Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lubumbashi and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lubumbashi: $1,228 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

60

Cost of Living Index in Lubumbashi
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Lubumbashi Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Lubumbashi

🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo

$1,228

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lubumbashi and in Lisbon

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Lubumbashi and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,228 in Lubumbashi versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Lubumbashi $1,228
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,727 in Lubumbashi versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Lubumbashi $2,727
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,226 in Lubumbashi versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Lubumbashi $4,226
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Lubumbashi costs roughly 45% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lubumbashi is 9% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.91 CDF 22.5K

$16.50 €14.67

-39.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$99.1 CDF 224.6K

$61.3 €54.5

61.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.92 CDF 22.5K

$11.27 €10.03

-11.98%

Cappuccino

$4.03 CDF 9,131

$3.06 €2.72

31.70%

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

$1.08 CDF 2,458

$2.26 €2.01

-52.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.99 CDF 4,508

$3.39 €3.02

-41.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 CDF 5,756

$3.40 €3.02

-25.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 CDF 4,446

$1.12 €1.00

75.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.22 CDF 2,764

$1.86 €1.65

-34.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.18 CDF 7,204

$1.53 €1.36

107.84%

Eggs

$2.10 CDF 4,761

$3.96 €3.53

-46.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.77 CDF 33.5K

$12.76 €11.35

15.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 CDF 17.4K

$7.90 €7.02

-2.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.52 CDF 35.2K

$16.97 €15.09

-8.54%

Apples (1kg)

$4.96 CDF 11.2K

$2.27 €2.02

118.50%

Banana (1kg)

$3.07 CDF 6,960

$1.75 €1.55

75.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.88 CDF 11.1K

$1.85 €1.64

163.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.98 CDF 6,745

$2.57 €2.28

15.95%

Potato (1kg)

$2.56 CDF 5,810

$1.86 €1.65

37.63%

Onion (1kg)

$2.66 CDF 6,020

$2.02 €1.80

31.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.98 CDF 2,220

$1.44 €1.28

-31.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 CDF 2,774

$0.82 €0.73

48.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.07 CDF 9,227

$6.56 €5.83

-37.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.73 CDF 28.8K

$5.62 €5.00

126.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 CDF 2,600

$1.28 €1.14

-10.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 CDF 4,719

$2.07 €1.84

0.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 CDF 2,289

$2.35 €2.09

-57.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.47 CDF 10.1K

$3.99 €3.55

12.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.87 CDF 22.4K

$16.64 €14.81

-40.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 CDF 3,361

$2.28 €2.03

-35.09%

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

$25.1K CDF 56.8M

$33.7K €30.0K

-25.60%

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

$30.6K CDF 69.3M

$39.3K €35.0K

-22.18%

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

$99.9 CDF 226.3K

$167 €149

-40.37%

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

$20.13 CDF 45.6K

$18.80 €16.72

7.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.3 CDF 136.6K

$33.09 €29.43

82.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.6 CDF 166.8K

$46.01 €40.93

60.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$9.84 €8.75

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

$132 CDF 297.9K

$677 €602

-80.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,456 CDF 10.1M

$16.9K €15.1K

-73.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$22.35 CDF 50.6K

$101 €90.1

-77.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.55 CDF 51.1K

$45.76 €40.70

-50.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.1 CDF 133.9K

$100.0 €88.9

-40.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.5 CDF 196.0K

$123 €109

-29.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$862 CDF 2.0M

$1,614 €1,436

-46.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$376 CDF 851.7K

$1,197 €1,065

-68.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,522 CDF 5.7M

$2,862 €2,545

-11.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,051 CDF 4.6M

$1,990 €1,770

3.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,012 CDF 2.3M

$7,577 €6,740

-86.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$499 CDF 1.1M

$4,307 €3,831

-88.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,064 CDF 2.4M

$1,588 €1,412

-32.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

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

Last update for Lubumbashi: October 13, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lubumbashi

$376 30.6%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 218% $821

Groceries & Markets

Lubumbashi

$327 26.6%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 17.6% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lubumbashi

$180 14.7%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 21.7% $39

Eating Out

Lubumbashi

$177 * 14.4%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 37% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Lubumbashi

$86 7%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 94.1% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Lubumbashi

$74 * 6%

Lisbon

$66 3% 10.8% $7.9

Getting Around

Lubumbashi

$8.5 * 0.7%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 640% $54

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 $862 in Lubumbashi and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 49% 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: $99.0 in Lubumbashi vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $327 vs $269 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇩 Lubumbashi

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

01:08 1:08 AM

00:08 12:08 AM

1 h behind Lubumbashi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,139,064

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Congolese Franc CDF Fr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CDF = 4.41 USD

10,000 CDF = 3.93 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CDF – Congolese Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇩 Congolese Franc (Fr)

Congolese Franc exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 2,265 CDF (10,000 CDF = 4.41 USD). 1 EUR = 2,547 CDF (10,000 CDF = 3.93 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CDF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lubumbashi Lisbon 6,770 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Lubumbashi
Lisbon

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

Lubumbashi vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lubumbashi and Lisbon differ by about 81% in total monthly costs ($1,228 vs $2,223 including rent). Lubumbashi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 49% lower in Lisbon. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $862 in Lubumbashi versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 21% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,228 per month in Lubumbashi versus $2,223 in Lisbon – a 81% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,228 in Lubumbashi versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lubumbashi but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Lubumbashi 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, Lubumbashi and Lisbon 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 Lubumbashi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 81% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.