Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Urumqi

For one person, living is cheaper in Urumqi: $605 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $19,200 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
29

Cost of Living Index in Urumqi
Learn more

Urumqi Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Urumqi

🇨🇳 China

$605

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Urumqi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $605 in Urumqi.

Lisbon $2,202
Urumqi $605

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $960 in Urumqi.

Lisbon $3,274
Urumqi $960

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,316 in Urumqi.

Lisbon $4,346
Urumqi $1,316

Living in Lisbon is roughly 264% more expensive than in Urumqi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Urumqi is 55% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$3.29 ¥21.98

417.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$18.16 ¥121

243.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$5.28 ¥35.30

108.71%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$2.87 ¥19.19

8.71%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$0.46 ¥3.08

393.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.24 ¥1.59

625.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$1.14 ¥7.63

200.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$1.77 ¥11.83

111.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.24 ¥8.26

-5.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$0.93 ¥6.22

100.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$0.62 ¥4.12

148.39%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$1.54 ¥10.28

163.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$6.13 ¥40.96

110.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$2.49 ¥16.63

217.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$9.61 ¥64.3

83.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$2.04 ¥13.62

10.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.23 ¥8.22

42.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.86 ¥12.43

1.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$0.76 ¥5.11

236.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$0.54 ¥3.61

242.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.62 ¥4.17

217.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.50 ¥3.33

190.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$0.45 ¥3.00

71.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$2.93 ¥19.57

129.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$10.51 ¥70.3

-46.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.09 ¥7.30

25.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.47 ¥9.84

43.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$0.29 ¥1.93

700.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$18.08 ¥121

145.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

$1.47 ¥9.81

168.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.29 ¥1.94

262.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$7.30 ¥48.80

134.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.23 ¥8.23

78.05%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$17.9K ¥119.5K

89.10%

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

$38.3K €34.0K

$13.9K ¥93.2K

174.61%

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

$164 €146

$66.5 ¥444

146.52%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$5.43 ¥36.33

240.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$11.29 ¥75.5

191.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$22.12 ¥148

107.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

$9.40 ¥62.8

98.72%

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

$5.82 ¥38.90

67.53%

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

$684 €608

$161 ¥1,078

324.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$9,005 ¥60.2K

95.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

$52.6 ¥351

97.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

$22.05 ¥147

109.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

$106 ¥712

-6.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$44.33 ¥296

181.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$261 ¥1,748

507.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$117 ¥784

897.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$405 ¥2,708

603.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$251 ¥1,678

694.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

$1,834 ¥12.3K

324.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

$1,159 ¥7,748

281.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$1,114 ¥7,449

43.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.39

13.57%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Urumqi: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Urumqi

$117 19.4% 90% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Urumqi

$158 26.2% 42% $115

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Urumqi

$89 14.7% 64.2% $159

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Urumqi

$83 13.8% 61.4% $132

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Urumqi

$101 16.8% 39.8% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Urumqi

$34 5.6% 48.4% $32

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Urumqi

$22 3.7% 64.8% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Lisbon and $261 in Urumqi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 44% 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 $18.00 in Urumqi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $158 per month, with Urumqi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇳 Urumqi

🕒 Local time

23:05 11:05 PM

04:05 4:05 AM

5 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

4,054,369

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Lisbon Urumqi 7,610 km ≈ 10 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 Urumqi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Urumqi differ by about 264% in total monthly costs ($2,202 vs $605 including rent). Urumqi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 44% 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 $261 in Urumqi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $684 in Lisbon versus $161 in Urumqi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 72% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $605 in Urumqi versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Urumqi but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Urumqi 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 Urumqi 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 Urumqi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 264% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.