Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Nelson

For one person, living is cheaper in Nelson: $1,865 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lisbon outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
90

Cost of Living Index in Nelson
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Nelson Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Nelson

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,865

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Nelson

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,865 in Nelson.

Lisbon $2,210
Nelson $1,865

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $2,872 in Nelson.

Lisbon $3,275
Nelson $2,872

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $3,879 in Nelson.

Lisbon $4,341
Nelson $3,879

Living in Lisbon is roughly 19% more expensive than in Nelson, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 62% above, Nelson 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$13.72 NZ$24.40

21.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$64.8 NZ$115

-4.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$8.27 NZ$14.71

37.36%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$3.19 NZ$5.66

-6.90%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.82 NZ$3.23

25.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.65 NZ$2.94

5.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$7.61 NZ$13.52

-55.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$5.84 NZ$10.38

-43.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.93 NZ$3.43

-39.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$2.19 NZ$3.89

-12.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.96 NZ$3.48

-22.96%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$5.85 NZ$10.40

-31.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$9.13 NZ$16.22

41.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$7.62 NZ$13.54

1.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$13.65 NZ$24.26

30.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$3.15 NZ$5.61

-26.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$2.15 NZ$3.82

-19.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$3.00 NZ$5.33

-38.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$5.63 NZ$10.01

-54.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$2.07 NZ$3.68

-12.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.23 NZ$2.19

60.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$2.02 NZ$3.60

-27.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.08 NZ$1.92

-33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$25.87 NZ$45.99

-74.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$9.94 NZ$17.66

-43.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$3.14 NZ$5.58

-56.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.81 NZ$5.00

-23.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$2.20 NZ$3.92

5.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$1.83 NZ$3.25

110.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.79 NZ$3.18

-40.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$33.80 NZ$60.1

-51.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.56 NZ$2.77

41.03%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$17.1K NZ$30.3K

100.44%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$22.4K NZ$39.7K

73.25%

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

$161 €144

$130 NZ$231

23.83%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$32.93 NZ$58.5

-44.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$43.70 NZ$77.7

-25.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$101 NZ$179

-55.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$34.48 NZ$61.3

-44.61%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$11.14 NZ$19.81

-13.82%

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

$668 €598

$458 NZ$814

45.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$13.1K NZ$23.3K

34.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$52.9 NZ$94.1

92.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$28.57 NZ$50.8

55.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$104 NZ$185

-5.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$143 NZ$254

-13.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$1,023 NZ$1,819

57.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$813 NZ$1,445

46.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$1,755 NZ$3,120

60.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$1,455 NZ$2,586

38.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$1,396 NZ$2,482

461.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$852 NZ$1,514

437.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$2,043 NZ$3,632

-22.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.39

-28.57%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Nelson: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Nelson

$813 43.6% 31.7% $377

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Nelson

$319 17.1% 17% $46

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Nelson

$236 12.7% 2.5% $6.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Nelson

$207 11.1% 2.6% $5.5

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Nelson

$148 7.9% 11% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Nelson

$123 6.6% 92.8% $59

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Nelson

$20 * 1.1% 69% $44

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 $1,608 in Lisbon and $1,023 in Nelson. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nelson pays 30% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $65 in Nelson for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $319 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇳🇿 Nelson

🕒 Local time

02:22 2:22 AM

15:22 3:22 PM

13 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

51,100

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Nelson 19,660 km ≈ 25 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Nelson

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 Nelson: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,865 in Nelson, so Nelson is about 16% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 23% lower in Lisbon. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $1,023 in Nelson. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 15% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $1,865 in Nelson – Nelson is about 16% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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 Nelson are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.