Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Port Vila

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,223 a month against $3,148 in Port Vila, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
154

Cost of Living Index in Port Vila
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Port Vila Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Port Vila

🇻🇺 Vanuatu

$3,148

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Port Vila

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $3,148 in Port Vila.

Lisbon $2,223
Port Vila $3,148

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $4,290 in Port Vila.

Lisbon $3,271
Port Vila $4,290

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $5,432 in Port Vila.

Lisbon $4,319
Port Vila $5,432

Living in Lisbon costs roughly 29% less than in Port Vila, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lisbon 65% above, Port Vila 133% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$12.57 VUV 1,474

31.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$55.9 VUV 6,558

9.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$14.47 VUV 1,697

-22.11%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$3.99 VUV 468

-23.31%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$2.30 VUV 270

-1.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$2.35 VUV 276

-26.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$5.14 VUV 603

-34.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$7.16 VUV 839

-52.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$2.73 VUV 320

-58.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.97 VUV 231

-5.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$3.63 VUV 426

-57.85%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$6.30 VUV 739

-37.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$17.57 VUV 2,061

-27.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$16.60 VUV 1,947

-52.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$13.68 VUV 1,604

24.05%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$7.13 VUV 837

-68.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.15 VUV 252

-18.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$3.86 VUV 453

-52.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$9.44 VUV 1,107

-72.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$9.13 VUV 1,071

-79.63%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$3.47 VUV 407

-41.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.58 VUV 303

-44.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.20 VUV 140

-31.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$9.06 VUV 1,063

-27.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$12.51 VUV 1,467

-55.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$2.45 VUV 287

-47.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$2.70 VUV 316

-23.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.29 VUV 151

82.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$68.6 VUV 8,052

-35.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$2.57 VUV 302

55.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.88 VUV 103

23.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$5.19 VUV 609

220.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.76 VUV 206

29.55%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$22.8K VUV 2.7M

47.45%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$37.9K VUV 4.5M

3.57%

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

$167 €149

$636 VUV 74.6K

-73.65%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$22.30 VUV 2,615

-15.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$362 VUV 42.4K

-90.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$67.7 VUV 7,936

-32.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$16.93 VUV 1,986

13.35%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

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

$677 €602

$631 VUV 74.0K

7.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$6,973 VUV 818.0K

142.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$41.45 VUV 4,862

144.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$67.0 VUV 7,856

-31.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$86.0 VUV 10.1K

16.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$102 VUV 12.0K

19.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$1,549 VUV 181.7K

4.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$1,120 VUV 131.3K

6.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$3,413 VUV 400.3K

-16.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$1,886 VUV 221.3K

5.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$5,917 VUV 694.1K

28.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$2,162 VUV 253.6K

99.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$678 VUV 79.5K

134.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

6.18

-37.70%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Port Vila: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Port Vila

$1.1K 35.6% 6.5% $78

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Port Vila

$476 15.1% 76.8% $207

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Port Vila

$250 8% 3.4% $8.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Port Vila

$1K 32.4% 365% $800

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Port Vila

$134 4.2% 19.7% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Port Vila

$68 * 2.2% 3% $2

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Port Vila

$81 2.6% 28.2% $18

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 $1,549 in Port Vila. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 134% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $56.0 in Port Vila. Groceries flip the comparison at $269 vs $476, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇻🇺 Port Vila

🕒 Local time

09:41 9:41 AM

19:41 7:41 PM

10 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

44,039 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Vanuatu Vatu VUV Vt

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 VUV = 8.53 USD

1,000 VUV = 7.58 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VUV, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Vanuatu Vatu exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 117 VUV (1,000 VUV = 8.53 USD). 1 EUR = 132 VUV (1,000 VUV = 7.58 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Port Vila 17,670 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Port Vila

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 Port Vila: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Port Vila differ by about 42% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $3,148 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 134% 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 $1,549 in Port Vila. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $631 in Port Vila. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 77% higher in Port Vila. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $2,223 in Lisbon versus $3,148 in Port Vila, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in Port Vila. The gap between the two cities makes Lisbon 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 Port Vila 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 Lisbon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Port Vila. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.