Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Nanchang

For one person, living is cheaper in Nanchang: $648 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $18,900 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
32

Cost of Living Index in Nanchang
Learn more

Nanchang Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Nanchang

🇨🇳 China

$648

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Nanchang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $648 in Nanchang.

Lisbon $2,223
Nanchang $648

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $1,058 in Nanchang.

Lisbon $3,271
Nanchang $1,058

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $1,467 in Nanchang.

Lisbon $4,319
Nanchang $1,467

Living in Lisbon is roughly 243% more expensive than in Nanchang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Nanchang is 52% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.73

$2.35 ¥15.71

602.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.7

$18.21 ¥122

236.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.06

$4.81 ¥32.19

134.30%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.73

$2.59 ¥17.29

18.15%

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

$2.26 €2.02

$0.44 ¥2.92

413.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.55

$0.27 ¥1.81

540.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.03

$1.31 ¥8.76

158.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.03

$1.89 ¥12.67

79.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$2.05 ¥13.71

-45.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.40 ¥16.08

-22.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.37

$0.84 ¥5.64

82.14%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.54

$1.67 ¥11.15

137.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.39

$13.25 ¥88.6

-3.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.05

$3.95 ¥26.45

100.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.15

$11.77 ¥78.7

44.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.99 ¥13.29

14.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$1.08 ¥7.22

62.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.65

$1.91 ¥12.74

-3.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.81 ¥12.13

41.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$0.91 ¥6.11

104.40%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.13 ¥7.54

78.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.29

$0.61 ¥4.10

136.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.43 ¥2.90

90.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.86

$3.07 ¥20.51

113.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.02

$12.42 ¥83.1

-54.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$0.78 ¥5.20

64.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.52 ¥10.19

36.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.10

$0.26 ¥1.75

803.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.45

$14.93 ¥99.8

195.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.56

$1.24 ¥8.26

221.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.31 ¥2.08

251.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.86

$7.29 ¥48.76

128.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.04

$1.25 ¥8.34

82.40%

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

$33.7K €30.1K

$19.1K ¥127.7K

76.30%

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

$39.3K €35.1K

$17.9K ¥119.4K

120.11%

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

$167 €150

$34.93 ¥234

379.50%

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

$18.80 €16.78

$9.27 ¥62.0

102.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.55

$13.34 ¥89.3

148.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €41.09

$42.85 ¥287

7.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.14

$19.61 ¥131

-2.14%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.79

$6.42 ¥42.92

53.27%

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

$677 €605

$326 ¥2,177

108.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$16.8K ¥112.2K

0.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.4

$37.86 ¥253

167.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.86

$22.07 ¥148

107.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €89.3

$87.6 ¥586

14.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €110

$60.7 ¥406

102.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,441

$223 ¥1,493

622.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,069

$118 ¥791

911.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,555

$451 ¥3,014

534.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,777

$257 ¥1,719

674.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,766

$2,008 ¥13.4K

277.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,846

$1,624 ¥10.9K

165.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,418

$745 ¥4,985

113.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.46

11.27%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nanchang: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Nanchang

$118 18.3% 90.1% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Nanchang

$227 35% 15.8% $42

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Nanchang

$77 11.9% 68% $165

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Nanchang

$58 8.9% 73.8% $162

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Nanchang

$94 14.5% 43.7% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Nanchang

$56 8.6% 15.2% $10

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Nanchang

$19 2.9% 70.2% $44

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $223 in Nanchang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 113% 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: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $18.00 in Nanchang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $227 per month, with Nanchang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇳 Nanchang

🕒 Local time

08:18 8:18 AM

15:18 3:18 PM

7 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

5,042,566

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Nanchang 10,600 km ≈ 14 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 Nanchang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Nanchang differ by about 243% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $648 including rent). Nanchang is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 113% 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $223 in Nanchang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $326 in Nanchang. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $648 in Nanchang versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Nanchang but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Nanchang 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 Nanchang 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 Nanchang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 243% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.