Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Yiwu

For one person, living is cheaper in Yiwu: $550 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $19,900 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
27

Cost of Living Index in Yiwu
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Yiwu Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Yiwu

🇨🇳 China

$550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Yiwu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $550 in Yiwu.

Lisbon $2,210
Yiwu $550

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,299 in Yiwu.

Lisbon $3,275
Yiwu $1,299

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,048 in Yiwu.

Lisbon $4,341
Yiwu $2,048

Living in Lisbon is roughly 302% more expensive than in Yiwu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Yiwu is 60% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.91

$2.88 ¥19.15

478.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$29.56 ¥197

108.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.17

$5.27 ¥35.06

115.56%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$3.41 ¥22.70

-12.90%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$0.58 ¥3.84

294.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.38 ¥2.53

357.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$1.23 ¥8.19

176.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$2.30 ¥15.28

43.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.78 ¥11.81

-34.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.94 ¥12.91

-1.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.03 ¥6.87

46.60%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$1.69 ¥11.27

137.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$16.96 ¥113

-23.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.96

$3.31 ¥22.04

134.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.91

$12.92 ¥86.0

37.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.15 ¥14.33

6.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.73 ¥11.48

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.03 ¥13.49

-8.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.69 ¥11.27

53.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$0.82 ¥5.44

121.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.92 ¥6.09

114.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.64 ¥4.26

129.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.59 ¥3.91

22.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$3.84 ¥25.52

71.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$10.77 ¥71.7

-47.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.88 ¥5.89

54.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.55 ¥10.32

38.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.46 ¥3.06

406.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.01

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$1.39 ¥9.23

176.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.47 ¥3.10

127.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.74

$8.98 ¥59.7

83.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.27 ¥8.47

73.23%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$19.8K ¥132.1K

72.28%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$18.3K ¥121.5K

112.16%

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

$161 €144

$57.7 ¥384

179.51%

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

$18.41 €16.49

$7.89 ¥52.5

133.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.32

$10.44 ¥69.5

213.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.90

$15.16 ¥101

193.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.10

$11.35 ¥75.5

68.28%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$7.09 ¥47.19

35.40%

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

$668 €598

$1,606 ¥10.7K

-58.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$28.1K ¥186.9K

-37.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$55.7 ¥371

83.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.82

$37.90 ¥252

17.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.2

$76.5 ¥509

28.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$74.5 ¥496

66.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,440

$456 ¥3,034

252.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,519

$1,055 ¥7,023

166.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,803

$759 ¥5,050

165.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,021

$11.9K ¥79.1K

-34.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,098

$2,935 ¥19.5K

55.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$757 ¥5,035

108.16%

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 Yiwu: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Yiwu

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Yiwu

$235 42.7% 13.7% $37

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Yiwu

$94 17.2% 61.1% $148

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Yiwu

$76 13.8% 64.2% $136

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Yiwu

$110 20% 33.7% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Yiwu

$29 5.3% 54% $34

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Yiwu

$5.6 * 1% 91.2% $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 $456 in Yiwu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.1 times 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 Yiwu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $235 per month, with Yiwu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇳 Yiwu

🕒 Local time

17:27 5:27 PM

01:27 1:27 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,234,015

💱 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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Lisbon Yiwu 10,800 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

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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 Yiwu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $550 in Yiwu, so Yiwu is about 75% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.1 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 $456 in Yiwu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 16% 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 $550 in Yiwu – Yiwu is about 75% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $550 in Yiwu versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $800 budget is realistic in Yiwu but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Yiwu 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 – Yiwu wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.