Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Kiambu

For one person, living is cheaper in Kiambu: $503 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 Kiambu
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Kiambu Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Kiambu

🇰🇪 Kenya

$503

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Kiambu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $503 in Kiambu.

Lisbon $2,210
Kiambu $503

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $823 in Kiambu.

Lisbon $3,275
Kiambu $823

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,143 in Kiambu.

Lisbon $4,341
Kiambu $1,143

Living in Lisbon is roughly 339% more expensive than in Kiambu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$6.41 KES 832

159.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$34.12 KES 4,429

80.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$6.52 KES 847

74.23%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.60 KES 337

14.23%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$0.64 KES 83.4

257.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.62 KES 81.0

180.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.26 KES 293

50.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.62 KES 340

26.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$0.54 KES 70.7

114.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.55 KES 71.5

247.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.83 KES 237

-17.49%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$1.37 KES 178

193.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$10.71 KES 1,390

20.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$6.67 KES 866

16.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$4.01 KES 520

342.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$3.50 KES 455

-34.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.04 KES 135

66.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$0.75 KES 97.0

148.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$0.59 KES 77.0

338.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.72 KES 93.7

152.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.71 KES 92.4

177.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.30 KES 38.51

390.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.37 KES 47.82

94.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.39 KES 440

94.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$11.49 KES 1,492

-51.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.27 KES 295

-40.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.70 KES 350

-20.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.63 KES 81.3

269.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$1.51 KES 196

154.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.36 KES 47.31

197.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$2.81 KES 365

485.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.60 KES 208

37.50%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$19.2K KES 2.5M

77.92%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$21.6K KES 2.8M

79.22%

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

$161 €144

$56.4 KES 7,317

186.00%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$7.86 KES 1,020

134.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$35.13 KES 4,560

-6.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$5.82 KES 755

64.95%

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

$668 €598

$280 KES 36.4K

138.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$12.5K KES 1.6M

40.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$27.56 KES 3,577

270.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$29.19 KES 3,789

52.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$70.1 KES 9,104

40.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$57.5 KES 7,463

115.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$116 KES 15.0K

1289.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$1,175 KES 152.6K

566.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$125 KES 16.3K

1156.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

14.71

-73.83%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Kiambu: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Kiambu

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Kiambu

$180 35.8% 33.9% $92

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Kiambu

$124 24.6% 49% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Kiambu

$99 19.7% 53.2% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Kiambu

$83 16.5% 50% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Kiambu

$12 * 2.3% 81.8% $52

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Kiambu

$5.8 * 1.2% 90.8% $57

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 $116 in Kiambu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 13 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $34 in Kiambu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $180 per month, with Kiambu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇰🇪 Kiambu

🕒 Local time

03:08 3:08 AM

06:08 6:08 AM

3 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

147,870

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 144 KES (1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Kiambu 6,450 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Kiambu

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 Kiambu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kiambu is about 77% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 13 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 $116 in Kiambu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $280 in Kiambu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Kiambu – a meal for two runs $34 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $503 in Kiambu versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kiambu but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Kiambu 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 – Kiambu wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.