Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Nuku'alofa

For one person, living is cheaper in Nuku'alofa: $1,021 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Nuku'alofa
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Nuku'alofa Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Nuku'alofa

🇹🇴 Tonga

$1,021

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Nuku'alofa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $1,021 in Nuku'alofa.

Lisbon $2,223
Nuku'alofa $1,021

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $1,873 in Nuku'alofa.

Lisbon $3,271
Nuku'alofa $1,873

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $2,724 in Nuku'alofa.

Lisbon $4,319
Nuku'alofa $2,724

Living in Lisbon is roughly 118% more expensive than in Nuku'alofa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Nuku'alofa is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$8.12 TOP 19.55

103.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$63.4 TOP 153

-3.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$10.43 TOP 25.13

8.05%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.98 TOP 7.18

2.68%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$2.90 TOP 6.98

-22.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$2.52 TOP 6.06

-31.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$3.30 TOP 7.96

2.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$5.11 TOP 12.30

-33.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.52 TOP 3.67

-26.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.01 TOP 2.43

84.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$2.09 TOP 5.04

-26.79%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$5.00 TOP 12.05

-20.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$8.85 TOP 21.32

44.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$5.99 TOP 14.43

31.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$7.76 TOP 18.68

118.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.71 TOP 6.52

-16.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.71 TOP 6.53

-35.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.96 TOP 7.13

-37.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$3.73 TOP 8.98

-31.10%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$3.17 TOP 7.63

-41.32%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$2.57 TOP 6.18

-21.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.27 TOP 5.46

-36.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.35 TOP 3.25

-39.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$10.27 TOP 24.75

-36.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$16.82 TOP 40.52

-66.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$3.20 TOP 7.72

-60.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$3.33 TOP 8.03

-37.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$2.07 TOP 4.98

13.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$41.92 TOP 101

5.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$2.11 TOP 5.08

89.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$2.04 TOP 4.91

-46.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$41.85 TOP 101

-60.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.47 TOP 3.53

55.10%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$5,738 TOP 13.8K

486.83%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$8,307 TOP 20.0K

373.00%

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

$167 €149

$189 TOP 456

-11.57%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$21.88 TOP 52.7

-14.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$125 TOP 302

-73.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$31.10 TOP 74.9

47.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$41.86 TOP 101

-54.16%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$41.80 TOP 101

-76.46%

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

$677 €602

$155 TOP 374

335.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$250 TOP 602

6667.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$14.81 TOP 35.68

583.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$17.54 TOP 42.26

160.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$20.45 TOP 49.27

388.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$29.29 TOP 70.6

319.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$622 TOP 1,499

159.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$845 TOP 2,035

238.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$564 TOP 1,360

252.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$422 TOP 1,016

1697.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$250 TOP 602

1624.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$680 TOP 1,639

133.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nuku'alofa: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Nuku'alofa

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Nuku'alofa

$290 28.4% 7.7% $21

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Nuku'alofa

$180 17.7% 25.5% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Nuku'alofa

$337 33% 53.4% $117

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Nuku'alofa

$37 3.6% 77.8% $129

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Nuku'alofa

$115 11.2% 74.6% $49

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Nuku'alofa

$63 6.1% 0.8% $0.5

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 $1,614 in Lisbon and $622 in Nuku'alofa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 133% 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 $63.0 in Nuku'alofa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $290 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa

🕒 Local time

01:15 1:15 AM

13:15 1:15 PM

12 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

24,500 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Tongan Paʻanga TOP T$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 TOP = 0.415 USD

1 TOP = 0.369 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Nuku'alofa 17,650 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
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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 Nuku'alofa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Nuku'alofa differ by about 118% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $1,021 including rent). Nuku'alofa is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 133% 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 $622 in Nuku'alofa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $155 in Nuku'alofa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,021 in Nuku'alofa versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Nuku'alofa but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Nuku'alofa 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 Nuku'alofa 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 Nuku'alofa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 118% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.