Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Maputo and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Maputo: $1,128 a month against $2,223 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Maputo
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Maputo Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Maputo

🇲🇿 Mozambique

$1,128

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,128 in Maputo versus $2,223 in Lisbon.

Maputo $1,128
Lisbon $2,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,739 in Maputo versus $3,271 in Lisbon.

Maputo $1,739
Lisbon $3,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,351 in Maputo versus $4,319 in Lisbon.

Maputo $2,351
Lisbon $4,319

Living in Maputo costs roughly 49% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Maputo is 16% below, Lisbon is 65% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.28 MZN 650

$16.50 €14.67

-37.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.7 MZN 4,026

$61.3 €54.5

3.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.16 MZN 453

$11.27 €10.03

-36.47%

Cappuccino

$2.23 MZN 141

$3.06 €2.72

-27.12%

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

$0.89 MZN 56.3

$2.26 €2.01

-60.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 MZN 46.00

$1.73 €1.54

-57.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.58 MZN 99.7

$3.39 €3.02

-53.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 MZN 152

$3.40 €3.02

-29.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 MZN 100

$1.12 €1.00

41.07%

White Bread (500g)

$0.99 MZN 62.4

$1.86 €1.65

-46.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 MZN 101

$1.53 €1.36

4.58%

Eggs

$2.43 MZN 154

$3.96 €3.53

-38.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.22 MZN 1,342

$12.76 €11.35

66.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.70 MZN 361

$7.90 €7.02

-27.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.79 MZN 366

$16.97 €15.09

-65.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 MZN 128

$2.27 €2.02

-11.01%

Banana (1kg)

$0.75 MZN 47.17

$1.75 €1.55

-57.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 MZN 107

$1.85 €1.64

-8.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.07 MZN 67.8

$2.57 €2.28

-58.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.01 MZN 63.8

$1.86 €1.65

-45.70%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 MZN 46.88

$2.02 €1.80

-63.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.92 MZN 58.2

$1.44 €1.28

-36.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 MZN 57.9

$0.82 €0.73

10.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.89 MZN 183

$6.56 €5.83

-55.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.36 MZN 655

$5.62 €5.00

84.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 MZN 64.8

$1.28 €1.14

-19.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 MZN 85.1

$2.07 €1.84

-35.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.38 MZN 23.80

$2.35 €2.09

-83.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.39 MZN 1,479

$44.18 €39.30

-47.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.52 MZN 96.1

$3.99 €3.55

-61.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.19 MZN 75.1

$1.09 €0.97

9.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.82 MZN 1,570

$16.64 €14.81

49.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 MZN 85.6

$2.28 €2.03

-40.79%

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

$32.3K MZN 2.0M

$33.7K €30.0K

-4.15%

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

$23.2K MZN 1.5M

$39.3K €35.0K

-41.07%

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

$69.9 MZN 4,418

$167 €149

-58.30%

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

$7.86 MZN 497

$18.80 €16.72

-58.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$89.1 MZN 5,638

$33.09 €29.43

169.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.69 MZN 2,700

$46.01 €40.93

-7.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.63 MZN 1,621

$19.19 €17.07

33.56%

Cinema Ticket

$8.01 MZN 507

$9.84 €8.75

-18.60%

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

$127 MZN 8,033

$677 €602

-81.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,168 MZN 326.9K

$16.9K €15.1K

-69.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.94 MZN 3,158

$101 €90.1

-50.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.0 MZN 3,478

$45.76 €40.70

20.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 MZN 5,043

$100.0 €88.9

-20.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.4 MZN 5,086

$123 €109

-34.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$546 MZN 34.5K

$1,614 €1,436

-66.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$375 MZN 23.7K

$1,197 €1,065

-68.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,091 MZN 69.0K

$2,862 €2,545

-61.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$563 MZN 35.6K

$1,990 €1,770

-71.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,248 MZN 268.7K

$7,577 €6,740

-43.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,061 MZN 130.3K

$4,307 €3,831

-52.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$323 MZN 20.4K

$1,588 €1,412

-79.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

549.35%

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

Last update for Maputo: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Maputo

$375 33.3%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.9% 219% $822

Groceries & Markets

Maputo

$226 20%

Lisbon

$269 12.1% 19.3% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Maputo

$167 14.8%

Lisbon

$219 9.9% 31.5% $53

Eating Out

Maputo

$150 13.3%

Lisbon

$242 10.9% 61.8% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Maputo

$119 10.6%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 39.5% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Maputo

$59 5.2%

Lisbon

$66 3% 11.9% $7

Getting Around

Maputo

$32 2.9%

Lisbon

$63 2.8% 94.7% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $546 in Maputo and $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 392% 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: $64.0 in Maputo vs $61.0 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $226 vs $269, with Maputo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇿 Maputo

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

07:06 7:06 AM

06:06 6:06 AM

1 h behind Maputo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,244,227 Capital

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Mozambican Metical MZN MT

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MZN = 1.58 USD

100 MZN = 1.41 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MZN – Mozambican Metical Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇿 Mozambican Metical (MT)

Mozambican Metical exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 63.25 MZN (100 MZN = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 71.11 MZN (100 MZN = 1.41 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MZN in detail →

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Between locations

Maputo Lisbon 8,400 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

Maputo vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Maputo and Lisbon differ by about 97% in total monthly costs ($1,128 vs $2,223 including rent). Maputo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 392% 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: $546 in Maputo versus $1,614 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $127 in Maputo versus $677 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,128 in Maputo versus $2,223 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Maputo but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Maputo 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, Maputo 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 Maputo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 97% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.