Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Machakos and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Machakos: $520 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $20,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Machakos
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Machakos Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Machakos

🇰🇪 Kenya

$520

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Machakos 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 Machakos and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $520 in Machakos versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Machakos $520
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $802 in Machakos versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Machakos $802
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,084 in Machakos versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Machakos $1,084
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Machakos costs roughly 76% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.99 KES 389

$16.65 €14.96

-82.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.26 KES 2,501

$61.7 €55.5

-68.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.26 KES 813

$11.36 €10.20

-44.89%

Cappuccino

$1.97 KES 255

$2.97 €2.67

-33.67%

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

$0.66 KES 85.4

$2.29 €2.06

-71.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 KES 69.6

$1.74 €1.56

-68.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 KES 281

$3.40 €3.06

-36.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 KES 346

$3.31 €2.97

-19.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.39 KES 50.9

$1.16 €1.04

-66.38%

White Bread (500g)

$0.48 KES 62.7

$1.91 €1.72

-74.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.80 KES 104

$1.51 €1.36

-47.02%

Eggs

$1.36 KES 177

$4.02 €3.61

-66.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.89 KES 1,414

$12.94 €11.62

-15.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.36 KES 827

$7.77 €6.99

-18.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.71 KES 612

$17.76 €15.96

-73.48%

Apples (1kg)

$1.50 KES 195

$2.30 €2.07

-34.78%

Banana (1kg)

$0.81 KES 105

$1.73 €1.56

-53.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.37 KES 47.51

$1.86 €1.67

-80.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.40 KES 51.6

$2.59 €2.33

-84.56%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 KES 102

$1.82 €1.64

-56.59%

Onion (1kg)

$0.76 KES 98.7

$1.97 €1.77

-61.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 KES 97.6

$1.47 €1.32

-48.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.39 KES 51.1

$0.72 €0.65

-45.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.51 KES 456

$6.58 €5.92

-46.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.31 KES 1,469

$5.61 €5.04

101.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 KES 248

$1.36 €1.22

40.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 KES 351

$2.14 €1.92

26.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 KES 96.4

$3.85 €3.46

-80.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 KES 97.8

$1.07 €0.96

-29.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 KES 371

$16.46 €14.79

-82.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 KES 195

$2.20 €1.98

-31.82%

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

$19.1K KES 2.5M

$34.2K €30.7K

-44.08%

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

$21.7K KES 2.8M

$38.7K €34.8K

-43.89%

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

$57.0 KES 7,400

$161 €145

-64.66%

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

$7.83 KES 1,017

$18.41 €16.54

-57.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.58 KES 1,504

$32.74 €29.41

-64.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.98 KES 5,062

$44.55 €40.03

-12.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

Cinema Ticket

$7.66 KES 995

$9.60 €8.62

-20.21%

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

$45.51 KES 5,910

$668 €600

-93.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K KES 1.6M

$17.6K €15.8K

-30.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$11.62 KES 1,509

$102 €91.7

-88.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.49 KES 3,700

$44.46 €39.95

-35.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.8 KES 8,927

$98.5 €88.5

-30.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$38.19 KES 4,959

$124 €111

-69.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$94.2 KES 12.2K

$1,608 €1,445

-94.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$70.4 KES 9,137

$1,190 €1,069

-94.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$155 KES 20.1K

$2,812 €2,527

-94.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$116 KES 15.1K

$2,013 €1,809

-94.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,043

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,111

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$385 KES 50.0K

$1,575 €1,415

-75.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.71

3.85

282.08%

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

Last update for Machakos: October 24, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Machakos

$161 31%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 69.1% $111

Eating Out

Machakos

$87 16.8%

Lisbon

$243 11% 178% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Machakos

$76 14.7%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 178% $136

Accommodation & Living

Machakos

$70 13.5%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 1591% $1.1K

Clothing & Footwear

Machakos

$66 12.7%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 151% $100

Sport & Entertainment

Machakos

$54 10.4%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 17.4% $9.4

Getting Around

Machakos

$4.5 * 0.9%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 1301% $59

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 $94 in Machakos and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 4.1 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: $19 in Machakos vs $62 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $161 vs $272 per month, with Machakos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Machakos

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

16:02 4:02 PM

13:02 1:02 PM

3 h behind Machakos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

114,109

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇪 Kenyan Shilling (Sh)

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to KES in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Machakos Lisbon 6,510 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Machakos
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

Machakos vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Machakos and Lisbon differ by about 325% in total monthly costs ($520 vs $2,210 including rent). Machakos is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 76% lower in Machakos. 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: $94 in Machakos versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 69% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $520 per month in Machakos versus $2,210 in Lisbon – a 325% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $520 in Machakos versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $800 budget is realistic in Machakos but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Machakos 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, Machakos 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.

It comes down to priorities – Machakos wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.