Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Zacatecas

For one person, living is cheaper in Zacatecas: $730 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $17,800 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Zacatecas
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Zacatecas Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Zacatecas

🇲🇽 Mexico

$730

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Zacatecas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $730 in Zacatecas.

Lisbon $2,210
Zacatecas $730

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,155 in Zacatecas.

Lisbon $3,275
Zacatecas $1,155

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,580 in Zacatecas.

Lisbon $4,341
Zacatecas $1,580

Living in Lisbon is roughly 203% more expensive than in Zacatecas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Zacatecas is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.94

$6.06 MX$114

174.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.4

$31.91 MX$598

93.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.19

$7.17 MX$134

58.44%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$3.01 MX$56.5

-1.33%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.25 MX$23.47

83.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.72 MX$13.45

141.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$1.84 MX$34.43

84.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$4.13 MX$77.4

-19.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.35 MX$25.32

-14.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$2.15 MX$40.22

-11.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$1.53 MX$28.60

-1.31%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$2.21 MX$41.39

81.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.61

$7.28 MX$137

77.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$5.96 MX$112

30.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.94

$9.62 MX$180

84.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.78 MX$33.33

29.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.59 MX$29.82

8.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.93 MX$36.11

-3.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.46 MX$27.33

77.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$1.99 MX$37.23

-8.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$1.77 MX$33.20

11.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.58 MX$29.65

-6.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.80 MX$14.97

-10.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$4.25 MX$79.7

54.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.03

$10.27 MX$193

-45.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.60 MX$29.96

-15.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$3.35 MX$62.8

-36.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$0.53 MX$9.89

339.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.09

$16.07 MX$301

178.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$2.13 MX$39.98

80.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.11 MX$20.79

-3.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.77

$9.49 MX$178

73.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.46 MX$27.36

50.68%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$20.9K MX$392.2K

63.47%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$23.8K MX$445.9K

62.85%

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

$161 €145

$22.72 MX$426

609.60%

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

$18.41 €16.52

$7.97 MX$149

130.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.37

$24.73 MX$464

32.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.97

$24.23 MX$454

83.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.14

$7.96 MX$149

139.95%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.61

$4.24 MX$79.6

126.42%

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

$668 €599

$235 MX$4,405

184.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$3,243 MX$60.8K

443.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.5

$44.83 MX$841

127.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.90

$40.16 MX$753

10.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.4

$90.7 MX$1,700

8.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$42.77 MX$802

189.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,443

$241 MX$4,524

566.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,068

$162 MX$3,042

633.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,523

$381 MX$7,137

638.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,806

$241 MX$4,515

736.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,034

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,106

$563 MX$10.6K

712.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,413

$408 MX$7,648

286.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

10.8

-64.35%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Zacatecas: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Zacatecas

$162 22.2% 86.4% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Zacatecas

$224 30.7% 17.6% $48

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Zacatecas

$131 18% 45.8% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Zacatecas

$55 7.6% 73.9% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Zacatecas

$98 13.5% 40.8% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Zacatecas

$33 4.5% 48.7% $31

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Zacatecas

$26 3.5% 59.1% $37

Cost Breakdown

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

Lisbon pays about 3.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $32 in Zacatecas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $224 per month, with Zacatecas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇽 Zacatecas

🕒 Local time

20:12 8:12 PM

14:12 2:12 PM

6 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

138,444

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.79 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Zacatecas 8,730 km ≈ 11 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 Zacatecas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $730 in Zacatecas, so Zacatecas is about 67% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 3.9 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 $241 in Zacatecas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $235 in Zacatecas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $730 in Zacatecas versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Zacatecas but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Zacatecas 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 Zacatecas are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Zacatecas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 67% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.