Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Midlands

For one person, living is cheaper in Midlands: $623 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $19,000 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Midlands
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Midlands Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Midlands

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$623

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Midlands

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $623 in Midlands.

Lisbon $2,210
Midlands $623

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,044 in Midlands.

Lisbon $3,275
Midlands $1,044

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,465 in Midlands.

Lisbon $4,341
Midlands $1,465

Living in Lisbon is roughly 255% more expensive than in Midlands, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Midlands is 54% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.85

$5.77 MUR 269

188.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.1

$38.11 MUR 1,775

62.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.13

$7.41 MUR 345

53.31%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.65

$2.63 MUR 122

12.93%

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

$2.29 €2.04

$1.19 MUR 55.3

92.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.64 MUR 29.67

171.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.04

$2.73 MUR 127

24.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.95

$4.86 MUR 227

-31.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.03

$1.61 MUR 75.1

-27.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.73 MUR 33.99

161.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.10 MUR 51.2

37.27%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.59

$2.57 MUR 119

56.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.54

$5.38 MUR 251

140.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.94

$6.27 MUR 292

23.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.85

$11.11 MUR 518

59.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.78 MUR 130

-17.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$2.68 MUR 125

-35.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.39 MUR 64.9

33.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.31

$3.00 MUR 140

-13.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$0.94 MUR 43.60

93.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.01 MUR 46.82

95.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$0.75 MUR 35.07

96.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.86 MUR 40.07

-16.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.87

$6.64 MUR 309

-0.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.00

$8.24 MUR 384

-31.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.72 MUR 80.0

-20.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.39 MUR 112

-10.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.08

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €39.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.43

$4.30 MUR 200

-10.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.95

$3.27 MUR 152

-67.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.69

$20.93 MUR 975

-21.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.96

$1.37 MUR 63.7

60.58%

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

$34.2K €30.5K

$36.0K MUR 1.7M

-4.99%

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

$38.7K €34.5K

$31.3K MUR 1.5M

23.86%

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

$161 €144

$44.87 MUR 2,090

259.30%

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

$18.41 €16.43

$10.80 MUR 503

70.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.21

$28.85 MUR 1,344

13.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.74

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.04

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.56

$6.36 MUR 296

50.94%

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

$668 €596

$125 MUR 5,839

432.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$7,801 MUR 363.4K

125.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.0

$76.9 MUR 3,584

32.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.67

$73.1 MUR 3,406

-39.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €87.9

$121 MUR 5,659

-18.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €110

$76.8 MUR 3,575

61.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,435

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,062

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,509

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,796

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €6,994

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,082

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,405

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

6.67

-42.28%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Midlands: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Midlands

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Midlands

$217 34.9% 20.1% $55

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Midlands

$131 21% 46.2% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Midlands

$85 13.6% 60.2% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Midlands

$157 25.2% 5.5% $9.2

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Midlands

$13 * 2% 80.1% $51

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Midlands

$21 * 3.3% 67.3% $43

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $38 in Midlands for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $217 per month, with Midlands cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇺 Midlands

🕒 Local time

19:02 7:02 PM

23:02 11:02 PM

4 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

4,546

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MUR = 2.15 USD

100 MUR = 1.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MUR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 46.58 MUR (100 MUR = 2.15 USD). 1 EUR = 51.98 MUR (100 MUR = 1.92 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Midlands 9,550 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Midlands

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 Midlands: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $623 in Midlands, so Midlands is about 72% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,315 in Lisbon and $934 in Midlands 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.

Supermarket bills run roughly 25% 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 $623 in Midlands – Midlands is about 72% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $623 in Midlands versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $800 budget is realistic in Midlands but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Midlands 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 Midlands are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.