Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Ndola

For one person, living is cheaper in Ndola: $719 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $17,800 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Ndola
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Ndola Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Ndola

🇿🇲 Zambia

$719

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Ndola

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $719 in Ndola.

Lisbon $2,202
Ndola $719

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $1,721 in Ndola.

Lisbon $3,274
Ndola $1,721

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,723 in Ndola.

Lisbon $4,346
Ndola $2,723

Living in Lisbon is roughly 206% more expensive than in Ndola, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Ndola is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$5.58 ZMW 111

205.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$30.02 ZMW 597

107.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$5.00 ZMW 99.4

120.40%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$2.76 ZMW 54.8

13.04%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$0.52 ZMW 10.25

336.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.24 ZMW 4.73

625.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$1.22 ZMW 24.31

180.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$2.21 ZMW 44.02

69.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.65 ZMW 32.92

-29.09%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.18 ZMW 23.56

57.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$2.13 ZMW 42.31

-27.70%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$1.56 ZMW 31.07

160.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$10.15 ZMW 202

27.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$6.18 ZMW 123

27.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$6.71 ZMW 133

162.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.47 ZMW 29.27

53.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.41 ZMW 48.00

-27.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$3.74 ZMW 74.3

-49.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$1.54 ZMW 30.72

66.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.53 ZMW 50.4

-26.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.80 ZMW 35.84

9.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.10 ZMW 21.93

31.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.58 ZMW 11.60

32.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$3.09 ZMW 61.5

117.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$9.83 ZMW 196

-42.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.46 ZMW 28.97

-6.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$2.35 ZMW 46.73

-10.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$0.72 ZMW 14.29

222.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$2.57 ZMW 51.2

53.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$1.53 ZMW 30.41

-31.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$5.03 ZMW 100

240.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.35 ZMW 26.78

62.22%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$7,392 ZMW 147.0K

357.00%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$26.9K ZMW 534.7K

42.34%

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

$164 €146

$80.2 ZMW 1,596

104.15%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$10.45 ZMW 208

76.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$55.2 ZMW 1,098

-40.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$6.04 ZMW 120

61.42%

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

$684 €608

$135 ZMW 2,692

405.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$16.3K ZMW 324.7K

7.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$23.64 ZMW 470

338.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$15.39 ZMW 306

200.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$45.69 ZMW 909

118.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$71.4 ZMW 1,421

74.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$177 ZMW 3,526

796.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$148 ZMW 2,948

688.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$370 ZMW 7,365

669.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$1,482 ZMW 29.5K

34.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$596 ZMW 11.9K

168.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

-86.72%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Ndola: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Ndola

$148 20.6% 87.3% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Ndola

$223 31.1% 18.2% $50

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Ndola

$106 14.8% 57.1% $141

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Ndola

$146 20.3% 32.2% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Ndola

$70 9.8% 58.3% $98

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Ndola

$12 * 1.7% 81.5% $53

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Ndola

$13 * 1.8% 79.2% $50

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 $177 in Ndola. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 168% 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 $30.00 in Ndola for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $223 per month, with Ndola cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇲 Ndola

🕒 Local time

15:53 3:53 PM

16:53 4:53 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

455,194

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZMW = 5.03 USD

100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZMW, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 19.89 ZMW (100 ZMW = 5.03 USD). 1 EUR = 22.36 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Ndola 6,960 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Ndola

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 Ndola: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Ndola differ by about 206% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $719 including rent). Ndola is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 168% 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 $177 in Ndola. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 22% 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 $719 in Ndola – a 206% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $719 in Ndola versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ndola but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Ndola 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 Ndola 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 Ndola gentler on the wallet – expenses run 206% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.