Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Xiamen

For one person, living is cheaper in Xiamen: $831 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Xiamen
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Xiamen Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Xiamen

🇨🇳 China

$831

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Xiamen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Lisbon versus $831 in Xiamen.

Lisbon $2,223
Xiamen $831

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,271 in Lisbon versus $1,338 in Xiamen.

Lisbon $3,271
Xiamen $1,338

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,319 in Lisbon versus $1,846 in Xiamen.

Lisbon $4,319
Xiamen $1,846

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 65% above, Xiamen is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.50 €14.67

$2.91 ¥19.48

467.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 €54.5

$23.99 ¥160

155.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.03

$5.29 ¥35.36

113.04%

Cappuccino

$3.06 €2.72

$2.54 ¥17.01

20.47%

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

$2.26 €2.01

$0.49 ¥3.28

361.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.33 ¥2.19

424.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 €3.02

$1.48 ¥9.88

129.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.02

$2.95 ¥19.71

15.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.53 ¥10.25

-26.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.35 ¥15.74

-20.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.00 ¥6.67

53.00%

Eggs

$3.96 €3.53

$1.63 ¥10.89

142.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.76 €11.35

$12.09 ¥80.9

5.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.02

$2.45 ¥16.40

222.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 €15.09

$12.00 ¥80.2

41.42%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.53 ¥16.91

-10.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.44 ¥9.60

21.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.66 ¥11.07

11.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$2.00 ¥13.36

28.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$0.98 ¥6.52

89.80%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.76 ¥11.78

14.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.86 ¥5.74

67.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 €0.73

$0.50 ¥3.37

64.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.83

$3.07 ¥20.53

113.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$11.33 ¥75.7

-50.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$0.80 ¥5.32

60.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.69 ¥11.29

22.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.16 ¥1.04

1368.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

$11.97 ¥80.0

269.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.99 €3.55

$1.53 ¥10.20

160.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.31 ¥2.10

251.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.64 €14.81

$7.37 ¥49.26

125.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.26 ¥8.42

80.95%

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

$33.7K €30.0K

$19.1K ¥127.9K

76.06%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$17.7K ¥118.1K

122.48%

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

$167 €149

$44.38 ¥297

277.40%

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

$18.80 €16.72

$8.49 ¥56.8

121.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.09 €29.43

$10.38 ¥69.4

218.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.01 €40.93

$47.51 ¥318

-3.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

$10.64 ¥71.2

80.36%

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

$10.16 ¥67.9

-3.15%

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

$677 €602

$491 ¥3,284

37.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K €15.1K

$24.3K ¥162.2K

-30.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$38.94 ¥260

159.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.76 €40.70

$29.13 ¥195

57.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100.0 €88.9

$103 ¥690

-3.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 €109

$85.0 ¥568

44.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

$355 ¥2,375

354.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

$265 ¥1,771

351.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,862 €2,545

$841 ¥5,623

240.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

$547 ¥3,655

264.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

$8,609 ¥57.6K

-11.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

$4,717 ¥31.5K

-8.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

$1,182 ¥7,901

34.36%

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 11, 2026

Last update for Xiamen: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Xiamen

$265 31.9% 77.9% $932

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$269 12.1%

Xiamen

$218 26.2% 19.2% $52

Eating Out

Lisbon

$242 10.9%

Xiamen

$86 10.4% 64.4% $156

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$219 9.9%

Xiamen

$63 7.6% 71.2% $156

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Xiamen

$115 13.9% 30.7% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$66 3%

Xiamen

$68 8.2% 3.2% $2.1

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.8%

Xiamen

$16 1.9% 75.1% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,614 in Lisbon and $355 in Xiamen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 34% 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: $61.0 in Lisbon vs $24.00 in Xiamen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $269 vs $218 per month, with Xiamen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇳 Xiamen

🕒 Local time

22:14 10:14 PM

05:14 5:14 AM

7 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

3,531,000

💱 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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Between locations

Lisbon Xiamen 11,100 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

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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 Xiamen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Xiamen differ by about 168% in total monthly costs ($2,223 vs $831 including rent). Xiamen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 34% 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: $1,614 in Lisbon versus $355 in Xiamen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Lisbon versus $491 in Xiamen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 24% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $831 in Xiamen versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Xiamen but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Xiamen 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 Xiamen 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 Xiamen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 168% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.