 17.0K

263.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$451 P 6,087

249.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

11.33

-66.02%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Gaborone: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Gaborone

$209 24.8% 82.4% $981

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Gaborone

$172 20.3% 37% $101

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Gaborone

$152 18% 37.4% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Gaborone

$123 14.6% 42.1% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Gaborone

$97 11.5% 41.5% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Gaborone

$47 5.5% 27% $17

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Gaborone

$45 5.4% 28.2% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $353 in Gaborone. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 3.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $29 in Gaborone for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $172 per month, with Gaborone cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇧🇼 Gaborone

🕒 Local time

23:45 11:45 PM

01:45 1:45 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

231,626 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Botswana Pula BWP P

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 BWP = 7.41 USD

100 BWP = 6.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BWP, 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).

Botswana Pula exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 13.49 BWP (100 BWP = 7.41 USD). 1 EUR = 15.02 BWP (100 BWP = 6.66 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Lisbon Gaborone 7,930 km ≈ 10 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 Gaborone: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gaborone is about 62% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 3.5 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 $353 in Gaborone. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 59% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Gaborone – a meal for two runs $29 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $845 in Gaborone versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Gaborone but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Gaborone 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 Gaborone are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Gaborone gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.