Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Hulhumale

For one person, living is cheaper in Hulhumale: $1,420 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 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
69

Cost of Living Index in Hulhumale
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Hulhumale Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Hulhumale

🇲🇻 Maldives

$1,420

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Hulhumale

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,420 in Hulhumale.

Lisbon $2,210
Hulhumale $1,420

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $2,583 in Hulhumale.

Lisbon $3,275
Hulhumale $2,583

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $3,747 in Hulhumale.

Lisbon $4,341
Hulhumale $3,747

Living in Lisbon is roughly 56% more expensive than in Hulhumale, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, Hulhumale 4% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$6.09 MVR 93.9

173.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$39.34 MVR 607

56.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$9.58 MVR 148

18.58%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.78 MVR 73.7

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.90 MVR 75.5

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$3.47 MVR 53.5

-14.41%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.60 MVR 24.64

43.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.29 MVR 4.46

500.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.54 MVR 23.70

-24.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.62 MVR 24.97

17.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$0.33 MVR 5.10

357.58%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$1.84 MVR 28.39

118.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$3.29 MVR 50.8

293.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$5.94 MVR 91.5

30.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$9.36 MVR 144

89.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$4.02 MVR 61.9

-42.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$3.14 MVR 48.43

-44.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.84 MVR 43.72

-34.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$2.65 MVR 40.87

-2.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.23 MVR 19.00

47.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.15 MVR 17.66

71.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$2.08 MVR 32.15

-29.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.58 MVR 9.00

24.14%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.13 MVR 187

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.71 MVR 41.78

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 MVR 29.90

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$12.99 MVR 200

-49.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$1.99 MVR 30.74

93.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.92 MVR 29.58

-44.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$10.09 MVR 156

63.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$0.98 MVR 15.04

124.49%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$32.6K MVR 502.7K

4.88%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$28.9K MVR 444.9K

34.22%

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

$161 €144

$105 MVR 1,617

53.76%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$29.88 MVR 461

-38.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$71.5 MVR 1,103

-54.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$9.57 MVR 148

0.31%

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

$668 €598

$183 MVR 2,825

264.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$3,027 MVR 46.7K

481.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$38.84 MVR 599

162.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$49.67 MVR 766

-10.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$85.7 MVR 1,321

15.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$52.3 MVR 806

136.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$1,147 MVR 17.7K

40.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$762 MVR 11.8K

56.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$2,237 MVR 34.5K

25.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$2,299 MVR 35.5K

-12.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$5,433 MVR 83.8K

44.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$506 MVR 7,798

804.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$721 MVR 11.1K

118.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

-72.50%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Hulhumale: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Hulhumale

$762 53.7% 36% $428

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Hulhumale

$193 13.6% 29.2% $80

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Hulhumale

$127 8.9% 47.8% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Hulhumale

$206 14.5% 2.9% $6.1

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Hulhumale

$102 7.2% 38.6% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Hulhumale

$19 * 1.4% 70% $45

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Hulhumale

$12 * 0.8% 81.7% $52

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 $1,147 in Hulhumale. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $39 in Hulhumale for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $193 per month, with Hulhumale cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇻 Hulhumale

🕒 Local time

05:29 5:29 AM

10:29 10:29 AM

5 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

5,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Maldivian Rufiyaa MVR Rf

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MVR = 6.49 USD

100 MVR = 5.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MVR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Maldivian Rufiyaa exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 15.42 MVR (100 MVR = 6.49 USD). 1 EUR = 17.22 MVR (100 MVR = 5.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Hulhumale 9,080 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
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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 Hulhumale: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hulhumale wins on cost – living expenses run 36% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Hulhumale the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

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 $1,147 in Hulhumale. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $183 in Hulhumale. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Hulhumale – a meal for two runs $39 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Hulhumale is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Hulhumale are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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