Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Wuhan

For one person, living is cheaper in Wuhan: $825 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Wuhan
Learn more

Wuhan Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Wuhan

🇨🇳 China

$825

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Wuhan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $825 in Wuhan.

Lisbon $2,210
Wuhan $825

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,281 in Wuhan.

Lisbon $3,275
Wuhan $1,281

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,738 in Wuhan.

Lisbon $4,341
Wuhan $1,738

Living in Lisbon is roughly 168% more expensive than in Wuhan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Wuhan is 39% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$3.04 ¥20.24

447.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$22.31 ¥148

176.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$6.93 ¥46.12

63.92%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.30 ¥15.32

29.13%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.48 ¥3.21

377.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.28 ¥1.85

521.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$1.02 ¥6.80

233.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.34 ¥22.23

-0.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$2.19 ¥14.56

-47.03%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.77 ¥11.76

7.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.01 ¥6.74

49.50%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.72 ¥11.46

133.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$13.53 ¥90.0

-4.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$3.43 ¥22.85

126.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$12.65 ¥84.2

40.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$2.43 ¥16.16

-5.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.31 ¥8.70

32.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.50 ¥9.98

24.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.13 ¥7.53

129.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$0.91 ¥6.06

100.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.90 ¥5.98

118.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.38 ¥2.56

286.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.57 ¥3.76

26.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$4.99 ¥33.21

31.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$15.16 ¥101

-62.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.87 ¥5.80

56.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.97 ¥13.12

8.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.46 ¥3.09

406.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$29.56 ¥197

51.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$1.46 ¥9.71

163.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.29 ¥1.92

268.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$4.10 ¥27.26

301.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.30 ¥8.68

69.23%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$19.6K ¥130.4K

74.44%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$17.5K ¥116.7K

120.84%

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

$161 €145

$68.7 ¥457

134.57%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$8.76 ¥58.3

110.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$11.76 ¥78.3

178.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$54.0 ¥359

-17.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$17.97 ¥120

6.29%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$6.15 ¥40.95

56.10%

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

$668 €600

$389 ¥2,591

71.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$10.7K ¥71.0K

64.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$53.9 ¥358

89.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$33.47 ¥223

32.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$81.3 ¥541

21.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$113 ¥754

9.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$323 ¥2,146

398.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$191 ¥1,273

522.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$600 ¥3,993

368.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$329 ¥2,193

511.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$3,072 ¥20.4K

155.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$1,468 ¥9,771

211.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$1,092 ¥7,268

44.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.28

17.38%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Wuhan: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Wuhan

$191 23.2% 83.9% $999

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Wuhan

$229 27.8% 15.8% $43

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Wuhan

$88 10.6% 63.9% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Wuhan

$89 10.8% 58% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Wuhan

$127 15.4% 23.6% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Wuhan

$66 8% 4% $2.5

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Wuhan

$34 4.2% 45.7% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $323 in Wuhan. 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 in Lisbon vs $22 in Wuhan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $229 per month, with Wuhan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇳 Wuhan

🕒 Local time

06:27 6:27 AM

14:27 2:27 PM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

12,450,000

💱 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

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Wuhan 10,340 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Wuhan

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 Wuhan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $825 in Wuhan, so Wuhan is about 63% cheaper – 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: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $323 in Wuhan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $389 in Wuhan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $825 in Wuhan versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Wuhan but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Wuhan 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 Wuhan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 63% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.