Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Haikou

For one person, living is cheaper in Haikou: $813 a month against $2,210 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Haikou
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Haikou Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Haikou

🇨🇳 China

$813

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Haikou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $813 in Haikou.

Lisbon $2,210
Haikou $813

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,165 in Haikou.

Lisbon $3,275
Haikou $1,165

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,516 in Haikou.

Lisbon $4,341
Haikou $1,516

Living in Lisbon is roughly 172% more expensive than in Haikou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Haikou is 40% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.91

$4.49 ¥29.87

270.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$14.88 ¥99.0

314.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.17

$5.93 ¥39.45

91.57%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.50 ¥16.62

18.80%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$0.84 ¥5.59

172.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.37 ¥2.44

370.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$1.52 ¥10.09

123.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$2.77 ¥18.43

19.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$2.12 ¥14.12

-45.28%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.41 ¥9.38

35.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$0.69 ¥4.60

118.84%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$1.37 ¥9.12

193.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.96

$3.97 ¥26.43

95.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.91

$15.52 ¥103

14.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.75 ¥11.64

31.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$0.93 ¥6.21

86.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.09 ¥7.27

70.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$0.94 ¥6.24

175.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.86 ¥5.73

111.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.74 ¥4.90

166.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.43 ¥2.88

241.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.56 ¥3.73

28.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.17 ¥21.11

107.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$9.01 ¥60.0

-37.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.62 ¥4.14

119.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.17 ¥7.77

82.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.86 ¥5.71

170.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.01

$54.9 ¥365

-18.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$2.29 ¥15.25

68.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.47 ¥3.13

127.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.74

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.27 ¥8.48

73.23%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

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

$38.7K €34.7K

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

$161 €144

$36.44 ¥242

342.43%

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

$18.41 €16.49

$13.45 ¥89.5

36.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.32

$13.72 ¥91.3

138.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.90

$46.34 ¥308

-3.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.10

$6.51 ¥43.30

193.39%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$4.62 ¥30.74

107.79%

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

$668 €598

$871 ¥5,795

-23.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$19.7K ¥131.3K

-10.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$27.29 ¥182

273.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.82

$35.76 ¥238

24.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.2

$44.30 ¥295

122.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$38.38 ¥255

222.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,440

$370 ¥2,463

334.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$294 ¥1,956

304.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,519

$571 ¥3,801

392.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,803

$374 ¥2,489

438.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,021

$3,265 ¥21.7K

140.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,098

$2,136 ¥14.2K

114.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$715 ¥4,757

120.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Haikou: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Haikou

$294 36.2% 75.3% $896

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Haikou

$169 * 20.8% 37.8% $103

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Haikou

$102 12.5% 58.1% $141

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Haikou

$64 7.8% 70% $149

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Haikou

$66 8.1% 60.5% $100

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Haikou

$56 6.8% 12.8% $8.2

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Haikou

$63 7.8% 0.3% $0.2

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 $1,608 in Lisbon and $370 in Haikou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.2 times 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: $62 in Lisbon vs $15 in Haikou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $169 per month, with Haikou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇳 Haikou

🕒 Local time

01:23 1:23 AM

09:23 9:23 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

2,873,358

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Lisbon Haikou 10,930 km ≈ 14 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 Haikou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $813 in Haikou, so Haikou is about 63% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.2 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 $370 in Haikou. 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 $813 in Haikou – Haikou is about 63% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Lisbon runs roughly 19% less than in Haikou. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $813 in Haikou versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Haikou but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Haikou 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.

It comes down to priorities – Haikou wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.