Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Shymkent

For one person, living is cheaper in Shymkent: $808 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Shymkent
Learn more

Shymkent Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Shymkent

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$808

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Shymkent

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $808 in Shymkent.

Lisbon $2,202
Shymkent $808

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $1,390 in Shymkent.

Lisbon $3,274
Shymkent $1,390

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,971 in Shymkent.

Lisbon $4,346
Shymkent $1,971

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Shymkent is 40% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$11.25 ₸5,086

51.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$33.35 ₸15.1K

86.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$6.50 ₸2,938

69.54%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$2.54 ₸1,147

22.83%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$1.03 ₸467

120.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.54 ₸246

222.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$1.09 ₸492

213.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$1.35 ₸609

177.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.46 ₸661

-19.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$0.41 ₸184

353.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.79 ₸811

-13.97%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$1.73 ₸783

134.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$10.04 ₸4,538

28.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$5.26 ₸2,376

50.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$8.98 ₸4,059

96.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.19 ₸538

89.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.12 ₸957

-17.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$2.58 ₸1,166

-26.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$1.35 ₸610

89.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$0.55 ₸250

236.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.41 ₸184

380.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.88 ₸397

64.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.83 ₸376

-7.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$2.46 ₸1,114

172.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$4.55 ₸2,057

24.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.03 ₸466

33.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.51 ₸683

39.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$0.14 ₸64.0

1557.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$0.87 ₸395

354.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.34 ₸156

208.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$10.02 ₸4,532

71.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$0.64 ₸291

242.19%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$27.2K ₸12.3M

24.31%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$29.0K ₸13.1M

31.72%

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

$164 €146

$47.29 ₸21.4K

246.39%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$9.60 ₸4,338

92.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$14.79 ₸6,685

122.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$38.82 ₸17.5K

18.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$8.82 ₸3,986

111.79%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$5.68 ₸2,567

71.65%

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

$684 €608

$57.8 ₸26.1K

1084.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$37.55 ₸17.0K

176.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$33.85 ₸15.3K

36.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$187 ₸84.4K

-46.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$52.9 ₸23.9K

135.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$338 ₸153.0K

369.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$203 ₸92.0K

474.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$698 ₸315.6K

308.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$545 ₸246.2K

266.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$1,104 ₸499.1K

605.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$986 ₸445.6K

348.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$442 ₸199.6K

262.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

18.25

-78.90%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Shymkent: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Shymkent

$203 25.2% 82.6% $966

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Shymkent

$185 22.9% 32.2% $88

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Shymkent

$154 19.1% 37.6% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Shymkent

$72 8.9% 66.7% $144

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Shymkent

$140 17.3% 16.9% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Shymkent

$50 6.2% 23.2% $15

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Shymkent

$3.2 * 0.4% 95% $60

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 $1,589 in Lisbon and $338 in Shymkent. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 262% 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: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $33.00 in Shymkent for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $185 per month, with Shymkent cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇰🇿 Shymkent

🕒 Local time

14:18 2:18 PM

19:18 7:18 PM

5 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,222,055

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KZT, 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).

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 452 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD). 1 EUR = 508 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Shymkent 6,420 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Shymkent

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 Shymkent: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Shymkent differ by about 173% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $808 including rent). Shymkent is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 262% 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: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $338 in Shymkent. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 48% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,202 per month in Lisbon versus $808 in Shymkent – a 173% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $808 in Shymkent versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shymkent but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Shymkent 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 Shymkent 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 Shymkent 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.