Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Mutare

For one person, living is cheaper in Mutare: $788 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $17,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Lisbon, Portugal
Mutare, Zimbabwe
Lisbon
🇵🇹 Portugal
$2,210
/mo nomad
Mutare
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
$788
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Mutare

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $788 in Mutare.

  • Lisbon $2,210
  • Mutare $788

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,219 in Mutare.

  • Lisbon $3,275
  • Mutare $1,219

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,649 in Mutare.

  • Lisbon $4,341
  • Mutare $1,649

Living in Lisbon is roughly 180% more expensive than in Mutare, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Mutare is 42% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Lisbon
Mutare
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$16.65 €14.95
$9.85 ZWL 262
69.04%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$61.7 €55.5
$44.40 ZWL 1,180
39.05%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.36 €10.20
$4.42 ZWL 118
157.01%
Cappuccino
$2.97 €2.67
$1.26 ZWL 33.54
135.71%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.29 €2.06
$0.78 ZWL 20.65
193.59%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.74 €1.56
$0.47 ZWL 12.45
270.21%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.40 €3.06
$1.27 ZWL 33.67
167.72%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.31 €2.97
$1.82 ZWL 48.43
81.87%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Lisbon
Mutare
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.16 €1.04
$1.24 ZWL 32.82
-6.45%
White Bread (500g)
$1.91 €1.72
$0.99 ZWL 26.28
92.93%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.51 €1.36
$1.32 ZWL 35.07
14.39%
Eggs
$4.02 €3.61
$1.92 ZWL 51.0
109.37%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$12.94 €11.62
$2.92 ZWL 77.6
343.15%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.77 €6.98
$3.93 ZWL 105
97.71%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$17.76 €15.95
$5.06 ZWL 135
250.99%
Apples (1kg)
$2.30 €2.07
$2.03 ZWL 54.1
13.30%
Banana (1kg)
$1.73 €1.56
$1.63 ZWL 43.30
6.13%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.86 €1.67
$2.05 ZWL 54.5
-9.27%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.59 €2.33
$1.01 ZWL 26.90
156.44%
Potato (1kg)
$1.82 €1.64
$1.68 ZWL 44.57
8.33%
Onion (1kg)
$1.97 €1.77
$1.01 ZWL 26.92
95.05%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.47 €1.32
$0.49 ZWL 12.92
200.00%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.72 €0.65
$0.99 ZWL 26.23
-27.27%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.58 €5.91
$1.22 ZWL 32.49
439.34%
Wine (Bottle)
$5.61 €5.04
$6.07 ZWL 161
-7.58%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.36 €1.22
$1.18 ZWL 31.24
15.25%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.14 €1.92
$1.67 ZWL 44.32
28.14%
🚌 Getting Around
Lisbon
Mutare
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.33 €2.10
$0.72 ZWL 19.14
223.61%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$44.68 €40.14
$27.43 ZWL 729
62.89%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.85 €3.46
$2.93 ZWL 77.8
31.40%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.07 €0.96
$2.05 ZWL 54.5
-47.80%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$16.46 €14.79
$5.12 ZWL 136
221.48%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.20 €1.98
$1.87 ZWL 49.70
17.65%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$34.2K €30.7K
$21.6K ZWL 574.6K
58.10%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$38.7K €34.8K
$24.3K ZWL 644.7K
59.59%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lisbon
Mutare
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$161 €145
$50.6 ZWL 1,345
218.43%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$18.41 €16.54
$15.24 ZWL 405
20.80%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$32.74 €29.41
$59.9 ZWL 1,593
-45.38%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Lisbon
Mutare
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$44.55 €40.02
$40.31 ZWL 1,071
10.52%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$19.10 €17.16
$5.08 ZWL 135
275.98%
Cinema Ticket
$9.60 €8.62
$9.82 ZWL 261
-2.24%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Lisbon
Mutare
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$668 €600
$145 ZWL 3,845
361.42%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$17.6K €15.8K
$8,600 ZWL 228.5K
104.82%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Lisbon
Mutare
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$102 €91.6
$10.09 ZWL 268
911.10%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$44.46 €39.94
$9.34 ZWL 248
376.02%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$98.5 €88.5
$24.86 ZWL 661
296.26%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$124 €111
$20.32 ZWL 540
508.61%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Lisbon
Mutare
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,608 €1,445
$349 ZWL 9,281
360.46%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,190 €1,069
$254 ZWL 6,741
369.05%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,812 €2,526
$753 ZWL 20.0K
273.48%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,013 €1,808
$400 ZWL 10.6K
403.77%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$7,839 €7,042
$247 ZWL 6,559
3075.36%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$4,576 €4,110
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Lisbon
Mutare
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,575 €1,415
$251 ZWL 6,658
528.51%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.85
13.69
-71.88%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Mutare: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Lisbon
$1.2K
Mutare
$254 78.7% $936
Groceries & Markets
Lisbon
$272
Mutare
$154 43.4% $118
Eating Out
Lisbon
$243
Mutare
$122 49.6% $120
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lisbon
$212
Mutare
$126 40.8% $87
Clothing & Footwear
Lisbon
$166
Mutare
$29 82.5% $137
Sport & Entertainment
Lisbon
$64
Mutare
$60 5.9% $3.8
Getting Around
Lisbon
$63
Mutare
$43 31.2% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $349 in Mutare. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 6.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $44 in Mutare for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $154 per month, with Mutare cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇵🇹 Lisbon
🇿🇼 Mutare
🕒 Local time
16:45 4:45 PM
18:45 6:45 PM
2 h ahead of Lisbon
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
545,923 Capital
188,243
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

ZWL, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

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

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 26.57 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.76 USD). 1 EUR = 29.57 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.38 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Lisbon Mutare 7,750 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Lisbon
  • Mutare

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 Mutare: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Lisbon and in Mutare?
Lisbon and Mutare differ by about 180% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $788 including rent). Mutare is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city pays better: Lisbon or Mutare?
Average pay in Lisbon is about 6.3 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 Mutare?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $349 in Mutare. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Lisbon and Mutare?
Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $145 in Mutare. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Supermarket bills run roughly 77% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city is more doable on $1,000 per month?
At $788 in Mutare versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Mutare but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Mutare the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Lisbon and Mutare?
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.
Where should expats move: Lisbon or Mutare?
Expats usually find Mutare gentler on the wallet – expenses run 64% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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