Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Maputo

For one person, living is cheaper in Maputo: $1,127 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,000 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Maputo
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Maputo Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Maputo

🇲🇿 Mozambique

$1,127

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Maputo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,127 in Maputo.

Lisbon $2,210
Maputo $1,127

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,729 in Maputo.

Lisbon $3,275
Maputo $1,729

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,331 in Maputo.

Lisbon $4,341
Maputo $2,331

Living in Lisbon is roughly 96% more expensive than in Maputo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Maputo is 17% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.91

$10.08 MZN 637

65.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$63.4 MZN 4,010

-2.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.17

$7.01 MZN 443

62.05%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.17 MZN 137

36.87%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$0.81 MZN 51.5

182.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.69 MZN 43.66

152.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$1.60 MZN 101

112.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$2.39 MZN 151

38.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.60 MZN 101

-27.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.99 MZN 62.4

92.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.59 MZN 101

-5.03%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.47 MZN 156

62.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$20.84 MZN 1,318

-37.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.96

$5.70 MZN 361

36.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.91

$5.68 MZN 360

212.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.97 MZN 125

16.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$0.76 MZN 48.10

127.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.68 MZN 106

10.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.09 MZN 69.0

137.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.00 MZN 63.3

82.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.81 MZN 51.1

143.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.98 MZN 62.2

50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.85 MZN 54.0

-15.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$2.78 MZN 176

136.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$10.18 MZN 644

-44.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.01 MZN 64.0

34.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.29 MZN 81.5

65.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.22 MZN 13.89

959.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.01

$23.85 MZN 1,508

87.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$1.60 MZN 101

140.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.19 MZN 75.5

-10.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.74

$24.69 MZN 1,562

-33.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.36 MZN 86.2

61.76%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$31.3K MZN 2.0M

9.15%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$23.0K MZN 1.5M

68.40%

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

$161 €144

$70.3 MZN 4,444

129.46%

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

$18.41 €16.49

$7.64 MZN 483

140.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.32

$88.1 MZN 5,573

-62.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.90

$42.70 MZN 2,701

4.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.10

$26.59 MZN 1,682

-28.17%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$7.69 MZN 486

24.84%

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

$668 €598

$174 MZN 11.0K

284.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,168 MZN 326.9K

240.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$50.2 MZN 3,177

103.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.82

$56.0 MZN 3,540

-20.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.2

$79.6 MZN 5,035

23.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$79.2 MZN 5,007

56.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,440

$547 MZN 34.6K

194.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$381 MZN 24.1K

212.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,519

$1,059 MZN 67.0K

165.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,803

$558 MZN 35.3K

260.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,021

$4,188 MZN 264.9K

87.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,098

$2,047 MZN 129.5K

123.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$326 MZN 20.6K

383.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

-84.60%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Maputo: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Maputo

$381 33.8% 68% $809

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Maputo

$224 19.9% 17.9% $49

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Maputo

$147 13% 39.6% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Maputo

$166 14.7% 21.8% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Maputo

$119 10.6% 28.1% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Maputo

$58 5.2% 8.9% $5.7

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Maputo

$32 2.9% 48.9% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $547 in Maputo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 4.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $63 in Maputo. Groceries flip the comparison at $272 vs $224, with Maputo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇿 Maputo

🕒 Local time

23:22 11:22 PM

01:22 1:22 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,244,227 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mozambican Metical MZN MT

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MZN = 1.58 USD

100 MZN = 1.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MZN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

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

Mozambican Metical exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 63.25 MZN (100 MZN = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 70.62 MZN (100 MZN = 1.42 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Maputo 8,400 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Maputo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,127 in Maputo, so Maputo is about 49% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 4.8 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 $547 in Maputo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 22% 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 $1,127 in Maputo – Maputo is about 49% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,127 in Maputo versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Maputo but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Maputo 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 – Maputo wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.