Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Wenzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Wenzhou: $617 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $19,100 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Wenzhou
Learn more

Wenzhou Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Wenzhou

🇨🇳 China

$617

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Wenzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $617 in Wenzhou.

Lisbon $2,210
Wenzhou $617

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,042 in Wenzhou.

Lisbon $3,275
Wenzhou $1,042

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,467 in Wenzhou.

Lisbon $4,341
Wenzhou $1,467

Living in Lisbon is roughly 258% more expensive than in Wenzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.91

$3.06 ¥20.38

444.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$30.39 ¥202

103.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.17

$4.86 ¥32.32

133.74%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.67 ¥17.76

11.24%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$0.53 ¥3.52

332.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.30 ¥2.00

480.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$1.07 ¥7.10

217.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$1.84 ¥12.25

79.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$2.02 ¥13.47

-42.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$2.05 ¥13.64

-6.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.32 ¥8.76

14.39%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$1.96 ¥13.06

105.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$7.53 ¥50.1

71.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.96

$2.19 ¥14.55

254.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.91

$9.00 ¥59.9

97.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.81 ¥12.04

27.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.78 ¥11.84

-2.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.78 ¥11.82

4.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.11 ¥7.41

133.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.62 ¥4.12

193.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.76 ¥5.07

159.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.43 ¥2.89

241.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.60 ¥3.97

20.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.27 ¥21.77

101.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$13.19 ¥87.8

-57.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.18 ¥7.83

15.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.22 ¥8.09

75.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.29 ¥1.92

703.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.01

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$1.67 ¥11.11

130.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.38 ¥2.53

181.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.74

$7.76 ¥51.7

112.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.27 ¥8.42

73.23%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$19.2K ¥127.8K

77.96%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$15.3K ¥102.1K

152.39%

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

$161 €144

$30.17 ¥201

434.37%

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

$18.41 €16.49

$6.82 ¥45.36

169.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.32

$8.85 ¥58.9

269.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.90

$13.72 ¥91.3

224.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.10

$26.49 ¥176

-27.90%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$7.28 ¥48.41

31.87%

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

$668 €598

$1,287 ¥8,566

-48.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$9,773 ¥65.0K

80.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$43.55 ¥290

134.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.82

$18.67 ¥124

138.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.2

$98.6 ¥656

-0.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$44.76 ¥298

176.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,440

$241 ¥1,603

567.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$169 ¥1,121

606.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,519

$636 ¥4,232

342.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,803

$360 ¥2,394

459.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,021

$4,169 ¥27.7K

88.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,098

$2,643 ¥17.6K

73.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$870 ¥5,789

81.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.46

11.27%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Wenzhou: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Wenzhou

$169 27.3% 85.8% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Wenzhou

$194 31.4% 28.9% $79

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Wenzhou

$83 13.5% 65.6% $159

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Wenzhou

$46 7.4% 78.4% $167

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Wenzhou

$92 15% 44.2% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Wenzhou

$28 4.6% 55.6% $35

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Wenzhou

$4.7 * 0.8% 92.5% $58

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $241 in Wenzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 81% 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 $30 in Wenzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $194 per month, with Wenzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇳 Wenzhou

🕒 Local time

22:14 10:14 PM

06:14 6:14 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

9,300,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Wenzhou 10,950 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

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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 Wenzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $617 in Wenzhou, so Wenzhou is about 72% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 81% 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 $241 in Wenzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $617 in Wenzhou – Wenzhou is about 72% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $617 in Wenzhou versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $800 budget is realistic in Wenzhou but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Wenzhou 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.

It comes down to priorities – Wenzhou wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.