Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Thika

For one person, living is cheaper in Thika: $518 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $20,300 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
25

Cost of Living Index in Thika
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Thika Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Thika

🇰🇪 Kenya

$518

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Thika

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $518 in Thika.

Lisbon $2,210
Thika $518

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $883 in Thika.

Lisbon $3,275
Thika $883

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,248 in Thika.

Lisbon $4,341
Thika $1,248

Living in Lisbon is roughly 327% more expensive than in Thika, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$3.52 KES 457

373.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$34.12 KES 4,431

80.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$6.31 KES 819

80.03%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$1.97 KES 256

50.76%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.32 KES 41.83

615.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.67 KES 87.2

159.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$1.89 KES 246

79.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.10 KES 273

57.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$0.74 KES 96.4

56.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$0.45 KES 58.2

324.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.15 KES 149

31.30%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.37 KES 177

193.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$10.98 KES 1,426

17.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$6.75 KES 877

15.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$4.01 KES 521

342.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.51 KES 196

52.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$0.60 KES 77.5

188.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$0.78 KES 102

138.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.14 KES 148

127.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$0.36 KES 47.22

405.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.48 KES 62.7

310.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.73 KES 95.0

101.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.37 KES 47.60

94.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$2.80 KES 364

135.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$5.72 KES 743

-1.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.77 KES 230

-23.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.95 KES 253

9.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$1.52 KES 197

153.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.91 KES 118

17.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$2.95 KES 383

457.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.36 KES 177

61.76%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$19.0K KES 2.5M

79.94%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$21.4K KES 2.8M

80.58%

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

$161 €145

$34.61 KES 4,494

365.82%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$15.36 KES 1,994

19.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$34.47 KES 4,477

-5.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$46.97 KES 6,100

-5.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.68 KES 997

25.00%

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

$668 €600

$53.3 KES 6,921

1152.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$3,489 KES 453.1K

404.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$28.59 KES 3,713

256.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$29.22 KES 3,795

52.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$68.7 KES 8,921

43.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$19.35 KES 2,513

539.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$101 KES 13.2K

1485.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$56.9 KES 7,384

1992.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$268 KES 34.8K

949.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$175 KES 22.7K

1051.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$623 KES 80.9K

1158.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

14.71

-73.83%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Thika: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Thika

$57 11% 95.2% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Thika

$154 29.8% 43.4% $118

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Thika

$88 17.1% 63.6% $154

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Thika

$84 16.3% 60.2% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Thika

$66 12.7% 60.4% $100

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Thika

$62 12% 2.2% $1.4

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Thika

$6.1 * 1.2% 90.4% $57

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 $101 in Thika. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $34 in Thika for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $154 per month, with Thika cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇰🇪 Thika

🕒 Local time

21:44 9:44 PM

00:44 12:44 AM

3 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

83,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Thika 6,460 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Thika

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 Thika: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $518 in Thika, so Thika is about 77% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,315 in Lisbon and $777 in Thika to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $101 in Thika. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 77% 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 $518 in Thika – Thika is about 77% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $518 in Thika versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Thika but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Thika 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.