Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Zhoushan

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhoushan: $623 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $19,000 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Zhoushan
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Zhoushan Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Zhoushan

🇨🇳 China

$623

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Zhoushan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $623 in Zhoushan.

Lisbon $2,210
Zhoushan $623

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,008 in Zhoushan.

Lisbon $3,275
Zhoushan $1,008

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $1,394 in Zhoushan.

Lisbon $4,341
Zhoushan $1,394

Living in Lisbon is roughly 255% more expensive than in Zhoushan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Zhoushan is 54% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.95

$3.32 ¥22.12

401.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$18.60 ¥124

231.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$4.09 ¥27.25

177.75%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$2.96 ¥19.68

0.34%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.47 ¥3.10

387.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.27 ¥1.81

544.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$0.77 ¥5.13

341.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$1.93 ¥12.81

71.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.80 ¥12.01

-35.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$2.19 ¥14.57

-12.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$0.87 ¥5.81

73.56%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.06 ¥7.02

279.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$13.59 ¥90.5

-4.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.98

$3.48 ¥23.17

123.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.95

$11.07 ¥73.7

60.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.53 ¥10.16

50.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$1.23 ¥8.16

40.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.53 ¥10.17

21.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$1.22 ¥8.10

112.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$0.57 ¥3.82

219.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.88 ¥5.86

123.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.60 ¥3.98

145.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.55 ¥3.69

30.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.91

$5.36 ¥35.65

22.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$12.10 ¥80.5

-53.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$0.91 ¥6.08

49.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$2.16 ¥14.37

-0.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.29 ¥1.92

703.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$15.22 ¥101

193.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$1.48 ¥9.87

160.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.42 ¥2.83

154.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$9.04 ¥60.1

82.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$1.17 ¥7.81

88.03%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$19.8K ¥131.5K

73.01%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$16.0K ¥106.2K

142.68%

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

$161 €145

$36.52 ¥243

341.46%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$11.44 ¥76.1

60.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$27.66 ¥184

18.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.02

$25.05 ¥167

77.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$7.59 ¥50.5

151.65%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$6.16 ¥41.00

55.84%

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

$668 €600

$447 ¥2,972

49.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$16.5K ¥109.5K

7.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.6

$34.73 ¥231

193.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.94

$21.39 ¥142

107.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$64.7 ¥430

52.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$45.75 ¥304

170.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$333 ¥2,214

383.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$118 ¥786

907.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,526

$762 ¥5,069

269.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,808

$271 ¥1,803

643.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,042

$3,030 ¥20.2K

158.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,110

$1,988 ¥13.2K

130.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$588 ¥3,915

167.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

3.13

23.00%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Zhoushan: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Zhoushan

$118 19% 90.1% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Zhoushan

$212 34% 22.2% $60

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Zhoushan

$85 13.7% 65% $158

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Zhoushan

$76 12.1% 64.4% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Zhoushan

$75 12% 54.8% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Zhoushan

$37 6% 41.4% $26

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Zhoushan

$20 3.2% 68.4% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $333 in Zhoushan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.7 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 $19 in Zhoushan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $212 per month, with Zhoushan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇨🇳 Zhoushan

🕒 Local time

17:40 5:40 PM

01:40 1:40 AM

8 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

1,157,817

💱 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

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Lisbon Zhoushan 10,860 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 Zhoushan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lisbon and Zhoushan differ by about 255% in total monthly costs ($2,210 vs $623 including rent). Zhoushan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2.7 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 $333 in Zhoushan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $668 in Lisbon versus $447 in Zhoushan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 29% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $623 in Zhoushan versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Zhoushan but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Zhoushan 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 Zhoushan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 72% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.