Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Nanjing

For one person, living is cheaper in Nanjing: $846 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,300 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Nanjing
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Nanjing Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Nanjing

🇨🇳 China

$846

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Nanjing

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $846 in Nanjing.

Lisbon $2,202
Nanjing $846

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $1,333 in Nanjing.

Lisbon $3,274
Nanjing $1,333

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,820 in Nanjing.

Lisbon $4,346
Nanjing $1,820

Living in Lisbon is roughly 160% more expensive than in Nanjing, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Nanjing is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$3.81 ¥25.50

347.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$22.14 ¥148

181.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$4.79 ¥32.03

130.06%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$3.04 ¥20.32

2.63%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$0.50 ¥3.34

354.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.27 ¥1.81

544.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$1.52 ¥10.17

125.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$2.20 ¥14.68

70.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$2.17 ¥14.48

-46.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.14 ¥14.30

-13.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$0.91 ¥6.11

69.23%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$1.30 ¥8.71

212.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$10.68 ¥71.4

20.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$3.04 ¥20.36

159.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$8.64 ¥57.8

104.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$2.06 ¥13.78

9.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.23 ¥8.26

42.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.79 ¥11.99

5.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$1.10 ¥7.37

132.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$0.89 ¥5.97

107.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.97 ¥6.46

103.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.95 ¥6.37

52.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.56 ¥3.71

37.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$3.76 ¥25.17

78.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$13.41 ¥89.7

-57.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$0.95 ¥6.34

44.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.49 ¥9.98

41.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$0.31 ¥2.10

648.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$30.18 ¥202

47.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$1.68 ¥11.21

135.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.38 ¥2.57

176.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$8.90 ¥59.5

92.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.35 ¥9.01

62.22%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$19.2K ¥128.3K

76.09%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$17.4K ¥116.1K

120.42%

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

$164 €146

$55.5 ¥371

195.31%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$7.92 ¥53.0

133.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$7.09 ¥47.42

364.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$28.56 ¥191

60.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$34.80 ¥233

-46.32%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$5.84 ¥39.03

66.95%

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

$684 €608

$1,508 ¥10.1K

-54.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$22.7K ¥152.0K

-22.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$43.37 ¥290

139.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$34.01 ¥227

35.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$64.4 ¥431

54.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$88.6 ¥592

40.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$524 ¥3,501

203.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$295 ¥1,974

296.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$1,117 ¥7,467

155.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$558 ¥3,732

257.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$5,105 ¥34.1K

52.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$3,140 ¥21.0K

40.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$1,410 ¥9,430

13.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.42

12.57%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Nanjing: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Nanjing

$295 34.9% 74.8% $874

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Nanjing

$205 24.2% 24.9% $68

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Nanjing

$96 11.4% 61% $151

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Nanjing

$70 8.3% 67.3% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Nanjing

$104 12.3% 38.5% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Nanjing

$40 4.8% 38.4% $25

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Nanjing

$35 4.1% 44.3% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $524 in Nanjing. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 13% 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 $22.00 in Nanjing for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $205 per month, with Nanjing cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇳 Nanjing

🕒 Local time

17:57 5:57 PM

00:57 12:57 AM

7 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

9,314,685

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Lisbon Nanjing 10,480 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 Nanjing: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Nanjing differ by about 160% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $846 including rent). Nanjing is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 13% 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 $524 in Nanjing. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $684 in Lisbon versus $1,508 in Nanjing. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 33% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $846 in Nanjing versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Nanjing but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Nanjing 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 Nanjing 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 Nanjing gentler on the wallet – expenses run 160% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.