Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Matola

For one person, living is cheaper in Matola: $999 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,500 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
48

Cost of Living Index in Matola
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Matola Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Matola

🇲🇿 Mozambique

$999

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Matola

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $999 in Matola.

Lisbon $2,210
Matola $999

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,523 in Matola.

Lisbon $3,275
Matola $1,523

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,048 in Matola.

Lisbon $4,341
Matola $2,048

Living in Lisbon is roughly 121% more expensive than in Matola, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Matola is 27% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$7.80 MZN 493

113.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$62.6 MZN 3,960

-1.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$7.34 MZN 464

54.77%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$1.59 MZN 100

86.79%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.82 MZN 52.0

179.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.67 MZN 42.66

159.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$1.18 MZN 74.8

188.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$1.54 MZN 97.5

114.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.59 MZN 101

-27.04%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$0.99 MZN 62.6

92.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.59 MZN 101

-5.03%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.93 MZN 122

108.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$13.47 MZN 852

-3.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$5.82 MZN 368

33.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$4.76 MZN 301

273.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.97 MZN 125

16.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$0.62 MZN 39.38

179.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.64 MZN 103

13.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.03 MZN 65.4

151.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.00 MZN 63.5

82.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.74 MZN 47.08

166.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.95 MZN 60.1

54.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.53 MZN 33.64

35.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$2.89 MZN 183

127.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$7.21 MZN 456

-22.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.97 MZN 61.3

40.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.21 MZN 76.8

76.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$1.61 MZN 102

139.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.20 MZN 76.1

-10.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$24.12 MZN 1,525

-31.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.40 MZN 88.5

57.14%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$31.4K MZN 2.0M

8.83%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$22.5K MZN 1.4M

71.86%

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

$161 €145

$39.21 MZN 2,479

311.17%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$7.64 MZN 483

140.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$77.9 MZN 4,925

-57.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$39.09 MZN 2,472

13.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.60 MZN 480

26.32%

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

$668 €600

$173 MZN 10.9K

286.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$5,041 MZN 318.8K

249.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$49.21 MZN 3,112

107.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$56.0 MZN 3,539

-20.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$79.2 MZN 5,010

24.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$77.4 MZN 4,897

59.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$462 MZN 29.2K

248.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$391 MZN 24.7K

204.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$696 MZN 44.0K

304.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$552 MZN 34.9K

264.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$307 MZN 19.4K

413.56%

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 Matola: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Matola

$391 39.1% 67.2% $799

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Matola

$185 18.6% 31.9% $87

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Matola

$118 11.9% 51.2% $124

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Matola

$125 12.5% 41.3% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Matola

$118 11.8% 29% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Matola

$54 5.4% 14.8% $9.5

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Matola

$7.6 * 0.8% 87.9% $56

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 $462 in Matola. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 5.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $63 in Matola. Groceries flip the comparison at $272 vs $185, with Matola cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇿 Matola

🕒 Local time

01:21 1:21 AM

03:21 3:21 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

675,422

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mozambican Metical MZN MT

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 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 October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Mozambican Metical exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 63.24 MZN (100 MZN = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 70.4 MZN (100 MZN = 1.42 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Matola 8,390 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Matola

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 Matola: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $999 in Matola, so Matola is about 55% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 5.1 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 $462 in Matola. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $173 in Matola. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $999 in Matola – Matola is about 55% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $999 in Matola versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Matola but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Matola 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 – Matola wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.