Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Mogadishu

For one person, living is cheaper in Mogadishu: $616 a month against $2,202 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 Mogadishu
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Mogadishu Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Mogadishu

🇸🇴 Somalia

$616

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Mogadishu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $616 in Mogadishu.

Lisbon $2,202
Mogadishu $616

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $949 in Mogadishu.

Lisbon $3,274
Mogadishu $949

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,282 in Mogadishu.

Lisbon $4,346
Mogadishu $1,282

Living in Lisbon is roughly 257% more expensive than in Mogadishu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Mogadishu is 55% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$2.96 SOS 1,681

475.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$34.95 SOS 19.9K

78.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$4.53 SOS 2,573

143.27%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$2.03 SOS 1,155

53.69%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$1.20 SOS 680

89.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.53 SOS 303

228.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.27 SOS 720

-7.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.58 SOS 897

17.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$0.79 SOS 449

94.94%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$1.95 SOS 1,107

108.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$5.13 SOS 2,913

151.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$3.85 SOS 2,189

105.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$4.55 SOS 2,585

287.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$3.82 SOS 2,169

-40.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$0.98 SOS 555

78.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$3.04 SOS 1,727

-37.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$1.31 SOS 745

95.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.54 SOS 876

20.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.76 SOS 1,000

11.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.52 SOS 861

-4.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.53 SOS 303

45.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$2.04 SOS 1,156

-32.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$0.52 SOS 298

346.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$1.02 SOS 577

287.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.57 SOS 325

84.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$3.07 SOS 1,744

458.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$0.85 SOS 485

157.65%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$6,413 SOS 3.6M

496.70%

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

$164 €146

$161 SOS 91.6K

1.55%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$4.89 SOS 2,778

277.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$66.3 SOS 37.7K

-50.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$31.50 SOS 17.9K

45.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

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

$684 €608

$77.4 SOS 44.0K

784.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$771 SOS 438.1K

2185.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$14.11 SOS 8,013

635.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$13.82 SOS 7,848

234.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$24.83 SOS 14.1K

301.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$32.74 SOS 18.6K

280.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$198 SOS 112.6K

701.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$76.5 SOS 43.5K

1427.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$470 SOS 267.0K

506.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$190 SOS 107.8K

950.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$3,145 SOS 1.8M

147.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$2,428 SOS 1.4M

81.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$280 SOS 159.2K

470.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Mogadishu: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Mogadishu

$77 12.4% 93.5% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Mogadishu

$162 * 26.3% 40.6% $111

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Mogadishu

$69 * 11.1% 72.3% $179

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Mogadishu

$233 37.8% 8% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Mogadishu

$38 6.3% 77.2% $130

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Mogadishu

$32 * 5.1% 51.8% $34

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Mogadishu

$6 * 1% 90.5% $57

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 $1,589 in Lisbon and $198 in Mogadishu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 471% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $35.00 in Mogadishu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $162 per month, with Mogadishu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇸🇴 Mogadishu

🕒 Local time

23:05 11:05 PM

01:05 1:05 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

2,610,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Somali Shilling SOS Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 SOS = 1.76 USD

1,000 SOS = 1.57 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SOS, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Somali Shilling exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 568 SOS (1,000 SOS = 1.76 USD). 1 EUR = 639 SOS (1,000 SOS = 1.57 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Mogadishu 6,850 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Mogadishu

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 Mogadishu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Mogadishu differ by about 257% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $616 including rent). Mogadishu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 471% higher in Lisbon, 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: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $198 in Mogadishu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 68% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,202 per month in Lisbon versus $616 in Mogadishu – a 257% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $616 in Mogadishu versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Mogadishu but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Mogadishu 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 Mogadishu are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Mogadishu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 257% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.