Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Paramaribo

For one person, living is cheaper in Paramaribo: $1,035 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 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 Paramaribo
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Paramaribo Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Paramaribo

🇸🇷 Suriname

$1,035

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Paramaribo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,035 in Paramaribo.

Lisbon $2,210
Paramaribo $1,035

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,707 in Paramaribo.

Lisbon $3,275
Paramaribo $1,707

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,379 in Paramaribo.

Lisbon $4,341
Paramaribo $2,379

Living in Lisbon is roughly 114% more expensive than in Paramaribo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Paramaribo is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$13.36 SRD 500

24.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$52.9 SRD 1,979

16.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$11.21 SRD 420

1.34%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.80 SRD 105

6.07%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.36 SRD 50.7

68.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.85 SRD 31.98

104.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$2.64 SRD 98.8

28.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.95 SRD 148

-16.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.75 SRD 65.5

-33.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.39 SRD 52.1

37.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.68 SRD 62.8

-10.12%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$3.03 SRD 113

32.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$11.70 SRD 438

10.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$6.21 SRD 232

25.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$10.17 SRD 381

74.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$4.82 SRD 181

-52.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$3.09 SRD 116

-44.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$3.77 SRD 141

-50.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$6.13 SRD 229

-57.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.32 SRD 49.29

37.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$2.01 SRD 75.2

-1.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.54 SRD 57.6

-4.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$1.52 SRD 57.1

-52.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$5.65 SRD 212

16.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$7.90 SRD 296

-28.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.02 SRD 75.8

-32.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$3.68 SRD 138

-41.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.55 SRD 20.49

323.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$31.71 SRD 1,187

40.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$2.14 SRD 80.0

79.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.50 SRD 56.1

-28.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$7.19 SRD 269

128.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.17 SRD 43.98

88.03%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$25.5K SRD 954.2K

34.16%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$24.8K SRD 929.2K

56.03%

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

$161 €145

$37.77 SRD 1,414

326.85%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$25.57 SRD 957

-28.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$30.52 SRD 1,143

7.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$13.67 SRD 512

225.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$20.29 SRD 759

-5.86%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$5.04 SRD 189

90.48%

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

$668 €600

$63.8 SRD 2,389

946.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$1,758 SRD 65.8K

901.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$33.13 SRD 1,240

207.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$20.78 SRD 778

113.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$66.7 SRD 2,497

47.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$102 SRD 3,815

21.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$478 SRD 17.9K

236.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$268 SRD 10.0K

343.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$937 SRD 35.1K

200.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$501 SRD 18.8K

301.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$474 SRD 17.7K

1554.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$405 SRD 15.2K

1028.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$277 SRD 10.4K

468.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

-75.94%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Paramaribo: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Paramaribo

$268 25.9% 77.5% $922

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Paramaribo

$301 29.1% 10.5% $29

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Paramaribo

$204 19.7% 15.9% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Paramaribo

$94 9.1% 55.8% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Paramaribo

$100 9.7% 39.7% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Paramaribo

$24 2.3% 62.8% $40

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Paramaribo

$44 4.2% 31.1% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $478 in Paramaribo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 5.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $53 in Paramaribo. Groceries flip the comparison at $272 vs $301, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇸🇷 Paramaribo

🕒 Local time

18:39 6:39 PM

15:39 3:39 PM

3 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

242,946 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Surinamese Dollar SRD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 SRD = 2.67 USD

100 SRD = 2.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SRD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Surinamese Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 37.44 SRD (100 SRD = 2.67 USD). 1 EUR = 41.68 SRD (100 SRD = 2.4 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Paramaribo 5,890 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Paramaribo

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 Paramaribo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Paramaribo differ by about 114% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $1,035 including rent). Paramaribo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 5.7 times higher, 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 $478 in Paramaribo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $64 in Paramaribo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 9% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Paramaribo is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

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