Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Yinchuan

For one person, living is cheaper in Yinchuan: $749 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $17,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
Learn more

Lisbon Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Yinchuan
Learn more

Yinchuan Living Index

Jump to prices

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Yinchuan

🇨🇳 China

$749

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Yinchuan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $749 in Yinchuan.

Lisbon $2,210
Yinchuan $749

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,190 in Yinchuan.

Lisbon $3,275
Yinchuan $1,190

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,631 in Yinchuan.

Lisbon $4,341
Yinchuan $1,631

Living in Lisbon is roughly 195% more expensive than in Yinchuan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Yinchuan is 45% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.91

$1.92 ¥12.77

767.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$25.83 ¥172

139.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.17

$4.96 ¥32.94

129.03%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$2.73 ¥18.11

8.79%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$0.58 ¥3.86

294.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.36 ¥2.39

383.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$1.19 ¥7.91

185.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$2.15 ¥14.30

53.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.68 ¥11.17

-30.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.41 ¥9.35

35.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$0.93 ¥6.21

62.37%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$1.60 ¥10.66

151.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$14.59 ¥96.9

-11.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.96

$2.96 ¥19.69

162.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.91

$12.29 ¥81.6

44.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.63 ¥10.84

41.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.17 ¥7.76

47.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.55 ¥10.27

20.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.27 ¥8.43

103.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.65 ¥4.33

180.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.97 ¥6.47

103.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.58 ¥3.84

153.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.49 ¥3.28

46.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.38 ¥22.47

94.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$11.97 ¥79.5

-53.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.85 ¥5.62

60.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.39 ¥9.23

53.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.33 ¥2.20

606.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.01

$18.89 ¥126

136.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$1.54 ¥10.21

150.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.35 ¥2.31

205.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.74

$7.83 ¥52.0

110.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.37 ¥9.11

60.58%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$19.8K ¥131.4K

72.87%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$16.4K ¥109.2K

135.73%

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

$161 €144

$59.4 ¥395

171.28%

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

$18.41 €16.49

$9.23 ¥61.4

99.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.32

$11.97 ¥79.6

173.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.90

$45.58 ¥303

-2.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.10

$16.76 ¥111

13.96%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$7.17 ¥47.67

33.89%

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

$668 €598

$486 ¥3,227

37.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$16.7K ¥110.7K

5.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$39.64 ¥263

157.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.82

$32.85 ¥218

35.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.2

$67.2 ¥447

46.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$68.9 ¥458

79.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,440

$263 ¥1,745

512.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$207 ¥1,377

474.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,519

$607 ¥4,031

363.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,803

$392 ¥2,608

412.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,021

$2,736 ¥18.2K

186.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,098

$1,658 ¥11.0K

176.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.36

14.58%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Yinchuan: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Yinchuan

$207 27.7% 82.6% $983

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Yinchuan

$207 27.7% 23.9% $65

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Yinchuan

$77 10.3% 68.3% $166

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Yinchuan

$81 10.8% 62% $132

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Yinchuan

$94 12.5% 43.4% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Yinchuan

$60 8% 6% $3.8

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Yinchuan

$23 3.1% 62.8% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $263 in Yinchuan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $26 in Yinchuan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $207 per month, with Yinchuan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇳 Yinchuan

🕒 Local time

20:32 8:32 PM

04:32 4:32 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

2,859,074

💱 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

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lisbon Yinchuan 9,190 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Yinchuan

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 Yinchuan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $749 in Yinchuan, so Yinchuan is about 66% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,315 in Lisbon and $1,124 in Yinchuan to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $263 in Yinchuan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $486 in Yinchuan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $749 in Yinchuan versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Yinchuan but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Yinchuan 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 Yinchuan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.