Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Kaifeng

For one person, living is cheaper in Kaifeng: $500 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $20,500 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
24

Cost of Living Index in Kaifeng
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Kaifeng Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Kaifeng

🇨🇳 China

$500

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Kaifeng

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $500 in Kaifeng.

Lisbon $2,210
Kaifeng $500

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $792 in Kaifeng.

Lisbon $3,275
Kaifeng $792

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,083 in Kaifeng.

Lisbon $4,341
Kaifeng $1,083

Living in Lisbon is roughly 342% more expensive than in Kaifeng, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Kaifeng is 63% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$1.85 ¥12.30

800.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$13.44 ¥89.3

359.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$4.12 ¥27.40

175.73%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.19 ¥14.54

35.62%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$0.39 ¥2.56

487.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.17 ¥1.14

923.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$0.89 ¥5.91

282.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$1.53 ¥10.16

116.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.57 ¥10.40

-26.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.54 ¥10.21

24.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$0.81 ¥5.39

86.42%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$0.96 ¥6.39

318.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$6.67 ¥44.30

94.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$2.30 ¥15.25

237.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$10.21 ¥67.8

73.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$0.87 ¥5.78

164.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$0.97 ¥6.42

78.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$0.59 ¥3.94

215.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$0.64 ¥4.25

304.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.58 ¥3.84

213.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.67 ¥4.47

194.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.21 ¥1.39

600.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.55 ¥3.67

30.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$2.94 ¥19.56

123.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$14.88 ¥98.9

-62.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.01 ¥6.70

34.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.01 ¥13.36

6.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.13 ¥0.87

1692.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$1.17 ¥7.75

229.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.15 ¥0.99

613.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$3.69 ¥24.50

346.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.27 ¥8.44

73.23%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$19.2K ¥127.3K

78.42%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$14.9K ¥99.0K

160.02%

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

$161 €144

$45.22 ¥300

256.52%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$4.76 ¥31.62

286.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$5.28 ¥35.07

520.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$29.67 ¥197

50.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$10.55 ¥70.1

81.04%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$3.82 ¥25.36

151.31%

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

$668 €598

$388 ¥2,581

71.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$31.2K ¥207.3K

-43.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$43.81 ¥291

132.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$33.96 ¥226

30.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$71.9 ¥478

37.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$45.32 ¥301

172.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$121 ¥801

1234.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$88.7 ¥589

1241.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$225 ¥1,494

1150.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$180 ¥1,197

1017.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$580 ¥3,852

171.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.1

24.19%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Kaifeng: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Kaifeng

$89 17.7% 92.5% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Kaifeng

$165 33.1% 39.3% $107

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Kaifeng

$63 12.6% 74% $179

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Kaifeng

$55 11.1% 74% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Kaifeng

$88 17.6% 47.1% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Kaifeng

$37 7.5% 41.5% $26

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Kaifeng

$2.4 * 0.5% 96.1% $61

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 $121 in Kaifeng. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.7 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 $13 in Kaifeng for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $165 per month, with Kaifeng cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇳 Kaifeng

🕒 Local time

09:20 9:20 AM

17:20 5:20 PM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

4,676,159

💱 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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Between locations

Lisbon Kaifeng 9,990 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Lisbon vs Kaifeng: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kaifeng wins on cost – living expenses run 77% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Kaifeng the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.7 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 $121 in Kaifeng. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 65% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $500 in Kaifeng – Kaifeng is about 77% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $500 in Kaifeng versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $800 budget is realistic in Kaifeng but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Kaifeng 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 – Kaifeng wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.