Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Tijuana

For one person, living is cheaper in Tijuana: $1,292 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $10,900 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
63

Cost of Living Index in Tijuana
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Tijuana Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Tijuana

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,292

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Tijuana

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $1,292 in Tijuana.

Lisbon $2,202
Tijuana $1,292

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $2,025 in Tijuana.

Lisbon $3,274
Tijuana $2,025

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,758 in Tijuana.

Lisbon $4,346
Tijuana $2,758

Living in Lisbon is roughly 70% more expensive than in Tijuana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Tijuana is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$12.27 MX$227

38.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$34.46 MX$637

80.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$9.99 MX$185

10.31%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$4.19 MX$77.4

-25.54%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$1.36 MX$25.22

66.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.24 MX$22.98

40.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$3.29 MX$60.9

3.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$6.64 MX$123

-43.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.82 MX$33.56

-35.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.89 MX$53.3

-35.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.78 MX$32.91

-13.48%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$3.13 MX$57.8

29.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$8.31 MX$154

55.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$7.20 MX$133

9.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$11.92 MX$220

47.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$2.82 MX$52.2

-19.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.64 MX$30.22

6.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.90 MX$35.04

-0.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$1.62 MX$29.90

58.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.48 MX$27.28

25.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.88 MX$34.82

4.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.52 MX$28.12

-4.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$1.01 MX$18.65

-23.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$4.30 MX$79.5

56.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$8.30 MX$153

-31.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$2.17 MX$40.06

-36.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$3.87 MX$71.6

-45.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$1.07 MX$19.70

116.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$30.80 MX$569

44.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$2.78 MX$51.4

42.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$2.21 MX$40.80

-52.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$19.08 MX$353

-10.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.50 MX$27.66

46.00%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$24.8K MX$458.5K

36.14%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$23.1K MX$427.0K

65.59%

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

$164 €146

$47.10 MX$870

247.79%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$33.77 MX$624

-45.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$29.17 MX$539

12.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$40.29 MX$745

13.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$8.06 MX$149

131.76%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$6.66 MX$123

46.40%

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

$684 €608

$202 MX$3,725

239.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$4,491 MX$83.0K

292.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$53.1 MX$982

95.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$45.34 MX$838

1.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$101 MX$1,868

-1.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$68.0 MX$1,256

83.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$869 MX$16.1K

82.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$476 MX$8,797

145.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$1,482 MX$27.4K

92.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$909 MX$16.8K

119.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$3,077 MX$56.9K

153.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$2,752 MX$50.9K

60.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$927 MX$17.1K

72.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

12.07

-68.10%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Tijuana: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Tijuana

$476 36.8% 59.3% $693

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Tijuana

$265 20.5% 3.1% $8.5

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Tijuana

$219 16.9% 11.7% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Tijuana

$110 8.5% 48.9% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Tijuana

$120 9.3% 28.5% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Tijuana

$54 4.2% 18% $12

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Tijuana

$49 3.8% 22.3% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $869 in Tijuana. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 72% 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 $34.00 in Tijuana for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $265 per month, with Tijuana cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇽 Tijuana

🕒 Local time

17:56 5:56 PM

09:56 9:56 AM

8 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,810,645

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, 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).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Tijuana 9,150 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
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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 Tijuana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Tijuana differ by about 70% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $1,292 including rent). Tijuana is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 72% 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 $869 in Tijuana. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $684 in Lisbon versus $202 in Tijuana. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,292 in Tijuana versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Tijuana but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Tijuana 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 Tijuana 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 Tijuana gentler on the wallet – expenses run 70% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.