Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Quanzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Quanzhou: $815 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,900 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Quanzhou
Learn more

Quanzhou Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Quanzhou

🇨🇳 China

$815

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Quanzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $815 in Quanzhou.

Lisbon $2,223
Quanzhou $815

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $1,204 in Quanzhou.

Lisbon $3,271
Quanzhou $1,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $1,593 in Quanzhou.

Lisbon $4,319
Quanzhou $1,593

Living in Lisbon is roughly 173% more expensive than in Quanzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Quanzhou is 40% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.73

$2.20 ¥14.70

650.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.7

$30.02 ¥201

104.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.06

$6.48 ¥43.35

73.92%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.73

$3.26 ¥21.82

-6.13%

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

$2.26 €2.02

$0.96 ¥6.40

135.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.55

$0.27 ¥1.80

540.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.03

$2.95 ¥19.70

14.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.03

$1.75 ¥11.72

94.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.45 ¥9.72

-22.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$0.86 ¥5.74

116.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.37

$0.93 ¥6.23

64.52%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.54

$1.53 ¥10.27

158.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.39

$7.68 ¥51.4

66.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.05

$2.30 ¥15.36

243.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.15

$5.12 ¥34.25

231.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.46 ¥9.74

55.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$0.99 ¥6.62

76.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.65

$0.72 ¥4.80

156.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.08 ¥7.21

137.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$0.46 ¥3.11

304.35%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.81

$1.05 ¥7.00

92.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.29

$0.16 ¥1.09

800.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.48 ¥3.18

70.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.86

$3.15 ¥21.08

108.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.02

$7.67 ¥51.3

-26.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$0.88 ¥5.92

45.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.38 ¥9.20

50.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.10

$0.31 ¥2.07

658.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.45

$23.44 ¥157

88.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.56

$1.22 ¥8.18

227.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.35 ¥2.34

211.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.86

$9.01 ¥60.3

84.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.04

$1.25 ¥8.36

82.40%

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

$33.7K €30.1K

$17.6K ¥117.6K

91.43%

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

$39.3K €35.1K

$15.7K ¥104.9K

150.40%

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

$167 €150

$52.8 ¥353

217.46%

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

$18.80 €16.78

$7.95 ¥53.2

136.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.55

$12.15 ¥81.3

172.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €41.09

$54.4 ¥364

-15.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.14

$18.63 ¥125

3.01%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.79

$5.83 ¥38.96

68.78%

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

$677 €605

$514 ¥3,438

31.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$11.8K ¥79.0K

43.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.4

$20.64 ¥138

390.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.86

$34.07 ¥228

34.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €89.3

$92.7 ¥620

7.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €110

$96.5 ¥646

27.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,441

$277 ¥1,851

483.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,069

$303 ¥2,027

294.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,555

$503 ¥3,362

469.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,777

$410 ¥2,743

385.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,766

$3,004 ¥20.1K

152.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,846

$2,008 ¥13.4K

114.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,418

$829 ¥5,545

91.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.15

22.22%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Last update for Quanzhou: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Quanzhou

$303 37.2% 74.7% $894

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Quanzhou

$137 16.8% 49.3% $133

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Quanzhou

$99 12.2% 59% $143

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Quanzhou

$73 8.9% 66.8% $147

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Quanzhou

$110 13.5% 34% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Quanzhou

$66 8.1% 0.5% $0.4

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Quanzhou

$28 3.4% 56.1% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $277 in Quanzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 91% 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 $30.00 in Quanzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $137 per month, with Quanzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇳 Quanzhou

🕒 Local time

10:35 10:35 AM

17:35 5:35 PM

7 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

8,128,530

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Quanzhou 11,100 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

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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 Quanzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Quanzhou differ by about 173% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $815 including rent). Quanzhou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 91% 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 $277 in Quanzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $514 in Quanzhou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 97% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $815 in Quanzhou versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Quanzhou but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Quanzhou 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 Quanzhou 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 Quanzhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 173% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.