Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Lusaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Lusaka: $872 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,000 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Lusaka
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Lusaka Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Lusaka

🇿🇲 Zambia

$872

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Lusaka

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $872 in Lusaka.

Lisbon $2,202
Lusaka $872

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $1,488 in Lusaka.

Lisbon $3,274
Lusaka $1,488

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,103 in Lusaka.

Lisbon $4,346
Lusaka $2,103

Living in Lisbon is roughly 153% more expensive than in Lusaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Lusaka is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$5.58 ZMW 111

205.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$29.94 ZMW 595

108.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$4.99 ZMW 99.3

120.84%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$2.84 ZMW 56.5

9.86%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$0.77 ZMW 15.27

194.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.46 ZMW 9.13

278.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$1.27 ZMW 25.34

169.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$2.30 ZMW 45.73

62.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.69 ZMW 33.64

-30.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.17 ZMW 23.28

58.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$2.01 ZMW 39.99

-23.38%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$1.96 ZMW 39.04

107.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$10.49 ZMW 209

23.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$6.34 ZMW 126

24.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$6.61 ZMW 131

166.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$3.30 ZMW 65.6

-31.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.45 ZMW 48.81

-28.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$3.66 ZMW 72.8

-48.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$1.57 ZMW 31.27

63.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.52 ZMW 50.1

-26.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.79 ZMW 35.66

10.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.12 ZMW 22.24

29.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.74 ZMW 14.75

4.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$2.94 ZMW 58.5

128.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$10.09 ZMW 201

-43.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.42 ZMW 28.21

-3.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$2.32 ZMW 46.18

-9.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$0.97 ZMW 19.35

139.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$50.0 ZMW 995

-11.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$2.46 ZMW 48.89

60.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$1.52 ZMW 30.18

-30.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$4.99 ZMW 99.2

243.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.51 ZMW 29.99

45.03%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$7,644 ZMW 152.0K

341.98%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$27.8K ZMW 553.6K

37.48%

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

$164 €146

$81.7 ZMW 1,626

100.43%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$10.28 ZMW 204

79.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$54.4 ZMW 1,081

-39.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$55.1 ZMW 1,096

-16.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$15.21 ZMW 303

22.81%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$6.03 ZMW 120

61.69%

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

$684 €608

$139 ZMW 2,774

390.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$16.5K ZMW 328.6K

6.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$23.04 ZMW 458

350.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$15.19 ZMW 302

204.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$45.38 ZMW 903

119.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$72.9 ZMW 1,450

71.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$380 ZMW 7,564

317.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$177 ZMW 3,513

561.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$1,067 ZMW 21.2K

167.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$593 ZMW 11.8K

236.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$1,895 ZMW 37.7K

311.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$5,017 ZMW 99.8K

-11.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$316 ZMW 6,290

405.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

-86.72%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Lusaka: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Lusaka

$177 20.3% 84.9% $992

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Lusaka

$238 27.3% 13% $35

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Lusaka

$110 12.6% 55.7% $138

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Lusaka

$146 16.8% 32% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Lusaka

$70 8.1% 58.2% $98

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Lusaka

$67 7.7% 2.8% $1.8

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Lusaka

$64 7.3% 1.7% $1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $380 in Lusaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 406% 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: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $30.00 in Lusaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $238 per month, with Lusaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇲 Lusaka

🕒 Local time

14:18 2:18 PM

15:18 3:18 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,742,979 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZMW = 5.03 USD

100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZMW, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 19.89 ZMW (100 ZMW = 5.03 USD). 1 EUR = 22.36 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Lusaka 7,170 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

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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 Lusaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Lusaka differ by about 153% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $872 including rent). Lusaka is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 406% 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: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $380 in Lusaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $684 in Lisbon versus $139 in Lusaka. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $872 in Lusaka versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lusaka but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Lusaka 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.

Safety-wise, Lisbon and Lusaka 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 Lusaka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 153% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.