Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Tamarin

For one person, living is cheaper in Tamarin: $1,033 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Tamarin
Learn more

Tamarin Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Tamarin

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$1,033

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Tamarin

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,033 in Tamarin.

Lisbon $2,210
Tamarin $1,033

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,648 in Tamarin.

Lisbon $3,275
Tamarin $1,648

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,263 in Tamarin.

Lisbon $4,341
Tamarin $2,263

Living in Lisbon is roughly 114% more expensive than in Tamarin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Tamarin is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$6.00 MUR 283

177.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$32.24 MUR 1,519

91.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$7.12 MUR 335

59.55%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.69 MUR 127

10.41%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.15 MUR 54.1

99.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.64 MUR 30.12

171.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.59 MUR 122

31.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$4.81 MUR 227

-31.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.49 MUR 70.1

-22.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.20 MUR 9.42

855.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.14 MUR 53.8

32.46%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$2.55 MUR 120

57.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$3.75 MUR 177

245.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$6.26 MUR 295

24.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$11.29 MUR 532

57.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.11 MUR 99.3

9.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$2.14 MUR 101

-19.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.40 MUR 66.2

32.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$3.01 MUR 142

-13.95%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.96 MUR 45.23

89.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.02 MUR 47.89

93.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.70 MUR 32.75

110.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.88 MUR 41.50

-18.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$6.18 MUR 291

6.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$8.69 MUR 410

-35.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.69 MUR 79.5

-19.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.94 MUR 91.2

10.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.87 MUR 40.88

167.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$4.24 MUR 200

-9.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$3.24 MUR 153

-66.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$6.42 MUR 303

156.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.37 MUR 64.5

60.58%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$29.8K MUR 1.4M

14.86%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$30.7K MUR 1.4M

26.14%

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

$161 €144

$44.27 MUR 2,086

264.17%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$10.47 MUR 494

75.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$29.63 MUR 1,396

10.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$41.34 MUR 1,948

7.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$6.46 MUR 304

48.61%

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

$668 €598

$125 MUR 5,900

433.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$3,083 MUR 145.3K

471.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$63.5 MUR 2,994

60.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$53.8 MUR 2,536

-17.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$85.9 MUR 4,048

14.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$58.9 MUR 2,777

109.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$957 MUR 45.1K

68.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$420 MUR 19.8K

183.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$1,608 MUR 75.8K

74.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$862 MUR 40.6K

133.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$835 MUR 39.4K

88.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

6.67

-42.28%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Tamarin: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Tamarin

$420 40.7% 64.7% $770

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Tamarin

$200 19.4% 26.5% $72

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Tamarin

$131 12.7% 45.8% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Tamarin

$84 8.2% 60.3% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Tamarin

$118 11.4% 28.9% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Tamarin

$54 5.3% 14.9% $9.5

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Tamarin

$24 * 2.3% 62.2% $39

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 $1,608 in Lisbon and $957 in Tamarin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 89% 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 in Lisbon vs $32 in Tamarin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $200 per month, with Tamarin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇺 Tamarin

🕒 Local time

09:43 9:43 AM

13:43 1:43 PM

4 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

4,371

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MUR = 2.12 USD

100 MUR = 1.9 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MUR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 47.12 MUR (100 MUR = 2.12 USD). 1 EUR = 52.58 MUR (100 MUR = 1.9 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Tamarin 9,530 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Tamarin

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 Tamarin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,033 in Tamarin, so Tamarin is about 53% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 89% 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $957 in Tamarin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 36% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $1,033 in Tamarin – Tamarin is about 53% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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

Safety-wise, Lisbon and Tamarin are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Tamarin wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.