Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Malindi and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Malindi: $520 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $20,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Malindi
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Malindi Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Malindi

🇰🇪 Kenya

$520

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $520 in Malindi versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Malindi $520
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $806 in Malindi versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Malindi $806
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,092 in Malindi versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Malindi $1,092
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Malindi costs roughly 77% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Malindi is 61% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.06 KES 267

$16.50 €14.67

-87.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.99 KES 3,241

$61.3 €54.5

-59.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.58 KES 1,372

$11.27 €10.03

-6.12%

Cappuccino

$2.76 KES 358

$3.06 €2.72

-9.80%

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

$0.68 KES 88.8

$2.26 €2.01

-69.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.52 KES 67.2

$1.73 €1.54

-69.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.35 KES 304

$3.39 €3.02

-30.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 KES 429

$3.40 €3.02

-2.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.90 KES 116

$1.12 €1.00

-19.64%

White Bread (500g)

$0.54 KES 69.8

$1.86 €1.65

-70.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.27 KES 164

$1.53 €1.36

-16.99%

Eggs

$1.79 KES 232

$3.96 €3.53

-54.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.74 KES 1,522

$12.76 €11.35

-7.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.81 KES 624

$7.90 €7.02

-39.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.99 KES 647

$16.97 €15.09

-70.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.08 KES 269

$2.27 €2.02

-8.37%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 KES 94.7

$1.75 €1.55

-58.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 KES 236

$1.85 €1.64

-1.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.67 KES 87.2

$2.57 €2.28

-73.93%

Potato (1kg)

$0.68 KES 87.6

$1.86 €1.65

-63.44%

Onion (1kg)

$0.67 KES 87.5

$2.02 €1.80

-66.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.59 KES 76.6

$1.44 €1.28

-59.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 KES 55.3

$0.82 €0.73

-47.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.06 KES 526

$6.56 €5.83

-38.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.88 KES 1,281

$5.62 €5.00

75.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 KES 253

$1.28 €1.14

52.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 KES 377

$2.07 €1.84

40.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 €2.09

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.18 €39.30

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.03 KES 393

$3.99 €3.55

-24.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.70 KES 221

$1.09 €0.97

55.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.66 KES 604

$16.64 €14.81

-72.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 KES 186

$2.28 €2.03

-37.28%

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

$12.3K KES 1.6M

$33.7K €30.0K

-63.59%

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

$11.8K KES 1.5M

$39.3K €35.0K

-69.94%

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

$77.9 KES 10.1K

$167 €149

-53.51%

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

$9.43 KES 1,223

$18.80 €16.72

-49.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.35 KES 4,065

$33.09 €29.43

-5.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.09 KES 5,069

$46.01 €40.93

-15.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.19 €17.07

Cinema Ticket

$15.22 KES 1,974

$9.84 €8.75

54.67%

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

$87.5 KES 11.3K

$677 €602

-87.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,349 KES 693.5K

$16.9K €15.1K

-68.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.08 KES 1,696

$101 €90.1

-87.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$13.47 KES 1,746

$45.76 €40.70

-70.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$23.22 KES 3,010

$100.0 €88.9

-76.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$46.29 KES 6,002

$123 €109

-62.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 €1,436

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 €1,065

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$378 KES 49.0K

$2,862 €2,545

-86.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,990 €1,770

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,577 €6,740

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,307 €3,831

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,588 €1,412

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

237.66%

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

Last update for Malindi: October 12, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Malindi

$172 33.2%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 56.2% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Malindi

$119 22.8%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 84.9% $101

Eating Out

Malindi

$105 20.1%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 132% $138

Sport & Entertainment

Malindi

$70 13.4%

Lisbon

$66 3% 5.5% $3.9

Clothing & Footwear

Malindi

$43 8.3%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 285% $123

Getting Around

Malindi

$12 * 2.2%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 446% $51

Accommodation & Living

Malindi

- * 0%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $25.00 in Malindi vs $61.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $172 vs $269 per month, with Malindi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Malindi

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

21:26 9:26 PM

19:26 7:26 PM

2 h behind Malindi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

117,735

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

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

USD to KES in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Malindi Lisbon 6,870 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Malindi
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

Malindi vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Malindi and Lisbon differ by about 328% in total monthly costs ($520 vs $2,223 including rent). Malindi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $780 in Malindi and $3,335 in Lisbon to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 56% 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 Malindi versus $2,223 in Lisbon – a 328% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $520 in Malindi versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Malindi but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Malindi 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, Malindi 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 Malindi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 328% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.