Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Shenzhen

For one person, living is cheaper in Shenzhen: $1,117 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,100 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Shenzhen
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Shenzhen Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Shenzhen

🇨🇳 China

$1,117

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Shenzhen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,117 in Shenzhen.

Lisbon $2,210
Shenzhen $1,117

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,714 in Shenzhen.

Lisbon $3,275
Shenzhen $1,714

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,310 in Shenzhen.

Lisbon $4,341
Shenzhen $2,310

Living in Lisbon is roughly 98% more expensive than in Shenzhen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Shenzhen is 18% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$3.66 ¥24.35

354.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$29.39 ¥196

110.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$5.28 ¥35.17

115.15%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$3.36 ¥22.34

-11.61%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.58 ¥3.84

294.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.36 ¥2.37

383.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$1.48 ¥9.82

129.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.14 ¥14.26

54.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.54 ¥10.22

-24.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.63 ¥10.84

17.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.14 ¥7.60

32.46%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.75 ¥11.63

129.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$20.74 ¥138

-37.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$3.41 ¥22.71

127.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$14.42 ¥96.0

23.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$2.25 ¥14.96

2.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.62 ¥10.79

6.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.94 ¥12.88

-4.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.42 ¥9.47

82.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.08 ¥7.20

68.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.28 ¥8.52

53.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.60 ¥3.97

145.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.56 ¥3.76

28.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$4.43 ¥29.50

48.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$12.08 ¥80.4

-53.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.92 ¥6.15

47.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.83 ¥12.15

16.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.44 ¥2.90

429.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$18.05 ¥120

147.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$1.53 ¥10.15

151.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.41 ¥2.75

160.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$7.36 ¥48.98

123.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.32 ¥8.77

66.67%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$19.2K ¥127.9K

77.83%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$18.0K ¥120.1K

114.58%

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

$161 €145

$64.8 ¥431

148.91%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$9.90 ¥65.9

85.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$16.40 ¥109

99.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$48.95 ¥326

-8.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$16.95 ¥113

12.68%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.28 ¥48.44

31.87%

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

$668 €600

$537 ¥3,572

24.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$24.4K ¥162.4K

-27.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$55.7 ¥371

83.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$40.56 ¥270

9.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$73.1 ¥486

34.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$93.9 ¥625

31.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$753 ¥5,010

113.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$471 ¥3,132

152.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$1,847 ¥12.3K

52.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$830 ¥5,525

142.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$13.2K ¥87.8K

-40.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$6,479 ¥43.1K

-29.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$1,763 ¥11.7K

-10.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.35

14.93%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Shenzhen: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Shenzhen

$471 42.1% 60.5% $719

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Shenzhen

$249 22.3% 8.6% $23

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Shenzhen

$101 9% 58.4% $142

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Shenzhen

$91 8.2% 57.1% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Shenzhen

$118 10.6% 28.6% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Shenzhen

$64 5.7% 0.4% $0.2

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Shenzhen

$23 2.1% 63% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $753 in Shenzhen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shenzhen pays 12% 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 $29 in Shenzhen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $249 per month, with Shenzhen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇳 Shenzhen

🕒 Local time

20:24 8:24 PM

04:24 4:24 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

12,528,300

💱 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

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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 Shenzhen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,117 in Shenzhen, so Shenzhen is about 49% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 11% 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 $753 in Shenzhen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $537 in Shenzhen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Shenzhen 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.

Expats usually find Shenzhen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.