Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Mbarara

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbarara: $488 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $20,700 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
23

Cost of Living Index in Mbarara
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Mbarara Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Mbarara

🇺🇬 Uganda

$488

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Mbarara

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $488 in Mbarara.

Lisbon $2,210
Mbarara $488

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $776 in Mbarara.

Lisbon $3,275
Mbarara $776

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,063 in Mbarara.

Lisbon $4,341
Mbarara $1,063

Living in Lisbon is roughly 353% more expensive than in Mbarara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Mbarara is 64% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$2.35 UGX 10.3K

608.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$24.42 UGX 107.0K

152.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$7.07 UGX 31.0K

60.68%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.43 UGX 10.6K

22.22%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$0.34 UGX 1,502

573.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.27 UGX 1,190

544.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$1.22 UGX 5,332

178.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$1.83 UGX 8,018

80.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$0.50 UGX 2,177

132.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.93 UGX 4,083

105.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.17 UGX 5,130

29.06%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$1.53 UGX 6,682

162.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$4.23 UGX 18.5K

205.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$4.51 UGX 19.7K

72.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$3.46 UGX 15.1K

413.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.00 UGX 8,780

15.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.24 UGX 5,434

39.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.30 UGX 5,706

43.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.19 UGX 5,199

117.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.23 UGX 5,389

47.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.17 UGX 5,125

68.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.72 UGX 3,158

104.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.51 UGX 2,218

41.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$2.43 UGX 10.6K

170.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$7.39 UGX 32.4K

-24.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.08 UGX 4,730

25.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.81 UGX 7,949

18.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.70 UGX 3,056

232.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$0.46 UGX 2,035

736.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.29 UGX 1,266

268.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$3.03 UGX 13.3K

443.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.37 UGX 5,981

60.58%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$7,154 UGX 31.3M

377.93%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$7,202 UGX 31.5M

437.66%

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

$161 €144

$69.2 UGX 302.9K

133.15%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$11.20 UGX 49.1K

64.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$33.55 UGX 146.9K

-2.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$17.82 UGX 78.0K

150.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$7.15 UGX 31.3K

34.27%

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

$668 €598

$247 UGX 1.1M

170.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$8,140 UGX 35.7M

116.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$13.66 UGX 59.8K

646.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$12.69 UGX 55.6K

250.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$31.67 UGX 138.7K

211.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$42.04 UGX 184.2K

194.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$83.7 UGX 366.4K

1822.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$73.0 UGX 319.5K

1531.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$231 UGX 1.0M

1116.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$171 UGX 749.8K

1075.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

20.75

-81.45%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Mbarara: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Mbarara

$73 14.9% 93.9% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Mbarara

$138 28.3% 49.3% $134

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Mbarara

$81 16.7% 66.4% $161

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Mbarara

$114 23.3% 46.4% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Mbarara

$45 9.2% 72.9% $121

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Mbarara

$32 6.6% 49.6% $32

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Mbarara

$4.7 * 1% 92.6% $59

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 $84 in Mbarara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $24 in Mbarara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $138 per month, with Mbarara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇺🇬 Mbarara

🕒 Local time

05:25 5:25 AM

08:25 8:25 AM

3 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

195,013

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Ugandan Shilling UGX Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UGX, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Ugandan Shilling exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 4,380 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD). 1 EUR = 4,876 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Mbarara 5,960 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

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Lisbon
Mbarara

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 Mbarara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $488 in Mbarara, so Mbarara is about 78% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,315 in Lisbon and $732 in Mbarara 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 $84 in Mbarara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 97% 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 $488 in Mbarara – Mbarara is about 78% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $488 in Mbarara versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Mbarara but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Mbarara 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.