Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Niigata

For one person, living is cheaper in Niigata: $728 a month against $2,210 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 Niigata
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Niigata Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Niigata

🇯🇵 Japan

$728

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Niigata

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $728 in Niigata.

Lisbon $2,210
Niigata $728

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,106 in Niigata.

Lisbon $3,275
Niigata $1,106

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,485 in Niigata.

Lisbon $4,341
Niigata $1,485

Living in Lisbon is roughly 204% more expensive than in Niigata, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$6.43 ¥1,014

158.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$17.74 ¥2,798

248.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$5.02 ¥792

126.29%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.68 ¥422

10.82%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.10 ¥174

108.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.78 ¥124

123.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.53 ¥398

34.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.77 ¥438

19.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.22 ¥192

-4.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.97 ¥152

96.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.49 ¥392

-39.36%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.26 ¥356

77.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$7.41 ¥1,169

74.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$6.74 ¥1,064

15.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$16.47 ¥2,598

7.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$3.21 ¥506

-28.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.31 ¥206

32.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.55 ¥402

-27.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$2.23 ¥352

16.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.94 ¥306

-6.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.93 ¥305

2.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.92 ¥146

59.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.60 ¥94.5

20.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.84 ¥606

71.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$4.31 ¥679

30.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.68 ¥265

-19.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.86 ¥293

15.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$1.31 ¥207

77.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$2.63 ¥415

46.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$3.23 ¥509

-66.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$18.80 ¥2,965

-12.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.05 ¥165

109.52%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$19.3K ¥3.0M

76.93%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$12.8K ¥2.0M

201.42%

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

$161 €144

$147 ¥23.1K

10.05%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$23.08 ¥3,639

-20.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$25.23 ¥3,979

29.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$51.4 ¥8,103

-13.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$6.27 ¥989

204.63%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$12.30 ¥1,939

-21.95%

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

$668 €598

$64.7 ¥10.2K

932.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$18.3K ¥2.9M

-4.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$31.68 ¥4,996

222.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$33.10 ¥5,220

34.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$38.84 ¥6,124

153.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$64.7 ¥10.2K

91.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$351 ¥55.3K

358.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$1,272 ¥200.6K

23.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

1.48

160.14%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Niigata: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Niigata

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Niigata

$233 32% 14.5% $40

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Niigata

$124 17.1% 48.7% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Niigata

$195 26.8% 8.3% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Niigata

$76 10.4% 54.3% $90

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Niigata

$76 10.4% 19.2% $12

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Niigata

$24 * 3.3% 62% $39

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 $351 in Niigata. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 24% 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 in Lisbon vs $18 in Niigata for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $233 per month, with Niigata cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇯🇵 Niigata

🕒 Local time

03:46 3:46 AM

12:46 12:46 PM

9 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

811,639

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, 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).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Niigata 10,890 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

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Lisbon
Niigata

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 Niigata: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $728 in Niigata, so Niigata is about 67% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 24% 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $351 in Niigata. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $728 in Niigata – Niigata is about 67% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $728 in Niigata versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Niigata but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Niigata 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 Niigata are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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