Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Merida, Venezuela

For one person, living is cheaper in Merida: $814 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Lisbon, Portugal
Merida, Venezuela
Lisbon
🇵🇹 Portugal
$2,206
/mo nomad
Merida
🇻🇪 Venezuela
$814
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Merida

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $814 in Merida.

  • Lisbon $2,206
  • Merida $814

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,415 in Merida.

  • Lisbon $3,276
  • Merida $1,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,015 in Merida.

  • Lisbon $4,346
  • Merida $2,015

Living in Lisbon is roughly 171% more expensive than in Merida, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Merida is 40% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Lisbon
Merida
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$16.86 €15.02
$12.12 VES 10.8K
39.11%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$61.0 €54.4
$58.9 VES 52.6K
3.63%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.98 €9.78
$11.14 VES 9,947
-1.44%
Cappuccino
$3.05 €2.72
$2.44 VES 2,180
25.00%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.28 €2.03
$2.14 VES 1,906
6.54%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.68 €1.50
$1.31 VES 1,167
28.24%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.44 €3.06
$2.04 VES 1,819
68.63%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.91 €3.48
$2.96 VES 2,647
32.09%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Lisbon
Merida
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.15 €1.02
$2.05 VES 1,826
-43.90%
White Bread (500g)
$1.89 €1.68
$3.26 VES 2,906
-42.02%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.50 €1.34
$1.92 VES 1,716
-21.87%
Eggs
$4.12 €3.67
$2.50 VES 2,236
64.80%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$13.01 €11.59
$6.78 VES 6,049
91.89%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.04 €7.17
$7.84 VES 7,001
2.55%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$17.89 €15.94
$7.60 VES 6,786
135.39%
Apples (1kg)
$2.27 €2.02
$5.02 VES 4,484
-54.78%
Banana (1kg)
$1.74 €1.55
$1.40 VES 1,249
24.29%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.82 €1.62
$2.80 VES 2,502
-35.00%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.69 €2.39
$2.27 VES 2,027
18.50%
Potato (1kg)
$1.77 €1.57
$2.06 VES 1,840
-14.08%
Onion (1kg)
$1.94 €1.73
$1.31 VES 1,171
48.09%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.46 €1.30
$1.50 VES 1,337
-2.67%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.76 €0.68
$2.53 VES 2,254
-69.96%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.66 €5.93
$3.71 VES 3,313
79.51%
Wine (Bottle)
$5.64 €5.02
$10.91 VES 9,743
-48.30%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.29 €1.15
$1.40 VES 1,250
-7.86%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.14 €1.91
$2.20 VES 1,967
-2.73%
🚌 Getting Around
Lisbon
Merida
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.30 €2.05
$0.31 VES 281
641.94%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$44.02 €39.21
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.98 €3.55
$4.11 VES 3,670
-3.16%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.64 €0.57
$1.52 VES 1,361
-57.89%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$18.93 €16.86
$5.93 VES 5,290
219.22%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.28 €2.03
$0.73 VES 652
212.33%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$33.4K €29.7K
$44.6K VES 39.8M
-25.17%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$38.5K €34.3K
$49.2K VES 43.9M
-21.75%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lisbon
Merida
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$158 €141
$12.43 VES 11.1K
1172.65%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$17.54 €15.62
$10.35 VES 9,235
69.47%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$31.18 €27.78
$30.13 VES 26.9K
3.48%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Lisbon
Merida
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$44.64 €39.77
$29.77 VES 26.6K
49.95%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.98 €16.91
$15.15 VES 13.5K
25.28%
Cinema Ticket
$9.58 €8.53
$4.96 VES 4,429
93.15%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Lisbon
Merida
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$674 €600
$87.0 VES 77.7K
674.13%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$18.7K €16.7K
$2,440 VES 2.2M
667.49%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Lisbon
Merida
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$102 €91.0
$74.6 VES 66.6K
37.06%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$45.90 €40.89
$42.01 VES 37.5K
9.26%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$102 €91.0
$98.5 VES 88.0K
3.72%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$122 €109
$96.3 VES 86.0K
26.61%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Lisbon
Merida
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,641 €1,461
$136 VES 121.1K
1109.01%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,187 €1,058
$91.5 VES 81.7K
1197.73%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,825 €2,516
$222 VES 198.1K
1172.94%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,018 €1,798
$192 VES 171.5K
950.26%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$7,836 €6,980
$1,192 VES 1.1M
557.54%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$4,701 €4,188
$1,216 VES 1.1M
286.73%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Lisbon
Merida
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,687 €1,503
$286 VES 255.3K
489.90%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.82
25
-84.72%

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

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Merida: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Lisbon
$1.2K
Merida
$91 92.3% $1.1K
Groceries & Markets
Lisbon
$275
Merida
$287 4.7% $13
Eating Out
Lisbon
$245
Merida
$190 22.7% $56
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lisbon
$207
Merida
$53 74.4% $154
Clothing & Footwear
Lisbon
$168
Merida
$140 16.3% $27
Sport & Entertainment
Lisbon
$64
Merida
$40 37.8% $24
Getting Around
Lisbon
$60
Merida
$13 * 78.5% $47

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 $1,641 in Lisbon and $136 in Merida. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 5.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $59 in Merida. Groceries flip the comparison at $275 vs $287, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇵🇹 Lisbon
🇻🇪 Merida
🕒 Local time
21:19 9:19 PM
17:19 5:19 PM
4 h behind Lisbon
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
545,923 Capital
250,303
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

VES, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 893 VES (1,000 VES = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 1,002 VES (10,000 VES = 9.98 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Lisbon Merida 7,000 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Lisbon
  • Merida

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 Merida: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Lisbon and in Merida?
Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $814 in Merida, so Merida is about 63% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city pays better: Lisbon or Merida?
Average pay in Lisbon is about 5.9 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
How do apartment prices compare in Lisbon and in Merida?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $136 in Merida. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 5% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.
Which city is more expensive overall: Lisbon or Merida?
All in, you’ll spend $2,206 per month in Lisbon versus $814 in Merida – Merida is about 63% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.
Which city is feasible on a $800 budget?
Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Merida is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.
How does quality of life compare between Lisbon and Merida?
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.
How do I decide between Lisbon and Merida?
It comes down to priorities – Merida wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.

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