Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Matamoros

For one person, living is cheaper in Matamoros: $1,090 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,600 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
55

Cost of Living Index in Matamoros
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Matamoros Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Matamoros

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,090

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Matamoros

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $1,090 in Matamoros.

Lisbon $2,223
Matamoros $1,090

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $1,832 in Matamoros.

Lisbon $3,271
Matamoros $1,832

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $2,573 in Matamoros.

Lisbon $4,319
Matamoros $2,573

Living in Lisbon is roughly 104% more expensive than in Matamoros, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Matamoros is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$12.38 MX$229

33.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$37.67 MX$696

62.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$9.06 MX$167

24.39%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.29 MX$60.8

-6.99%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$1.47 MX$27.18

53.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.05 MX$19.40

64.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$2.26 MX$41.81

50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$4.48 MX$82.8

-24.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.63 MX$30.12

-31.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.40 MX$44.43

-22.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.70 MX$31.43

-10.00%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$2.57 MX$47.54

54.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$9.01 MX$167

41.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$7.82 MX$144

1.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$11.74 MX$217

44.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.70 MX$49.81

-15.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.73 MX$31.92

1.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.67 MX$30.82

10.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$2.05 MX$37.92

25.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.17 MX$40.01

-14.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$2.09 MX$38.70

-3.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.61 MX$29.73

-10.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.22 MX$22.48

-32.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$4.72 MX$87.2

38.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$10.79 MX$199

-47.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$2.02 MX$37.32

-36.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$3.18 MX$58.8

-34.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.65 MX$12.03

261.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$2.71 MX$50.0

47.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$2.25 MX$41.49

-51.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$11.47 MX$212

45.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.34 MX$24.72

70.15%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$23.5K MX$435.0K

43.06%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$23.9K MX$441.3K

64.52%

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

$167 €149

$56.2 MX$1,038

198.29%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$25.44 MX$470

-26.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$26.61 MX$492

24.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$32.88 MX$608

39.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$22.40 MX$414

-14.33%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$4.48 MX$82.7

119.64%

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

$677 €602

$223 MX$4,114

204.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$4,650 MX$85.9K

263.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$53.3 MX$986

89.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$38.50 MX$711

18.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$99.1 MX$1,832

0.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$79.4 MX$1,467

54.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$646 MX$11.9K

149.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$337 MX$6,220

255.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$901 MX$16.7K

217.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$826 MX$15.3K

140.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$2,039 MX$37.7K

271.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$1,054 MX$19.5K

308.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

11.3

-65.93%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Matamoros: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Matamoros

$337 30.9% 71.9% $860

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Matamoros

$269 24.7% 0% $0.1

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Matamoros

$196 18% 19.1% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Matamoros

$108 9.9% 50.7% $111

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Matamoros

$122 11.2% 26.9% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Matamoros

$42 3.8% 36.3% $24

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Matamoros

$17 * 1.5% 73.7% $46

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 $1,614 in Lisbon and $646 in Matamoros. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $38.00 in Matamoros. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $269, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇽 Matamoros

🕒 Local time

05:19 5:19 AM

23:19 11:19 PM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

510,739

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Matamoros 8,110 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Matamoros

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 Matamoros: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Matamoros differ by about 104% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $1,090 including rent). Matamoros is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,335 in Lisbon and $1,635 in Matamoros to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $646 in Matamoros. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 0% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,223 per month in Lisbon versus $1,090 in Matamoros – a 104% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,090 in Matamoros versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Matamoros but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Matamoros 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 Matamoros 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 Matamoros gentler on the wallet – expenses run 104% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.