Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Varadero

For one person, living is cheaper in Varadero: $1,173 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 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
56

Cost of Living Index in Varadero
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Varadero Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Varadero

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,173

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Varadero

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,173 in Varadero.

Lisbon $2,210
Varadero $1,173

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,546 in Varadero.

Lisbon $3,275
Varadero $1,546

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,920 in Varadero.

Lisbon $4,341
Varadero $1,920

Living in Lisbon is roughly 88% more expensive than in Varadero, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Varadero is 14% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.96

$3.59 CUP 86.2

363.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$19.95 CUP 479

209.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$5.12 CUP 123

121.87%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$1.01 CUP 24.20

194.06%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$1.58 CUP 37.97

44.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.99 CUP 23.81

75.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$1.22 CUP 29.24

178.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.01 CUP 48.31

64.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$2.71 CUP 65.0

-57.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.48 CUP 35.41

29.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.50 CUP 35.98

0.67%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.16 CUP 51.9

86.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$4.51 CUP 108

186.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.99

$4.41 CUP 106

76.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.96

$8.74 CUP 210

103.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$3.49 CUP 83.7

-34.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.05 CUP 25.28

64.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.58 CUP 37.96

17.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.61 CUP 38.52

60.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$2.21 CUP 53.1

-17.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$2.77 CUP 66.4

-28.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.66 CUP 15.78

122.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.52 CUP 12.57

38.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.92

$1.63 CUP 39.22

303.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$5.28 CUP 127

6.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.89 CUP 21.29

52.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.15 CUP 51.7

-0.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.09 CUP 2.13

2488.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$15.73 CUP 378

184.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$1.98 CUP 47.41

94.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.34 CUP 8.10

214.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$19.68 CUP 472

-16.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.33 CUP 31.91

65.41%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$70.4K CUP 1.7M

-51.46%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$81.3K CUP 2.0M

-52.36%

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

$161 €145

$39.23 CUP 941

310.96%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$39.53 CUP 949

-53.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$91.0 CUP 2,184

-64.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.03

$39.45 CUP 947

12.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$15.04 CUP 361

26.99%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$0.88 CUP 21.05

990.91%

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

$668 €600

$89.4 CUP 2,144

647.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$12.6K CUP 302.0K

39.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.7

$39.42 CUP 946

158.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.95

$30.09 CUP 722

47.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$75.7 CUP 1,818

30.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$68.0 CUP 1,631

81.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$492 CUP 11.8K

227.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$573 CUP 13.7K

107.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,527

$1,197 CUP 28.7K

135.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,809

$644 CUP 15.5K

212.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,043

$396 CUP 9,494

1881.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,111

$347 CUP 8,323

1219.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$19.53 CUP 469

7964.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

9.1

-57.69%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Varadero: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Varadero

$573 48.9% 51.9% $617

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Varadero

$197 16.8% 27.7% $76

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Varadero

$77 6.5% 68.4% $166

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Varadero

$170 14.5% 20.1% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Varadero

$96 8.2% 42.2% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Varadero

$41 3.5% 35.3% $23

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Varadero

$20 1.7% 68.7% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $492 in Varadero. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 81 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $20 in Varadero for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $197 per month, with Varadero cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇺 Varadero

🕒 Local time

11:10 11:10 AM

07:10 7:10 AM

4 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

27,170

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Varadero 6,920 km ≈ 9 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 Varadero: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Varadero differ by about 88% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $1,173 including rent). Varadero is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 81 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 $492 in Varadero. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $89 in Varadero. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 38% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Varadero is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Varadero gentler on the wallet – expenses run 47% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.