Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,222 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,222

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Shanghai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,222 in Shanghai.

Lisbon $2,210
Shanghai $1,222

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,971 in Shanghai.

Lisbon $3,275
Shanghai $1,971

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,720 in Shanghai.

Lisbon $4,341
Shanghai $2,720

Living in Lisbon is roughly 81% more expensive than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Shanghai is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$4.53 ¥30.11

267.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$30.16 ¥201

104.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$5.11 ¥34.04

122.31%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$3.41 ¥22.70

-12.90%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.58 ¥3.85

294.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.35 ¥2.36

397.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$1.23 ¥8.22

176.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.31 ¥15.37

43.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.88 ¥12.52

-38.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.94 ¥12.88

-1.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$0.98 ¥6.52

54.08%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.70 ¥11.31

136.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$17.02 ¥113

-23.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$3.22 ¥21.41

141.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$12.93 ¥86.0

37.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$2.15 ¥14.31

6.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.73 ¥11.48

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$2.03 ¥13.51

-8.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.73 ¥11.54

49.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$0.83 ¥5.51

119.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.92 ¥6.13

114.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.67 ¥4.48

119.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.59 ¥3.92

22.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$3.77 ¥25.10

74.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$11.03 ¥73.4

-49.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.90 ¥6.00

51.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.60 ¥10.67

33.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.57 ¥3.81

308.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$29.62 ¥197

50.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$2.14 ¥14.25

79.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.47 ¥3.10

127.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$8.74 ¥58.2

88.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.34 ¥8.93

64.18%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$19.3K ¥128.1K

77.60%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$18.3K ¥121.7K

111.84%

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

$161 €145

$58.9 ¥392

173.72%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$7.90 ¥52.5

133.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$10.60 ¥70.5

208.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$64.8 ¥431

-31.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$17.47 ¥116

9.33%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$9.06 ¥60.3

5.96%

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

$668 €600

$1,587 ¥10.6K

-57.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$28.2K ¥187.9K

-37.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$54.6 ¥363

86.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$37.21 ¥248

19.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$74.6 ¥496

32.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$106 ¥707

16.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$1,026 ¥6,826

56.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$559 ¥3,722

112.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$2,618 ¥17.4K

7.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$1,191 ¥7,926

69.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$13.4K ¥89.0K

-41.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$6,527 ¥43.4K

-29.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$1,712 ¥11.4K

-8.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.36

14.58%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Shanghai

$559 45.8% 53% $631

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Shanghai

$237 19.4% 13.1% $36

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Shanghai

$107 8.8% 55.9% $136

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Shanghai

$77 6.3% 63.6% $135

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Shanghai

$123 10% 26.1% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Shanghai

$83 6.8% 30.1% $19

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Shanghai

$36 3% 42.4% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $1,026 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shanghai pays 9% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $30 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $237 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

22:54 10:54 PM

06:54 6:54 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

24,870,895

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Shanghai 10,710 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 Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,222 in Shanghai, so Shanghai is about 45% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 8% lower in Lisbon. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $1,026 in Shanghai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $1,587 in Shanghai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,222 in Shanghai versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shanghai but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Shanghai 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.

Expats usually find Shanghai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 45% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.