Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Nairobi

For one person, living is cheaper in Nairobi: $885 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Nairobi
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Nairobi Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Nairobi

🇰🇪 Kenya

$885

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Nairobi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $885 in Nairobi.

Lisbon $2,210
Nairobi $885

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,436 in Nairobi.

Lisbon $3,275
Nairobi $1,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,987 in Nairobi.

Lisbon $4,341
Nairobi $1,987

Living in Lisbon is roughly 150% more expensive than in Nairobi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Nairobi is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$6.43 KES 835

158.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$34.51 KES 4,482

78.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$6.26 KES 813

81.47%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.60 KES 338

14.23%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.64 KES 82.9

257.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.67 KES 86.8

159.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.30 KES 299

47.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.75 KES 357

20.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$0.95 KES 123

22.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$0.59 KES 76.2

223.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.00 KES 260

-24.50%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.69 KES 220

137.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$11.01 KES 1,430

17.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$6.41 KES 832

21.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$6.41 KES 832

177.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$3.42 KES 444

-32.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.06 KES 138

63.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$2.03 KES 263

-8.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.14 KES 147

127.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.10 KES 143

65.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.10 KES 143

79.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.74 KES 96.0

98.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.76 KES 99.1

-5.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$3.38 KES 438

94.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$11.65 KES 1,513

-51.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.26 KES 293

-39.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.74 KES 356

-21.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.83 KES 108

180.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$46.81 KES 6,079

-4.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$1.52 KES 197

153.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.52 KES 198

-29.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$2.80 KES 364

487.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.55 KES 202

41.94%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$19.4K KES 2.5M

76.44%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$22.2K KES 2.9M

74.32%

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

$161 €145

$56.7 KES 7,359

184.49%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$15.25 KES 1,981

20.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$34.78 KES 4,516

-5.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$51.6 KES 6,705

-13.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$15.64 KES 2,031

22.12%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.60 KES 987

26.32%

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

$668 €600

$277 KES 36.0K

141.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$12.3K KES 1.6M

43.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$27.73 KES 3,601

267.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$29.36 KES 3,812

51.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$69.3 KES 9,000

42.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$59.1 KES 7,671

109.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$441 KES 57.3K

264.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$235 KES 30.6K

405.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$1,131 KES 146.9K

148.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$522 KES 67.8K

285.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$1,234 KES 160.2K

535.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$805 KES 104.5K

468.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$484 KES 62.9K

225.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

14.71

-73.83%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Nairobi: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Nairobi

$235 26.6% 80.2% $955

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Nairobi

$209 23.7% 23.1% $63

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Nairobi

$124 14% 49% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Nairobi

$107 12.1% 49.8% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Nairobi

$83 9.4% 49.7% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Nairobi

$67 7.6% 4.8% $3.1

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Nairobi

$59 6.7% 6.2% $3.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $441 in Nairobi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 3.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $35 in Nairobi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $209 per month, with Nairobi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇰🇪 Nairobi

🕒 Local time

18:47 6:47 PM

21:47 9:47 PM

3 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

3,138,295 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

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

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Nairobi 6,460 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

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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 Nairobi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Nairobi differ by about 150% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $885 including rent). Nairobi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 3.3 times higher, 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $441 in Nairobi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $277 in Nairobi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Nairobi is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Nairobi is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Lisbon, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

It comes down to priorities – Nairobi wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.