Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Kingston

For one person, living is cheaper in Kingston: $1,668 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Kingston
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Kingston Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Kingston

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,668

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Kingston

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $1,668 in Kingston.

Lisbon $2,223
Kingston $1,668

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $2,812 in Kingston.

Lisbon $3,271
Kingston $2,812

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $3,955 in Kingston.

Lisbon $4,319
Kingston $3,955

Living in Lisbon is roughly 33% more expensive than in Kingston, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 65% above, Kingston 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$13.29 JMD 2,099

24.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$73.8 JMD 11.7K

-16.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$8.14 JMD 1,285

38.45%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$5.45 JMD 861

-43.85%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$1.14 JMD 180

98.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.72 JMD 115

140.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$2.16 JMD 341

56.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$3.11 JMD 491

9.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$4.19 JMD 661

-73.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$3.78 JMD 598

-50.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.61 JMD 254

-4.97%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$3.48 JMD 550

13.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$11.40 JMD 1,801

11.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$6.35 JMD 1,003

24.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$10.40 JMD 1,644

63.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$6.05 JMD 957

-62.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$3.82 JMD 604

-54.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$7.25 JMD 1,146

-74.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$3.06 JMD 484

-16.01%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$3.21 JMD 506

-42.06%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$2.62 JMD 415

-22.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$3.13 JMD 494

-53.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.44 JMD 228

-43.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$9.48 JMD 1,498

-30.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$11.36 JMD 1,795

-50.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$2.86 JMD 453

-55.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$3.88 JMD 613

-46.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.75 JMD 119

213.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$37.27 JMD 5,888

18.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$1.22 JMD 192

227.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$3.20 JMD 505

-65.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$6.31 JMD 996

163.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.39 JMD 219

64.03%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$44.3K JMD 7.0M

-23.97%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$32.8K JMD 5.2M

19.86%

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

$167 €149

$167 JMD 26.4K

0.41%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$29.86 JMD 4,717

-37.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$53.4 JMD 8,443

-38.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$61.9 JMD 9,787

-25.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$17.61 JMD 2,782

8.97%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$13.15 JMD 2,078

-25.17%

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

$677 €602

$359 JMD 56.7K

88.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$8,382 JMD 1.3M

101.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$23.75 JMD 3,752

326.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$31.13 JMD 4,918

47.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$76.9 JMD 12.2K

29.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$100 JMD 15.9K

22.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$975 JMD 154.0K

65.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$563 JMD 89.0K

112.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$2,142 JMD 338.5K

33.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$1,421 JMD 224.6K

40.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$2,876 JMD 454.4K

163.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$2,044 JMD 323.0K

110.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$735 JMD 116.1K

116.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

9.45

-59.26%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Kingston: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Kingston

$563 33.8% 53% $634

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Kingston

$384 23% 42.6% $115

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Kingston

$221 13.2% 9% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Kingston

$250 15% 14% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Kingston

$105 6.3% 37.2% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Kingston

$88 5.3% 34.3% $23

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Kingston

$57 3.5% 8.8% $5.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $975 in Kingston. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 116% 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: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $74.0 in Kingston for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $384 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇯🇲 Kingston

🕒 Local time

17:40 5:40 PM

11:40 11:40 AM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

660,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Kingston 6,850 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

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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 Kingston: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kingston wins on cost – living expenses run 33% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Kingston the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 116% higher in Lisbon, 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $975 in Kingston. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $359 in Kingston. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 43% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,668 in Kingston versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kingston but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Kingston the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Kingston delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,668 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Kingston hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Lisbon and Kingston are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Kingston gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.