Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Thimphu

For one person, living is cheaper in Thimphu: $522 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 Thimphu
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Thimphu Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Thimphu

🇧🇹 Bhutan

$522

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Thimphu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $522 in Thimphu.

Lisbon $2,210
Thimphu $522

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $811 in Thimphu.

Lisbon $3,275
Thimphu $811

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,100 in Thimphu.

Lisbon $4,341
Thimphu $1,100

Living in Lisbon is roughly 324% more expensive than in Thimphu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.92

$2.65 BTN 253

528.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$14.45 BTN 1,375

327.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.18

$4.94 BTN 470

129.96%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$1.27 BTN 121

133.86%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$0.53 BTN 50.4

332.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.17 BTN 16.07

923.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.68 BTN 255

26.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$1.55 BTN 148

113.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$0.77 BTN 73.6

50.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.12 BTN 107

70.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.03 BTN 97.7

46.60%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$1.95 BTN 185

106.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$3.74 BTN 356

245.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.97

$3.96 BTN 377

96.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.92

$3.89 BTN 370

356.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.52 BTN 240

-8.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.51 BTN 144

14.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.64 BTN 156

13.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$0.76 BTN 72.8

240.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.57 BTN 54.1

219.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.71 BTN 67.6

177.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.38 BTN 35.91

286.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.31 BTN 29.93

132.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.97 BTN 377

65.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$2.80 BTN 267

100.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.62 BTN 59.0

119.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.41 BTN 134

51.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.80 BTN 76.3

191.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.04

$5.27 BTN 502

747.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$0.77 BTN 73.7

400.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.56 BTN 149

-31.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.75

$0.14 BTN 13.66

11657.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$0.78 BTN 74.5

182.05%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$16.8K BTN 1.6M

103.98%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$15.5K BTN 1.5M

150.22%

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

$161 €144

$34.15 BTN 3,251

372.09%

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

$18.41 €16.50

$35.64 BTN 3,392

-48.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.34

$24.15 BTN 2,299

35.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.92

$48.23 BTN 4,591

-7.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.11

$7.53 BTN 717

153.65%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$3.13 BTN 298

206.71%

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

$668 €598

$45.45 BTN 4,326

1369.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$579 BTN 55.2K

2940.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$50.1 BTN 4,767

103.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.85

$25.28 BTN 2,406

75.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.3

$68.2 BTN 6,489

44.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$14.25 BTN 1,357

767.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,441

$128 BTN 12.2K

1152.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$88.9 BTN 8,463

1238.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,520

$191 BTN 18.1K

1375.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,804

$155 BTN 14.8K

1196.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,025

$6,737 BTN 641.3K

16.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,100

$399 BTN 37.9K

1048.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$348 BTN 33.1K

352.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Thimphu: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Thimphu

$89 17.1% 92.5% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Thimphu

$126 24.1% 53.9% $147

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Thimphu

$71 13.5% 70.9% $172

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Thimphu

$94 18% 55.8% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Thimphu

$71 13.6% 57.2% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Thimphu

$55 10.5% 14.5% $9.2

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Thimphu

$17 3.3% 73% $46

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $128 in Thimphu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 4.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $14 in Thimphu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $126 per month, with Thimphu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇧🇹 Thimphu

🕒 Local time

06:54 6:54 AM

12:54 12:54 PM

6 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

98,676 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Bhutanese Ngultrum BTN Nu.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 BTN = 10.51 USD

1,000 BTN = 9.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BTN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Bhutanese Ngultrum exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 95.19 BTN (100 BTN = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 106 BTN (1,000 BTN = 9.44 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Lisbon Thimphu 8,840 km ≈ 12 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 Thimphu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $522 in Thimphu, so Thimphu is about 76% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 4.5 times higher, 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 $128 in Thimphu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $45 in Thimphu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 117% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $522 in Thimphu versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Thimphu but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Thimphu 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 Thimphu are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Thimphu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 76% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.