Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Tianjin

For one person, living is cheaper in Tianjin: $854 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,300 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Tianjin
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Tianjin Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Tianjin

🇨🇳 China

$854

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Tianjin

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $854 in Tianjin.

Lisbon $2,210
Tianjin $854

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,361 in Tianjin.

Lisbon $3,275
Tianjin $1,361

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,868 in Tianjin.

Lisbon $4,341
Tianjin $1,868

Living in Lisbon is roughly 159% more expensive than in Tianjin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Tianjin is 37% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$4.18 ¥27.81

298.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$24.41 ¥162

152.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$5.85 ¥38.91

94.19%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$4.06 ¥27.00

-26.85%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.47 ¥3.16

387.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.28 ¥1.88

521.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$1.00 ¥6.63

240.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$1.76 ¥11.68

88.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.44 ¥9.58

-19.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$2.34 ¥15.58

-18.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.67 ¥11.11

-9.58%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.32 ¥8.81

204.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$14.78 ¥98.3

-12.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$3.74 ¥24.92

107.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$9.76 ¥65.0

81.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.64 ¥10.88

40.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.54 ¥10.23

12.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.76 ¥11.72

5.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.18 ¥7.87

119.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$0.89 ¥5.93

104.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.17 ¥7.77

68.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.68 ¥4.50

116.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.71 ¥4.72

1.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$5.40 ¥35.94

21.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$13.65 ¥90.9

-58.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.03 ¥6.88

32.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.55 ¥16.96

-16.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.31 ¥2.06

651.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$8.82 ¥58.7

406.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$1.70 ¥11.29

126.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.38 ¥2.55

181.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$6.34 ¥42.21

159.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.26 ¥8.41

74.60%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$19.1K ¥127.4K

78.54%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$17.9K ¥119.3K

116.01%

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

$161 €145

$93.1 ¥620

73.15%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$6.38 ¥42.44

188.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$7.71 ¥51.3

324.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$17.02 ¥113

161.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$10.54 ¥70.2

81.21%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$7.56 ¥50.3

26.98%

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

$668 €600

$1,293 ¥8,605

-48.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$56.1 ¥373

81.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$28.58 ¥190

55.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$111 ¥742

-11.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$139 ¥924

-10.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$362 ¥2,406

344.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$213 ¥1,418

458.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$868 ¥5,776

224.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$462 ¥3,076

335.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$4,773 ¥31.8K

64.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$2,240 ¥14.9K

104.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$1,173 ¥7,804

34.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.54

8.76%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Tianjin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Tianjin

$213 24.9% 82.1% $977

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Tianjin

$226 26.5% 16.9% $46

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Tianjin

$111 13% 54.2% $131

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Tianjin

$107 12.6% 49.5% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Tianjin

$151 17.7% 9.1% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Tianjin

$32 3.8% 49.6% $32

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Tianjin

$14 1.6% 78.4% $50

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $362 in Tianjin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 34% 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 $24 in Tianjin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $226 per month, with Tianjin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇳 Tianjin

🕒 Local time

01:01 1:01 AM

09:01 9:01 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

13,866,009

💱 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

Lisbon Tianjin 9,780 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Lisbon vs Tianjin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $854 in Tianjin, so Tianjin is about 61% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 34% 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 $362 in Tianjin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $1,293 in Tianjin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $854 in Tianjin versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Tianjin but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Tianjin 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.

Expats usually find Tianjin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 61% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.