Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Mbabane

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbabane: $753 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $17,500 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Mbabane
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Mbabane Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Mbabane

🇸🇿 Eswatini

$753

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Mbabane

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $753 in Mbabane.

Lisbon $2,210
Mbabane $753

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,211 in Mbabane.

Lisbon $3,275
Mbabane $1,211

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,668 in Mbabane.

Lisbon $4,341
Mbabane $1,668

Living in Lisbon is roughly 193% more expensive than in Mbabane, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Mbabane is 45% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$10.34 SZL 172

61.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$33.94 SZL 565

81.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$5.95 SZL 99.0

90.92%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.50 SZL 41.62

18.80%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.09 SZL 18.08

110.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.62 SZL 10.30

180.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.15 SZL 35.72

58.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.41 SZL 40.14

37.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.59 SZL 26.50

-27.04%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$0.79 SZL 13.21

141.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.68 SZL 28.05

-10.12%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.84 SZL 30.59

118.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$11.00 SZL 183

17.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$5.65 SZL 94.1

37.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$5.22 SZL 86.9

240.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.81 SZL 30.08

27.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$0.62 SZL 10.38

179.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.21 SZL 20.21

53.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.35 SZL 22.51

91.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.30 SZL 21.66

40.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.50 SZL 25.04

31.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.65 SZL 10.89

126.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.74 SZL 12.39

-2.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$2.83 SZL 47.11

132.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$6.15 SZL 102

-8.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.54 SZL 25.69

-11.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.68 SZL 27.93

27.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.75 SZL 12.56

210.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.39 SZL 23.09

-23.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$3.00 SZL 49.92

448.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.31 SZL 21.86

67.94%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

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

$38.7K €34.8K

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

$161 €145

$63.4 SZL 1,055

154.33%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$38.11 SZL 635

-51.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$26.81 SZL 446

22.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$22.69 SZL 378

96.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$3.04 SZL 50.6

528.29%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$3.64 SZL 60.6

163.74%

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

$668 €600

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$6,345 SZL 105.6K

177.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$34.87 SZL 581

192.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$14.98 SZL 249

196.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$71.3 SZL 1,187

38.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$53.0 SZL 883

133.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$272 SZL 4,531

490.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$173 SZL 2,877

588.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$454 SZL 7,553

519.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$346 SZL 5,757

482.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$484 SZL 8,062

1518.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$362 SZL 6,033

1162.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

7.25

-46.90%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Mbabane: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Mbabane

$173 22.9% 85.5% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Mbabane

$181 24% 33.5% $91

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Mbabane

$153 20.3% 36.9% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Mbabane

$128 17% 39.6% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Mbabane

$78 10.4% 52.8% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Mbabane

$30 4% 53% $34

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Mbabane

$10 * 1.3% 84.3% $53

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 $272 in Mbabane. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $34 in Mbabane for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $181 per month, with Mbabane cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇸🇿 Mbabane

🕒 Local time

22:04 10:04 PM

00:04 12:04 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

94,874 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Eswatini Lilangeni SZL L

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 SZL = 6.01 USD

100 SZL = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SZL, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Eswatini Lilangeni exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.65 SZL (100 SZL = 6.01 USD). 1 EUR = 18.53 SZL (100 SZL = 5.4 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Mbabane 8,360 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Mbabane

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 Mbabane: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $753 in Mbabane, so Mbabane is about 66% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,315 in Lisbon and $1,130 in Mbabane 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $272 in Mbabane. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Mbabane – a meal for two runs $34 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $753 in Mbabane – Mbabane is about 66% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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 Mbabane are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.